THE EARTH TIMES
AUGUST 30, 1995
COOPERATION
A newsroom in Beijing
BY ASHALI VARMA
The Beijing conference marks yet another occasion when The Earth Times transforms itself from a twice-monthly publication into a daily. Publishing a daily newspaper involves formidable preparation—complicated logistics and daunting fund-raising. We have been fortunate to win the support of remarkable people in donor countries, multilateral and bilateral agencies, and foundations, and we have benefited from timely cooperation from the Government of the People’s Republic of China. This is a public word of thanks to all of them.
Jack freeman, our chief correspondent, and I travelled to China in July, at the invitation of Secretary General Gertrude Mongella, to gather first-hand material for an Earth Times special report on preparations for the Women’s Conference, which promises to be not only the biggest UN conference ever, but in many ways the most complex.
We think it is entirely appropriate for The Earth Times to wish the Conference organizers well. Bringing a reporting and editing team of some 20 people to Beijing—veterans of previous major UN conferences—and setting up temporary production facilities has been a challenge not learned about in the classroom. But here we are. We feel privileged to be able to cover this extraordinary event.