Today’s five-column front-page picture of a mouth pretty much sums up the current state of the paper. A stand-alone photograph is supposed to have news merit. That picture has little if any value and yet it took up a quarter of the front page – and was rather unpleasant to look at.
It’s not enough that almost every story has a mistake in it as well. Take yesterday for example. I picked up the paper and open it and the first story I started to read had: “‘It is expected that the Legislative Yuan will wrap up less bills in the next session…’”
Less bills? Since when were bills uncountable?
So I skip to the last paragraph: “The legislature will be more hostility due to the upcoming presidential election…”
Who knows what might be in other stories; who would want to read the paper to find out?
Someone recently said to me that anyone who worked previously at the Taipei Times should keep that a secret when applying for jobs in the future, given the embarrassing level to which the paper has sunk.
Perhaps the time has come for the Taipei Times and the Taiwan News to merge. Their content is similar and now their quality is too.
It’s the “rare ability of twisting her tongue into a flower shape” that bothers me. How rare? I’m sure I could do that too if I practiced hard enough. What next I wonder? Maybe I should call up a Taipei Times reporter and tell them I have a repertoire of “rare armpit noises” that I’m dying to let the world know about.
I think that the Taipei Times had it at the start. It was a great paper with a lot of promise. Great design, excellent writers (Chris Taylor, Jay Speiden, David Frazier writing business stories), the “Off the Beat” section, outstanding Friday weekend section, etc.
I still say that it’s the best of the English-language newspapers on the island. And the Taipei Times does have the best features writers (and the most interesting features).
But that picture on the front page is a new low. It’s too bad, really.
My god! What next, a scratch and sniff edition?
Well, it’s getting worse. I wonder what they are getting at, but then, given the competition, we have little choice.
But that picture caught the attention of the two xiaojies serving in the 7-11 where I bought my copy. As I handed over my 15 dollars, one of the girls gasped admiringly “Wa, hao lihai!”, and I was just wondering what I’d done that counted as lihai when I realized they were referring to that picture. So I pulled a face and made a comment that got them giggling, and left there with a warm glow of shared amusement pulsating in my breast. Which means that I have to thank the Taipei Times for providing an ice-breaker to help me get pally with those two sweeties (who’ve barely even glanced at me when I’ve bought things from them in the past). And perhaps I can even look forward to receiving warm smiles of recognition and welcome the next time I go there.
Yeah I couldn’t believe today’s picture. Very unpleasant and completely without merit, even on page 22 (if the TT had a page 22).
The TT is becoming incomprehensible to native speakers of English.
she’s very patriotic? her contorted tongue looks alot like the plum blossom- the ROC’s flower. maybe they can use her image on the next olympic flag.
a question for the computer techies: regarding the photo, what did they do to her gumline? it is as if it was blurred it out. how can such be “out of focus” on a close up? has the photo been retouched?
i’ve been practicing all day and just can’t get it right, not even close.
June 10th, front page:
“Yesterday’s earthquake struck at 9:52am, making it the strongest earthquake this year” huh ? How does that make if the strongest ?
At least today’s cover was taken up by a picture of an woman pointing at a machine, a lot more relevant 
But for all its little oddities and foibles, I still deeply appreciate all the good reading that the Taipei Times furnishes for me each day.
If you skip over the errata with a tolerant and amused smile, you’ll find plenty of first-rate, substantial content to feast on as well.
Been gone so long from the boards, I have missed all of the witty banter… but the threads are all still the same. 
What I noticed about today’s picture (which is only maginally better and news worthy) is the fact that she is barefooted in the picture. What can she feel the earth move better in bare feet?
Back in the swing o things…
Madam Shark
As critical as I am of the Taiwanese and their pathetic 50 year old culture, I have to shake my head in disappointment at the great number of stupid “whitie” who read any local English newspaper here in Taiwan. Come on guys… please. Any highschool newspaper in a western country has better writing and content than the Taiwan Times, Taiwan News, or Taiwan Post. Thank God for the internet. I check the weather at www.segue.com.tw. Maybe if we all stop buying those local papers, the problem will go away. Either way, the PRC will take care of the problem (and several others) when they take over Taiwan in the future.
That “flower” tongue has been the #1 most viewed picture on Yahoo’s list for most of the last two days. While it might not have any news value, it is entertaining and has probably sold quite a few papers.
After all, what value does a “sports section” have? What a waste of paper. . . .
The way Omni genuflects to the Taipei Times you’d almost think he was actually Rick Chu, except that the editor in chief of that English-language newspaper couldn’t write with such aplomb.
It’s half eight in the morning. Today’s Typo Times is not yet on the web. Anyone there ?
I’ve noticed the latest version isn’t usually posted until around 12. I guess they want to encourage you to buy their typos in hard copy.
Piss off. I like the Taipei Times. Alright, I’m with most of the criticisms you have, but I like having a ‘paper’ newspaper to read over breakfast and on the MRT, and the TT is easily the best in Taiwan. I’m not denying that it’s sloppily made and has gone downhill, but I still enjoy reading it. Here’s some reasons why:
-
Layout/design. Some people say that’s not important, but actually it is. You want a paper that’s good to look at. I do anyway. The other 2 are plain awful in this regard.
-
Features. I like the features they choose, from the Guardian and other sources. Much better than the ones (mostly from US papers I think) in the CP. I don’t care if they didn’t write them themselves, they’re still very good.
-
Bias. All papers have bias. TT’s just happens to be closer to my own political prefs than the other two.
-
Cartoons. TT’s cartoons are much better than the apalling strips in the CP. TN might be OK, but I haven’t read it in 4 years or so, so I don’t remember.
The only thing that is better in the other papers is the Friday supplement in the CP. Classifieds are better there too. Don’t care about the sports and business pages, so I don’t know. That’s why I get the TT everyday and the CP on Fridays as well.
Brian
PS Isn’t there already another thread for disgruntled ex-employees to slag off the papers they used to work for?
Taipei Times is still the best English Language paper in Taiwan - and the most widely available.
A bit like winning a beauty contest in a leper colony (I know it has been used before).
Strangely, the entire TT website is non-functional during the hour or two it takes them to update it. Obviously, something very wrong there.
I don’t read the (paper) newspapers now. But your comment above reminded me of a minor gripe I had with virtually all paper newspapers, back when I did read them. I wish they were all printed the way the New York Post is printed… that is, of a size that can easily be opened and with pages that can be turned without having to bother the guy sitting next to you on the train or bus. The New York Post is printed so that it is about the size of a magazine and can be viewed comfortably while seated on public transportation.
Why can’t they all be that way?