William J. Holstein's blog

Three recent reshufflings in the media world continue a trend of promoting people who don't necessarily understand what quality journalism is. Read more...

Holland one of the most successful countries. With only 16 million people, the Dutch obviously have to cooperate with each other to survive. There is a real economic vitality to the place, based in part on Amsterdam's ability to attract talented foreign expatriates from all over the world. Read more...

The New York Times has published its second-in-a-series of articles about Japan's economy and what the Americans have to learn from the bursting of its financial bubble nearly two decades ago. It has taken almost two weeks for the Times to print the second in a series, which is unusual timing.  Read more...

A front-page story in The New York Times proclaims that "Japan Goes From Dynamic to Disheartened." Then the deck reads: "Retrenchment Offers the West a Grim Vision of the Future." Grim? Really? The author offers pretty thin gruel to make such bold statements. Read more...

As we contemplate the end of one decade and the beginning of another, all of us in the media are wondering what went so wrong, meaning the devastation that has hit many news organizations. That's particularly true in my sectors of interest, business and international. And we also are wondering, Can the phoenix rise from these ashes? Read more...

Japanese politicians are not really in control of their country and serve more as a source of amusement for the powerful bureaucrats and industrialists who really run it. But the American media wants to believe that dramatic change is possible in Japan. So every so often, they whip up incredible expectations regarding an election. The victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in elections in late August is the latest example. Read more...