Macao News Macao News https://macaonews.org Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:20:29 +0000 <![CDATA[Gonçalo César de Sá]]> Thu, 04 Mar 2021 08:39:41 +0800 Kate Springer 36710 2021-08-13 10:32:35 2021-03-04 08:39:41 Founder of Macaulink and Editor-in-Chief of Macao Magazine, César de Sá has worked in nearly 40 different locations across the world. ]]>Gonçalo César de Sá had his first journalistic scoop when he was in his early 20s. As a junior reporter at Radio Clube of Mozambique in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), Mozambique, César de Sá was responsible for calling the fire station, police, hospital, airport and port every morning to inquire about recent incidents.   “I did it every day for months until one day, there was a huge train accident. I was the first person to broadcast about it – it felt great to get the story,” he recalls of the adrenaline rush.  Little did the young reporter know, this would be one of many scoops in his distinguished, colourful career. During the next five decades, he worked in 38 different places, wrote for more than two dozen publications, co-wrote more than a dozen books, produced eight documentaries and founded a leading media group in Macao. César de Sá, who was born in July 1947 in the Mozambique port city of Lourenço Marques now Maputo, didn’t always want to be a journalist. In fact, he had originally hoped to study architecture, inspired by family friends growing up.   “When I was 18, I had a group of friends whose parents were all architects, such as the Amaral, Pimentel, Tinoco and Brusky families, and others,” he recalls. “They taught me a lot about life, to see beauty in everyday things – their influence was tremendous. So many years have passed, but I still have close friends from that period.” To fulfil his dream of becoming an architect, César de Sá moved to South Africa after secondary school to study at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. University didn’t go quite as planned, however, and César de Sá dropped out about a year later. He was automatically conscripted into the Portuguese Colonial Army in Mozambique. 

Times of war 

From 1968 to 1972, the young man became a lieutenant and trained other soldiers, then fought in the Portuguese Colonial War – a conflict between Portugal and its African colonies. Between 1970 and 1972, he was posted in Tete, a city located on the Zambezi River, in west-central Mozambique, where he and his platoon were in charge of escorting construction material and professional workers for the Cahora Bassa dam project. As a lieutenant, he witnessed terrible scenes: “People died. People lost arm and legs. We fought, but we never saw the ‘enemy’ (Mozambique Liberation Front) because it was a guerrilla war, it was very difficult,” he says.  César de Sá felt deep appreciation for the friendship and support from his fellow soldiers during the conflict. “We were all trying to survive together – there was a sense of camaraderie all the time. This is something that I will never forget, it was truly a traumatic experience.”  He returned to journalism almost immediately after leaving the armed service. “I couldn’t become an architect, so I decided to become a journalist since I really loved to write,” he recalls. In 1974, he joined Radio Clube of Mozambique.  One of the most interesting periods of his career occurred soon after. While working in Africa, he covered the Lusaka Accord between Portugal and the Mozambique Liberation Front (known as the FRELIMO), which was signed in the Zambian capital on 7 September 1974. According to the accord, Portugal recognised the right for Mozambique to gain its independence and agreed that Mozambique would become a new nation in June 1975. “I was there to see the end of Portugal’s history and presence in Mozambique,” he says, recalling the discussions between Samora Machel (who went on to become the first president of Mozambique) and Mário Soares (who would become the Prime Minister of Portugal) in the presence of then-Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda. Following the historic event, the transitional government of Mozambique recruited César de Sá to work in the Ministry of Information where he met some of the insurgents who he had fought in the war. “They are the ones who took power in Mozambique and the ones I had fought against only two years before – Portugal gave them independence [which ended the war]. It was a very strange experience to work with FRELIMO every day; I had mixed feelings about it, as you can imagine.” A year later, before Mozambique’s independence, he moved to London to work with the BBC’s Portuguese service, then jumped to Lisbon, Portugal, to join ANOP (the Portuguese News Agency) from 1975 to 1976. It was at ANOP in September 1975 that César de Sá was sent with his colleague Luís Pinheiro de Almeida to cover the Angolan independence ceremony. It was a difficult assignment and, in the end, the government expelled the journalists from Angola, taking issue with the team’s independent reporting style and critical coverage.  Then came his first of many forays in Macao. In 1976, César de Sá moved to the city, which was then under Portuguese administration, to become the press attaché of the Macao governor. At the same time, he became ANOP’s Macao correspondent. “This era in Macao was very beautiful,” he says. “The city was calm and quiet, there was never any rush to go anywhere. I'm not against modernity, but at that time, we could just sit outside at the Hotel Caravela (which was demolished in the late 70s), sip coffee, watch the junks pass, watch the fishermen with their nets and feel a sense of calm.” His role with the government led to a major career milestone. At the time, diplomatic relations between Portugal and China did not exist, but negotiations were about to begin. After ANOP invited Xinhua News Agency’s Madrid correspondent to visit Portugal, Xinhua News Agency reciprocated, inviting ANOP’s Macao correspondent – then César de Sá – to visit China in 1978.  [caption id="attachment_36785" align="alignnone" width="2000"]CHINA 1978 César de Sá (left) at the Great Wall of China in 1978 during a visit invited by the Xinhua News Agency[/caption] “That was my first experience with China,” he says. “It was incredible – everything was grey. No one looked at your eyes. All the conversations were very political.”

The first Portuguese journalist in China

César de Sá spent the next month reporting all over China, visiting the smaller cities as well as far-flung provinces and rural communities. When he returned to Beijing, officials from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called him with the news: diplomatic relations between Portugal and China would begin imminently. In February 1979, People's Republic of China and the Portuguese Republic signed an accord to establish diplomatic relations.  “I was the first Portuguese journalist to go to China, so I came back to Macao with lots of insights and experiences,” he says. “I am glad to have participated in this period of history.”  With a feather in his cap, César de Sá returned to Macao where he stayed until the end of 1979. He then returned to ANOP in Lisbon before shifting to work at the Portuguese Television (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal). But it wasn’t long before the Macao government asked César de Sá to return with a team and prepare to launch Macau Radio and Television (TDM), where he would take up an exciting role as the news head. From 1980 to 1986, César de Sá honed his executive skills, directing dozens of reporters, producers and radio hosts.  “I need an orchestra to work well – and I like to get involved in everything,” César de Sá says of his role. “Back then, I enjoyed my time at TDM working the radio and television. But, today, I think it is more exciting to work with video and new media. It is the future.”   At the same time, in the early ‘80s, César de Sá also worked as a Macao stringer, or local contributor, for several news outlets in Hong Kong and Portugal, including RTHK, Agence France Presse, the Far East Economic Review and O Jornal. “I was very, very active since no one knew anything about Macao and I was the only one there,” he recalls. “I have always been lucky – the right place, the right time. It is fantastic.”  Almost at the same time, Xinhua News Agency invited César de Sá to go to Beijing to interview China’s then-Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhou Nan, who was leading the Chinese delegation in talks with Portugal about the future of Macao. During that visit, Zhou Nan announced that China would start negotiations with Portugal to decide when to begin the transfer of the administration of Macao from Portugal back to China. It was a global story because Portugal did not believe that Macao would follow Hong Kong’s future – and it was César de Sá who broke the news. In 1984, César de Sá shifted his role to focus on the TDM’s Special Projects division, where he managed a regional TV series on Portugal’s expansion across Asia in the 16th century. Fascinated by these historical developments, César de Sá ultimately co-produced eight films about Portuguese history and influence in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan for Portuguese Television (RTP) and TDM. “So for about 2.5 years of my life, I was travelling and filming. I really got to see all of the roots of Portugal in Asia. It was incredible. I never imagined that I would be able to do that.”  [caption id="attachment_36788" align="alignnone" width="2000"]BEIJING-1984 César de Sá with Chinese Vice- Foreign minister Zhou Nan in Beijing in July 1984[/caption] Almost as soon as he started his new role, he received a grant from the Japanese Hoso Bunka Foundation to produce several film documentaries about the Portuguese presence in Japan in the 16th century – an opportunity that enabled him to travel to far-flung corners of Japan. He thrived in this new environment, devouring the culture, food and history of the island nation. “Japan was fabulous. I love the simplicity. I love the fact that you have the old and the new side by side.”  In addition to the films, César de Sá also co-authored two books: Tanegashima: The Island of the Portuguese Gun for the Instituto Cultural de Macau (Cultural Affairs Bureau) and 450 Years in the Relations Between Portugal and Japan for the Portuguese Embassy in Tokyo.  There are so many interesting stories that came out of this research, he says. “One [that stands out] is about the Portuguese and Japanese relationship. The Portuguese were the first westerners to arrive in Japan, on this very small island in the south of Japan called Tanegashima.” “When the locals saw their guns, they requested a copy. The Portuguese gave them one, but the Japanese didn’t know how to develop the trigger without the gun exploding and killing someone. So they asked a Portuguese officer to teach them how to make it. The man said, sure, but you have to give me your daughter. And they made a trade.” But what’s most interesting, he adds, is that even 500 years later, the little island still celebrates the day the Portuguese taught the Japanese the mechanics behind a gun’s trigger. Every June, they hold a huge parade, complete with giant floats and Portuguese flags. “For me, learning all about these histories was one of the most interesting periods of my life.” 

Working around the world 

In 1986, Lusa (the Portuguese News Agency) invited César de Sá to become the regional director of news operations in Asia, with a base on Macao. As the director, he oversaw offices in Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing and Tokyo and correspondents in Sydney, Bangkok and Seoul.  Continuing his role with Lusa, he moved to Tokyo in 1989 for three years to expand the company’s footprint in the region. Then in 1991, returned to Macao with the same news company where he stayed for the next eight years.  This longer stint in Macao led to another career milestone. Portugal did not have relations with Indonesia, due to disagreements over the sovereignty of Timor-Leste, a Southeast Asian nation that was once a Portuguese colony.  “News agencies usually play an important role in establishing relations, so I thought, ‘Why not try to set up an agreement with the Indonesian news agency and Lusa, the Portuguese News Agency?’ It would be the first step for the relations,” says César de Sá.  In 1998, César de Sá spent five months pushing for a meeting between Lusa and ANTARA, the Indonesian news agency. They finally reached an agreement, which opened the possibility to set up a Lusa office first in Jakarta and later in Dili, Indonesia.  [caption id="attachment_36786" align="alignnone" width="2000"]Jakarta-1998 December César de Sá in Jakarta in December 1998 signing the Lusa/Antara agreement with Parni Hadi former president of Indonesian News Agency[/caption] “This helped to share the knowledge between the two countries. It established a point of contact and started the relations between Lisbon and Jakarta, which happened a year later. So I had some part in that process,” he recalls. His work to establish relations was recently mentioned in a book, The Unsung Heroes of the Portuguese News Agency, which was published in Portugal in 2018. In 1999, the Macao government asked Lusa to set up the press room for hundreds of journalists who would cover the handover ceremony on 19 December. The president of Lusa’s executive board recommended César de Sá for the job, commending his excellent work over the years. He took charge of the pressroom operations, working with dozens of journalists from the company to launch a special news and information service in Portuguese, English and Chinese. After the handover of administration from Portugal to China in 1999, César de Sá returned to Lisbon in 2000 to work as an adviser for the news director of Lusa. But almost as soon as he unpacked his bags, they said: “Why don’t you go to Brazil? We have an office there that we need to deal with,” he recalls.  And in 2001, César de Sá set off first to Brasilia followed by São Paulo, where he worked as the regional director of Lusa for the next few years. “I travelled all over South America. And [my team of reporters] covered stories that nobody covered at that time – it was a great experience.”  As he neared the end of his tenure in Brazil, Macao government officials asked if he wanted to return to the city to set up an economic news agency that dealt with relations between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. He didn't hesitate. “It seemed like a great opportunity. So I moved back in 2005 and together with Lusa we started a service agreement for the Macauhub News Agency in partnership with Macao Government Information Bureau for four years, after which I took private under my own venture for another 11 years.”

A new venture 

]]> <![CDATA[José Firmino da Rocha Diniz]]> Tue, 22 Dec 2020 14:36:19 +0800 Kate Springer 33284 2021-02-10 15:11:04 2020-12-22 14:36:19 60 years in journalism have taught José Rocha Diniz a thing or two about the business. The publisher of Jornal Tribuna de Macau wouldn’t swap it for the world.]]>The first time José Firmino da Rocha Diniz stepped foot into a newsroom, he knew he had found his calling. Just 17 years old, the Portuguese native was hired as a sportswriter by Centro Desportivo in Coimbra, central Portugal's medieval capital. “I had four different editors. One day, they had a disagreement and just left me to work on the newspaper by myself,” recalls Rocha Diniz, who is now the publisher of the Journal Tribuna de Macau. “I was only 17 or 18 then, but it was a great time. Being fully responsible for the paper taught me a lot.”  Not only did he learn how to write, but he also began to tackle the process of making a print newspaper. “Back then, we didn’t have computers. We had the printing press, and the linotypists had to put the newspaper together, line by line,” he recalls. “The headlines were done letter by letter, so it required a great mental gymnast. Understanding how everything worked helped for the rest of my life.”  In February 1946, Rocha Diniz was born in the town of São Pedro do Sul, in central Portugal, but he never lived there. His father moved the family back to his hometown, in the coastal area of Mira, where Rocha Diniz spent his childhood studying and playing beach sports. For his university years, Rocha Diniz moved to Coimbra to study law and history at the University of Coimbra while dipping a toe in the news world.  The young reporter worked at a few small, local newspapers, covering anything from politics to sports. Then, in the 1960s, Portugal began to question the country’s authoritarian Estado Novo regime. The students began protests in 1962, and by 1969, a major movement shook the University of Coimbra. “At the time, the government would force students who protested to go into military service [during the Portuguese Colonial War], first to Mafra [on the west coast of Portugal] and then Guinea-Bissau [in West Africa],” Rocha Diniz explains. “Because of my deep involvement in the ‘69 movement, where the students boycotted examinations, I tried to bypass the government draft by moving to Angola [a Portuguese colony at the time] in 1970 to teach history and Portuguese at the Lyceum and Preparatory School of Carmona [in northwestern Angola].” Jose Rocha Dinis_Macao News   He taught in Angola for three years and stayed busy with side projects: Rocha Diniz founded a weekly publication, Ecos do Norte, to cover general news; got involved with news radio programmes; and coached two soccer teams. Then, in 1973, the government called on him to join the army, sending the 27-year-old to Huambo (then Nova Lisboa), Angola.  “Six months later, I became an officer, and then the Carnation Revolution [a military coup which overthrew the Estado Novo regime] happened on 25 April [1974 in Lisbon],” he recalls. “I was very happy with the fall of the regime. But in strict professional terms, it was more complicated. Month by month, the cities started fighting politically, which in those circumstances, meant a lot of violence.”  Though challenging, military service did not sideline his journalism career. While serving, he collaborated with Radio Clube do Huambo and the Official Broadcaster of Angola for roughly two years. In 1975, his service ended and he was able to return to Coimbra to finish his Economic and Social Modern History degree and work as a reporter at the local branch of Diário de Notícias (The Daily News), one of the country’s largest newspapers at the time.   After finishing his degree, the ambitious journalist requested a transfer to Lisbon where he began working as a reporter. Eventually, he was promoted to general editor, then became one of Diário de Notícias’ National Politics editors.  “I was able to cover different roles because of my earlier experience,” he says. “I understood how newspapers worked and I had a good sense of the space, the length, how things would fit. I knew what could go where, what would fit in which column.” After about two years with Diário de Notícias, in 1980, he sought out new challenges. He took the role of deputy editor at a weekly newspaper called Tempo, where he had the opportunity to work in radio and television. “I wanted to see different styles, different types of work,” he says. “The appetite to learn more is the way I live my life. It is not only journalism. It is everything in life – I try to keep my mind open, my eyes wide, and stay curious.”
“My philosophy is that, if I don’t know, then I need to know.” 
In July 1982, a former colleague invited him to visit Macao to cover a story about the tourism industry for a weekly television programme aired on RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal) – a public broadcasting service in Portugal. “On that first trip, I visited for one week. Apart from filming, I tried to talk with major players about their visions for Macao,” he recalls. “When I got back to Lisbon, I was really happy with the recordings, as Macao is a very photogenic place. But I felt that Macao was also quite hard to understand. I soon forgot about Macao in my daily life, never thinking I would return.”  Little did he know, he’d be relocating permanently just two months later in October of 1982. In the leadup, Jorge Neto Valente, the co-founder of Macao’s Democratic Centre (Centro Democrático de Macau) who is now the president of the Macau Law Society, asked Rocha Diniz to move to Macao and start a weekly newspaper in the city: Tribuna de Macau. “I actually hadn't met Neto Valente on my initial visit, despite my attempts [to interview him],” recalls Rocha Diniz. “But he asked me out for lunch, and, after some convincing, I asked myself: ‘Macao? Why not?’”  Almost in his 40s, Rocha Diniz was hungry for new challenges. In the early 1990s, he started teaching journalism classes at the University of Macau; took on a role as the deputy director of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences; later launched an educational Portuguese-language TV programme for Macau Educational Television – all while running the weekly paper. In July 1998, Rocha Diniz seized the chance to merge with the evening Jornal de Macau and relaunched the publication as the Jornal Tribuna de Macau. “By the time of the 1999 handover [from Portuguese to Chinese administration], Macao had become so lively and busy – there was too much news to report, so we became a daily publication,” he recalls.  One day, Neto Valente told him: “By the way, I put all the Tribuna shares in your name”. To which Rocha Diniz replied: “That is OK; it only increases my responsibility.”  Throughout the years, Rocha Diniz has covered everything from sports to tourism, and major historic moments in Asia.  “As a journalist, I have done so many things – it is not fair to choose just one thing. I have covered all the major events in Asia, the elections and other political and social events in Japan, in the Philippines, in South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the coups in Thailand... the list goes on.”   His contribution to Macao’s media, culture and education has been recognised at the highest levels. In 1997, the Macao government awarded Rocha Diniz the Medal of Merit and, two years later in 1999, the President of the Portuguese Republic Jorge Sampaio awarded him the Order of Grand Officer of Merit for his contributions to society. [caption id="attachment_33285" align="alignnone" width="1048"]Jose Rocha Diniz Macao governor Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira awards José Rocha Diniz the Medal of Merit in 1997[/caption] Although it wasn’t always smooth sailing. When late Admiral Vasco Fernando Leote de Almeida e Costa was the governor of Macao in the early 1980s, Rocha Diniz remembers the Tribuna receiving 18 legal complaints. “This period of political life in the territory reinforced my friendship with lawyer Neto Valente, because we both had to fight Costa’s government,” Rocha Diniz says of those “funny times”. After Mário Soares’s presidency in Portugal, from 1986 to 1996, the governors in Macao became more democratic, he recalls. It was during this time that he was invited to become the deputy director of Macau Television (TDM).  “It was interesting to work for TDM, but Tribuna was never out of my sight,” says Rocha Diniz. He later left TDM but continued to be in charge of a weekly debate programme for many years. In the 90s, Rocha Diniz was also a member of the Education Council and the commission that was in charge of implementing Macao’s official languages. Since Rocha Diniz moved to Macao decades ago, he says many things have changed. “The physical nature of Macao has changed. The mentality of Macao has also changed. In general, people are very interested in heritage, social welfare, meaning the public environment,” he says.  But some things remain the same. “People coexist, from all different places and backgrounds. I am really proud of this aspect of Macao,” he reflects. “Of course, the city has problems, just like anywhere, but I feel great love from everybody, even the critics.”  It’s been 38 years since Rocha Diniz launched the Tribuna de Macau (now the Jornal Tribuna de Macau) in Macao. The seasoned journalist continues to report, edit and manage his team nearly every day while setting the stage for the publication’s future.  “I am 74 now,” he says. “So I am preparing [for the years ahead]. I have asked one of my colleagues, some of whom I have worked with for 17 years, to take over as a director. Now I’m the publisher, but when I stop working, Sérgio Terra will be the owner of the newspaper.”  In his free time, you can most likely find Rocha Diniz enjoying family time with his wife and nine-month-old daughter or getting lost in the pages of a book. His home and office are packed with stacks and stacks of books – particularly on history and politics and law – which he consumes at a rapid pace. “Knowledge is never enough,” he says, of his insatiable appetite for learning.  Not that he’s planning to retire any time soon. “I love being a journalist. I can't imagine what it means to retire. It's something that's never crossed my mind,” he says. “For me, being a journalist is in my bones. It’s something deep inside me. And I'm happy to say that my wife agrees.”   ]]> <![CDATA[Joe Liu]]> Sat, 09 Sep 2017 16:19:06 +0800 Cathy Lai 14002 2021-02-03 10:27:14 2017-09-09 16:19:06 Joe Liu is the co-founder and Director of MOME, an integrated marketing and media company that produces and promotes content across Macao, Hong Kong and Greater China. ]]> <![CDATA[Harald Christian Brüning]]> Thu, 06 Jul 2017 12:35:11 +0800 Macao News 13263 2021-02-03 10:26:06 2017-07-06 12:35:11 Harald Christian Brüning is the Director of The Macau Post Daily newspaper. He speaks German, Spanish, Portuguese and English. During the course of an eventful career spanning nearly four decades, Brüning has worked for some of the world’s biggest news agencies, eventually setting up his own English-language newspaper focusing on local news in Macao.]]>The Macau Post Daily newspaper. He speaks German, Spanish, Portuguese and English. During the course of an eventful career spanning nearly four decades, Brüning has worked for some of the world’s biggest news agencies, eventually setting up his own English-language newspaper focusing on local news in Macao. Born 10 June 1953, in Rieden, Germany, Brüning grew up with three older boys and a menagerie of animals including two horses in Helmstedt, a small town in Lower Saxony surrounded by lush green trees and fields. His father was a cavalry officer and a horse-riding instructor, while his mother was a nursery school teacher. Like many children who dream of crime-fighting superheroes, as a boy Brüning wanted to one day become a homicide detective. This interest in crime investigation carried on into his adult life, as today he is still an avid fan of crime novels and movies. But instead of solving crimes, Brüning’s career headed in the direction of reporting on them. He gained his first journalistic experience by the age of 16, writing for his high school’s magazine club. In 1971, Brüning moved to Munich where he studied political science and economics as well as Spanish and Portuguese. In 1975, he passed the Court Translator’s State Examination for Spanish in Germany. Brüning then began taking freelance translation work, which earned him enough money to visit Hong Kong with a classmate in 1980. Being encouraged by a lecturer who taught him Portuguese at the university, he took this opportunity to also visit Macao for the first time. In 1981 he graduated with a master’s degree in political science from the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU), after which Brüning moved to Hong Kong to work for the German-Japanese joint venture Carl Zeiss Pentax, which helped set up Televisão de Macau (TDM) in the early 1980s. “Since I spoke Portuguese they wanted me to be responsible for TDM’s project tender. I spent a lot of time in Macao and decided it was a great place to make my home.” Brüning made his official entry into journalism in 1984. He started working for Jornal Va Kio, editing book translations and writing the occasional news story. In the same year, he was invited to become the Macao correspondent for United Press International (UPI), which he describes as leading him into “real journalism”. “UPI’s Macao correspondent had resigned just as negotiations between the Chinese and the Portuguese were starting to bloom. They needed someone to cover this, and so I ended up being offered a job at one of the world’s biggest news agencies,” he recalls. “If this hadn’t happened I think I may have ended up back in Germany, as I had the opportunity to start a PhD at the University of Munich.” A few years later Brüning became the Macao correspondent for the Hong Kong Standard and also worked a short time for Bloomberg. Later he moved to the Eastern Express, returning to the Standard in the early 1990s, before moving to Reuters and then the South China Morning Post in the mid-1990s. “Throughout my time as Macao correspondent, I believe I published around 20,000 English language articles about the region,” he highlights. During these years Brüning interviewed world-famous political leaders such as Mário Soares, Portugal's former president and prime minister, and reported on numerous major events including the Joint Declaration between China and Portugal and the Macao Basic Law. However, he felt that human interest stories were the most powerful. For example, he vividly remembers the days, some 25 years ago, when he relentlessly followed the recovery of a baby boy found abandoned in a pile of rubbish. “The boy had been attacked by rats, leaving bite wounds on his arms and shoulders. I visited him at hospital several times and talked to the doctors and nurses,” he recalls. “The story made the front page of Hong Kong Standard several times. It was the only English media that covered the incident.” Much to his relief, the baby was later adopted by a Swedish couple, who named him Nicholas. Being a Macao correspondent for overseas media made Brüning realise there was a growing need for a local English-language publication. Resigning from his position in 2002, he launched The Macau Post Daily with three like-minded friends. “In the past, people were dependent on the South China Morning Post, but news from Macao was just one of the many areas it covered, and not its focus,” he explains. “The principle of our newspaper was to always have Macao news on the front page.” Brüning believes that the introduction of an English-language newspaper in Macao has brought important changes to the landscape of Macao’s media industry. And although newspapers have rising competition from digital rivals, he remains hopeful for the future of print. “There is a big difference between print and online news,” he highlights. “News on the Internet can be changed with a click of a mouse, but in print it is permanent.” “We can see who is reporting the stories and they are accountable for what they publish,” he explains. Therefore I believe newspapers are hugely important and will always have a place.”  ]]>