This week, NüVoices co-host and editor of the podcast, Megan Cattel speaks to Ye Charlotte Ming and Beimeng Fu, two founders of the Far & Near Substack newsletter.
Far & Near aims to depict China in all its complexity by shining a light on the country’s visual journalism and showing the human side of some of the biggest headlines coming out of the country. At a time where in-depth, on-the-ground reporting on China is becoming all the more stripped down, Far & Near is a much-needed glimpse into the everyday reality for people living in China.
Beimeng and Charlotte can sometimes spend up to 45 hours working on a single issue. The newsletter has covered topics from the residents living in the apartment blocks that were abandoned during constructions due to the real estate crisis, to the nation’s outrage over the Chained Woman last year. During the A4 protests, they provided a guideline for foreign journalists to help protect the identities of protestors, which became a popular document used by newsrooms worldwide.
During the course of the episode, Beimeng and Charlotte talk about their work for the newsletter as both a labor of love and a much needed perspective from inside China. With more magazine and newspaper closures in recent days, Beimeng and Charlotte are determined to do all that is necessary to increase readership and make the newsletter a project for the long-term.
Far & Near is a newsletter published by women from China with visual journalism backgrounds. They bring their readers stories created by Chinese visual journalists, artists, and filmmakers in Chinese media, and provide analysis of the important social and cultural topics in the country.
Beimeng Fu is a video journalist based in Shanghai. She is a lover of languages and documentaries.
Ye Charlotte Ming is a journalist and visual editor covering stories about culture, history, and identity. She’s based in Berlin.
Make sure to subscribe to Far&Near!
Check out the Far & Near Substack here: https://farandnear.substack.com/
The Far & Near’s Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/YuanjinPhoto
Far & Near’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/farandnearnewsletter/
Show notes:
- Far & Near’s issue on the Foxconn factory strikes
- Far & Near’s issue on China’s real estate crisis
- Zou Biyu’s photo essay on real estate crisis
- Far & Near’s 7th issue: “Highlighting Ukrainian photographers and powerful art in the name of China’s “chained woman””
- Here are their guidelines for journalists cover protests to minimize risk for protestors