Veteran Journalist Joins JMSC Faculty

Arielle and her dog, Weezy

Arielle Emmett, an educator and veteran journalist, has joined the JMSC as a visiting professor this semester, teaching a course in online journalism to Master of Journalism students. She will also be conducting research on global media literacy.

Before coming to Hong Kong, Emmett was a visiting professor at the International College of Beijing under a cooperative undergraduate programme with the University of Colorado in Denver.

Her journalism and teaching experience spans a 30-year career, beginning as a correspondent for Newsweek. She has since worked as a columnist and contributor for numerous publications including Orientations, Asia Magazine, Caixin (Beijing), and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She was an editor for Science Digest in New York and reporter and full-time features staff writer for The Detroit Free Press. She has also served as senior editor and editor-in-chief of several science and technology-related publications.

Her advice to JMSC students is to take advantage of the changes happening in the industry. “While traditional training remains important, students need to be self-reliant in online media, proficient in videography and photography, and have skills in creative packaging,” she advises. “They should work hard on their writing and find their own voice. And they need to spark ideas for new media businesses.”

When not teaching, conducting research, or practicing karate (she has a third degree black belt), Emmett is working on her first novel, about what will happen in the US and China in 50 years, from the point of view of an American teaching in Beijing.

“The West doesn’t really understand the changes that are going on in China right now,” says Emmett. “The Chinese government, as the main driver, needs more scrutiny from the media. So does Sino Weibo, a barometer of public sentiment. At the same time, all the positive aspects of China’s development are also being under-reported. China’s emergence, America’s struggles, the environment, overpopulation, and our aging societies – these are the big stories over the coming years.”