Your nightly homework assignment.

When you travel in America, it seems that wherever you go, a copy of USA Today will end up at your hotel room door. It doesn’t tell you much about what’s going on back home, nor does it give you much insight about where you happen to be. You don’t get the cartoons you like, but you do get lots of advertising. And a weather map that doesn’t quite tell you whether it will rain or not in the city you happen to be in.

But as a quick read of national headlines, sports scores, and pop culture, it does its job. Basic conversation fodder for your industry tradeshow or training workshop.

The English-language China Daily that appears in the middle of your room while you’re not there serves the same purpose. It’s about the same size, with a similar distribution of articles. You’ve got your sports hero, cute kid, and wacky criminal stories just like home. You’ve got a weather map that doesn’t list your city. The big difference is that USA Today promotes its advertising, while the China Daily promotes the point of view of the Chinese government and the Communist Party.

You should read this paper while you’re in China. One reason is that after a few days, you’ll be craving any kind of English-language media. Another reason is that any other English-language magazine or newspaper you pick up at a newsstand or hotel gift shop has been edited by the government. So the third reason is for homework. What you’ll read here is the same editorial slant that you’ll see on the TV news broadcasts. How do they cover events in America / Australia / Europe? How does it correspond to the coverage you’re used to? What kinds of stories get more attention? How are sports stories reported, how are business stories reported?

You probably won’t agree with everything you see in the China Daily, but it’s worth your time - because it will help you better understand the mindset and media environment of your child’s birth culture.