tvnewswatch celebrates 5th birthday

tvnewswatch has been blogging for exactly five years. Initially started as a platform through which to make commentary on broadcast news, tvnewswatch has also provided independent comment and sometimes exclusive news content on a wide range of subjects. During those early days there were no pictures, nor links to news sources, but now every post has a photograph to illustrate the story. tvnewswatch has posted blogs from several countries, most notably China, where despite Internet restrictions a regular service has been maintained. While tvnewswatch has tried to remain impartial, regular readers will be aware that there have been 'comment and opinion' based posts. But in reporting, tvnewswatch has always tried to be factual and present the facts as known.

Started on the 10th April 2005, tvnewswatch has covered the 2005 general election in Britain as well as several local elections. The terrorist attacks in London the same year were extensively covered, as was the ongoing security threats that followed. In October 2006 tvnewswatch posted from China for the first time reporting on China's anger at North Korea's first atomic test. Following terror blasts in southern Thailand's tourist centre of Hat Yai in September 2006, tvnewswatch had exclusive eyewitness reports. In August 2007 tvnewswatch reported on the return of foot & mouth disease to Britain and the beginnings of China's problems with product safety.

In July 2008 tvnewswatch provided first hand accounts when bomb blasts ripped through two buses in Kunming in China's southern Yunnan province. Pre-Olympic coverage was also reported after arriving in Beijing in early August. Late 2008 saw the historic electing of America's first black president and tvnewswatch provided in depth commentary and analysis throughout the campaign and right through election night itself. The deepening global recession was also covered extensively from the beginning of 2008 as the first signs of a crisis began to appear.

In 2009 as the recession deepened, tvnewswatch travelled once again to China. In the past 9 months reports on a wide range of topics have been posted, including China's National Day, widening curbs on the Internet, the Hu Stern arrest and subsequent trial and conviction, and of course Google's closure of its China based search engine.

Being based in China makes the reporting of other issues less easy. CNN is generally only available in top hotels, as is BBC World. The slow nature of the Internet, as well as blocks, often prevent access to streaming services. As such tvnewswatch has been unable to give in-depth coverage on such events as the new year celebrations, the UK budget and of course the upcoming general election in Britain.

tvnewswatch will be returning to Britain in early June, but the blogging will continue. Thank you to all the loyal readers for your comments and input. Also a big thank you to the photographers, bloggers and journalists who have helped make tvnewswatch interesting and informative.

tvnewswatch, Beijing, China