media

Just as Nova instructors were getting shafted yet again when g.communication reneged on its promise of jobs, the cover story of the December 26 issue of Newsweek was a special report by David McNeil on English conversation schools.

I was cleaning out my closet, and way at the back I found photocopies of an article on teaching English tilted "The Sure Thing" from the June 1991 edition of the Tokyo Journal. I thought this would be an interesting read. You might want to download the full-size images if you find the text too small to read.

A producer from 702 ABC Sydney contacted me and is looking to interview Australian teachers for a broadcast tomorrow or Monday. Here are the details:

As I'm reading in an Aust newspaper here in Sydney this morning, may Nova-T's may be facing the chop pretty soon, many of whom are reported to be Aussie expats. I would really appreciate it if you could help me get in touch with one or more of such Australian Nova teachers who are either currently working or recently left, or recently been sacked.

Radiolive is further investigating the financial crisis at Nova and is looking for Nova teachers to interview and hear their stories. Make yourself heard.

When the bridge in Minnesota collapsed, FNN turned to Jerry Fisher (?) for a live report. Take it away, Jerry!

As a consumer, it seems that danger lurks around every corner.

Clips of the Nova story have started showing up on YouTube. First, here's the initial report by NHK on Nova's punishment:

Nova is quickly becoming the debacle that keeps on festering. The Asahi Shimbun is reporting a leak from a Nova meeting in which Sahashi was told that they didn't have enough instructors. Sahashi's reply: "If sales are low, we can't increase the number of instructors no matter how many students there are."

Internet forums and blogs are now rife with speculation about Nova's fate. Will it survive, will it get a government bailout, or will is go bankrupt? At this point in time, all anyone can do is speculate.

Who knew breakfast was good for you? Here's a good example of advertising masquerading as news, a news-mercial if you will. In a poorly translated piece of screed from the Mainichi Shimbun:

A well-balanced, nutritious breakfast is important to help people concentrate on work and increase their productivity, an experiment conducted by a leading pharmaceutical company has shown.