POTS Magazine: From Radical to Mainstream
A very interesting special radio show Cyd Ho yesterday, where her invited Huang Suen Chuan (黃孫權), managing editor of POTS magazine (破報) in Taiwan and presently a visiting teaching fellow at Lingnan University's Cultural Studies department among others from Hong Kong to talk about Taiwan's experience of independent media, in order to give Hong Kong netizens some ideas on making DIY (Do-It-Yourself) media. (Cyd Ho says Hong Kong needs more independent media now and hope more people with IT expertise can help.)
A university student-run independent weekly founded in 1989 when government restrictions on free speech was still in place, POTS offers a critical look at politics through the essays it published on music, culture, etc. Funded by university and was considered radical back then, the publication has grown from a circulation of 3,000 on university campuses to 80,000 in present days, relying solely on commercial advertisements to fund its operation costs. Today, the independent weekly can be found in club houses, coffee shops and bookstores in Taiwan. It is also published on the internet in weblog format and available in both Chinese and English.
As always, Cyd Ho asked many good questions throughout the show.
"What happened when a radical and marginalized publication becomes available in the mainstream? Has its views also become mainstream as a result of that?"
"While it went mainstream, did it have to forgo some of its values and standpoints to suit mainstream tastes?"
"Now that the Kuomintang single party government, the very subject that the publication seek to critize no longer exists, what is left in its mission?"
"Does an objective and impartial media equate to no editorial stance?"
The radio interview was conducted in Mandarin with comments and translations in Cantonese. Available in for listening in real audio and for download in mp3: Part 1,
Part 2.
POTS (english version), "The Only Alternative weekly in Taiwan about youth culture and rebell movements."
