Host: Wang Zongnan

Producer: Liu Chang

Interviewers: Wang Zongnan, Ma Zheng, Wang Dier, Zhao Zhiqing

Guest Liaison: Liu Bowei, Li Xinrui, Zheng Siyuan, Tang Jingyao, Cai Yang

Episode Summary

Recorded on the sidelines of the SCO Media and Think Tank Summit in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, this episode of World Beat brings together voices from across the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to discuss one timely question:

How can media in the Global South claim more agency in a landscape long dominated by Western narratives?

From navigating unequal information flows to building cross-border projects, guests offer a grounded look at cooperation within the SCO—and what it means for the media future of the Global South.

Timeline & Highlights

[01:08] Western-Dominated Media Landscape

• • Nanda Lal Tiwari, Sub-editor, The Rising Nepal, on why smaller media outlets still rely on Western sources:

“We lack resources and we lack information… They are sipping our mind.”

• • Tunç Akkoç, Editor-in-Chief, Harici Media (Türkiye), highlights structural control by Western platforms:

“They dominate the platforms, the channels, and the media mechanisms…”

[02:26] Building Soft Power and Cultural Bridges

• • Abdulla Buhejj, Director General, Bahrain News Agency:

“The most powerful is soft power—small stories, features about culture, education, art.”

• • Najla Alzarouni, International Relations Expert, University of Sharjah, UAE:

“Translation between Arabic and Chinese is key… we must send out the messages we believe in—not just be affected by others.”

[04:12] Inside SCO Media Collaboration

• • Dmitry Gornostaev, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, RT (Russia Today), on SCO content-sharing and expansion:

“We have extensive collaboration with Chinese media. With Xinhua, for instance, we share each other’s content across our news terminals, in languages like Spanish and Arabic.… cooperation has room to grow.”

• • Andrey Kondrashov, Director General, TASS News Agency:

“We fight lies, not people… we co-founded the Global Fact-Checking Network to resist media wars.”

• • Tunç Akkoç again, on collaboration between big and small media:

“Co-producing with major Chinese outlets has been financially and creatively beneficial.”

[08:18] A Platform for the Global South

• • Huseyin Bagci, President, Ankara Global Advisory Group; Professor, Middle East Technical University (Türkiye):

“The Global South can help create a new, more just world order through dialogue and communication.”

• • Muhammad Zamir Assadi, Internews Pakistan:

“Media should build bridges, share stories in local languages—this is the need of our time.”

• • Andrey Kondrashov, TASS:

“The Global South must be heard… We need to lead, not follow. And we’re ready.”

World Beat is where voices from the Global South meet the global conversation.

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