John Burke
jburke@wan.asso.fr

John Burke is editor of the Editors Weblog, a trade publication for the global newspaper industry published by the World Editors Forum, an organization within the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2001 with a B.A. in Political Science. Before moving to Paris in 2004, he worked as an English teacher in France, a human rights volunteer in Mexico, and took the occasional "extended vacation" to see other parts of the world.

 

Contributions

Cronyism was only one of the complaints about Wolfowitz
COMMENTARY | May 140, 2007
The overseas press: Europeans pushed to remove Wolfowitz after the nepotism story broke in April, and there’s mostly glee at his departure.


McCain is having image problems internationally
COMMENTARY | May 134, 2007
Der Spiegel sees GOP candidates as a ‘pathetic assemblage’ of 10 old white men who exhaust themselves with slogans and platitudes. Spiegel and other news organizations, all more familiar with McCain than the other candidates, wonder what became of the ‘Straight Talk Express.’


Massacre at Virginia Tech caused barely a flinch worldwide
COMMENTARY | April 113, 2007
The overseas press: Mass shootings are seen as the same old story by now, with only the place name and the number of the dead changing. No stronger gun laws are expected.


Pelosi’s trip is seen as a step toward diplomacy
COMMENTARY | April 105, 2007
House Speaker wins points widely; Israeli online publication says she produced results in Syria


300 seen as a tool to work up anti-Iran sentiment
COMMENTARY | April 92, 2007
The movie draws much attention and scorn, its East v. West theme is seen as Hollywood joining the Bush administration in the march to Tehran.


Not much regard for Bush in his Latin America tour
COMMENTARY | March 78, 2007
The overseas press: Latin American editorial writers didn’t much care for Bush on his tour there, and there often wasn't any love lost for Chavez, either.


The British take the Libby case seriously
COMMENTARY | March 71, 2007
The overseas press: Much of the world pays little attention but in London a part of the story, the phony yellowcake intelligence, hits close to home.


Hillary and Barack, as seen from Britain
COMMENTARY | February 51, 2007
Some writers are amazed that the 2008 election campaign has already started, and some are almost totally focusing on Senators Clinton and Obama. Sound familiar?


The State of the Union address? Ho-hum
COMMENTARY | January 30, 2007
Bush’s focus on environment is termed insincere, a means of changing the subject. But he and his legacy are widely viewed as trapped in Iraq


Bush's 'surge' leaves critics hopeful
COMMENTARY | January 16, 2007
It’s not that many writers feel more U.S. troops will curb violence in Iraq but rather that they see the step as a sign that the American occupation of Iraq is in its last throes.


Arabs, Israelis voice pessimism on Baker/Hamilton
COMMENTARY | December 345, 2006
Arabs are lukewarm to the Iraq Study Group’s report and skeptical of implementation; Israelis are critical of both the findings and the recommendations.


Editorials in Muslim countries savage U.S., Bush
COMMENTARY | November 331, 2006
The overseas press: Newspapers in Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere are relentless . ‘The election proves nothing,’ one says; an Iraqi Kurd publication says U.S. religious right are ‘dummies’ and neocons ‘followers of Satan.’


Foreign editorials ask: After the U.S. elections, what's next?
COMMENTARY | November 317, 2006
Some see defeat for Bush as overdue and the Democratic victory as a victory for all nations; some see little difference between the two parties when it comes to the Iraq war.


One eye on Iraq, one eye on the U.S. elections
COMMENTARY | October 303, 2006
The overseas press: In Britain, a pullout is now seen as a necessity; the question is what we leave behind, and whether the rest of the Middle East will explode. Some see ‘cut and run’ as no longer pejorative—as long as it results in cutting our losses.


A little bluster comes with North Korea's nuclear test
COMMENTARY | October 290, 2006
Voices from the two Koreas, Russia, Iran and China regarding last week’s nuclear test and what to do about it.


'Life is now more dangerous everywhere'
COMMENTARY | October 276, 2006
The overseas press: The National Intelligence Estimate consensus that the Iraq war has made terrorism worse surprised hardly anyone, but interpretations are sharply divergent. Some see it as a ‘reality check’ for the Democrats; others as just the latest maddening news item, or even, a finding of benefit to George Bush.


5 years later, the question is, Are we still all Americans?
COMMENTARY | September 256, 2006
A sampling of editorial opinion in Italy, Germany, Britain and Qatar has the U.S. moving from being the most respected nation then to being the most suspected now


Arab commentators on Bush’s Middle East policies
COMMENTARY | August 242, 2006
The phrase ‘Islamic fascists’ draws rebukes. Says one writer: ‘Bush has no idea about Islam; he is unable to make the imaginative leap that would enable him to understand what Islam means, how it is practiced or why it is of such vital importance to people all over the world’


Lebanese and Israeli editorialists’ views of the U.S. role
COMMENTARY | August 219, 2006
Bush is part of the problem, Lebanese say; Some Israelis see their country as a proxy in a U.S.-Iran standoff.


Lebanese, other Arab papers focus on the U.S.
COMMENTARY | July 205, 2006
Lebanon Daily Star: 'We now have two Arab countries that Bush has trumpeted as models and vanguards of America's policy of promoting freedom and democratic change: Iraq and Lebanon. Neither is a very comforting sight today.'


The U.S. vs North Korea, as seen from Seoul
COMMENTARY | July 184, 2006
South Korean editorialists see a disconnect between long-time allies and are growing anxious about it.


The Economist, others say Bush just doesn't get it
COMMENTARY | June 170, 2006
The handling of suicides at Guantanamo, the killing of Zarqawi and Bush’s trip to Baghdad are linked by foreign news organizations and widely seen as gross PR efforts


Editorials ask if go-it-alone U.S. will attack Iran
COMMENTARY | May 135, 2006
Writes the Guardian: “Just as (Ahmadinejad) is Bush’s ideal raving Islamicist, so Bush is (Ahmadinejad’s) ideal raving western imperialist…”


The world looked intently at Hu Jintao in America
COMMENTARY | May 124, 2006
The Chinese say Hu’s trip to the U.S. as a great, positive visit but papers elsewhere scoff and see the two countries as far apart.


On immigration, Bush is winning a few, losing a few
COMMENTARY | April 107, 2006
No consistency in European views but Bush may be gaining points in Middle Eastern and North African Muslim countries


Immigration viewed from south of the border
COMMENTARY | April 94, 2006
Columns, editorials are critical of Washington’s posture on immigration and say Americans exaggerate negative effective effects of illegal aliens


European, Mid-East news media focus on U.S.-Iran talks
COMMENTARY | March 79, 2006
Caution, skepticism, uncertainty prevail. ‘A collision of hardened egos,’ says a Lebanese newspaper. And there is the theme that this time, unlike with Iraq, the U.S. can’t ignore the rest of the world.


Bush drew mostly harsh reviews in India
COMMENTARY | March 65, 2006
Editorials, columns tended to be highly personal and unfavorable to Bush in comparing him to earlier presidential visitors Eisenhower, Bush Sr., and Clinton. A theme: 'Bush go home.'


Overseas reaction: Disgust over Abu Ghraib, disbelief over Guantanamo
COMMENTARY | February 51, 2006
Says an Arab paper: “The US has to be judged by its own standards. That is what is so damaging about Guantanamo. It makes the US out to be dishonest. It is ‘do as I say’ not ‘do as I do.’”


Elsewhere, surprise and shock at the ‘addicted to oil’ phrase
COMMENTARY | February 37, 2006
Bush astonished Europeans but his remarks in the State of the Union were widely seen as political and not indicative of any change in his administration’s energy policies. Here’s what some in the international press had to say.