Top 8 Media People In Asia You Should Follow

Being one of the largest and most populous continents in the world, Asia houses some of the top talents in media and journalism. The growing influence of the Asian continent on the world stage has similarly elevated the power of its top media people.

In spite of the incredible internet boom and various corresponding choices that medium has opened, you can still find journalism holding a firm ground. This is because there are still a few journalists who despite this have showcased outstanding work and have pushed the envelope to become national influencers. 

Media platforms are playing a pivotal role in building a startup ecosystem in the continent and there are a few who have made a significant contribution to Asia’s tech communities. So, here are our top 8 media people in Asia you should follow. These individuals are iconic professionals who made an impact in the field of media and journalism. From writing blogs to anchoring shows to starting their startups these people have created their own path with their abilities and sheer grit to do something new and different.

Terence Lee

Terence is the chief editor of one of Southeast Asia’s leading media, events, and job platforms- TechinAsia. The company aims to build and serve Asia’s startup and tech community. Mr. Lee oversees content quality and editorial strategy and has transitioned the company through many editorial pivots. A journalist by heart, he has made a niche for himself. He focuses on mobile and web companies, detailing tech trends in the region and how it can affect the lives of millions of people. He enjoys sharing deep stories that combine analysis, narrative, and punchy prose to draw out both macro trends and micro-moments. He always looks out for breaking stories that no one else has told. He is number one in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.

Mohan Belani

Mohan is the co-founder and CEO at e27. With specialties in early-stage tech investments, startups in Asia, strategic partnerships, business development, community management, content strategy, media, events, and marketing; Mr. Belani has made a mark in the field of journalism. His company, e27 is an online platform that serves as intermediary matching investors, entrepreneurs, and people who look out for work in an innovation-led environment.  He did his graduation from the National University of Singapore and went to Silicon Valley for a year where his perspective changed as he was exposed to a lot of startups. It is then as out of interest and to build a startup community e27 was born. He also hosted a Startup TV show in his initial days for 2 years. He is number two in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.

James Jung

The founder of beSUCCESS Media Group, Mr. James Jung is a graduate of the prestigious Hanyang University. beSUCCESS is a leading media house based out of Seoul, South Korea and offers multiple media platforms to introduce revolutionary startup ventures from Asia to a global audience. The company inspires readers by sharing interesting business trends and ideas from across the globe. beSUCCESS media group runs some of the leading media brands in Asia – beSUCCESS, AsiaTechDaily, KoreaTechDesk, KoreaTechToday, and KoreaProductPost. Mr. Jung is also a founder of ‘BEGINNING’ which is a new initiative from beSUCCESS to help turn people’s causes, visions, and ideas into crowdsourced actionable goals. He is also an ambassador for MITA (Malta Information Technology Agency) Innovation HUB where he connects the startup communities in Korea with acceleration, funding, and regulatory opportunities provided by the government of Malta. He is also the Seoul Chapter Leader for Government Blockchain Association and an anchor sponsor for Blockchain for Impact in New York. He is number three in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.

Masaru IKEDA

Masaru is a tech entrepreneur, journalist/tech blogger and system consultant. He is the co-founder of ‘The Bridge’ and is based in Japan. He started his career as a writer for an IT publication when he just 12-year-old. At the age of 20, he started surveys on the IT industry in Silicon Valley and Asia and visited these regions for covering services and new technologies by interviewing many important players in this field. He has also served as a system consultant for live programs in Nippon Broadcasting Co. He was also involved in a project with Japan’s largest cellphone operator of developing handset embedded wallet system. With his vast knowledge about new technologies, he has helped independent venture capital firms by providing due-diligence on IT startups. He has also been teaching open-source-based system integration process to students in Japan’s national Aid program for developing countries. Some of his famous publications include serial column- “Near Future that realized by internet” on Sankei Express Newspaper in 2007-2008, “Scroll” on the Sankei Shimbun Newspaper (2007), “IT-Expert Tsushin” on the Sankei Express Newspaper (2006). He specializes in cutting-edge internet technologies and manages innovative businesses. He is number four in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.

Alok Soni

Alok is a team member with YourStory, one of India’s largest media tech platform for innovators and businesses. He is an alumnus of BITS Pilani and is based out of Bangalore, India. He started his career as a project trainee with Mysore Paper Mill, Bhadravathi, India. He has also been a campus ambassador with BITS Pilani for ColonK, a merchandising platform where you could design and order your own customized goods such as; T-Shirts, mugs, clocks, bags, etc. Before joining YourStory he also worked as a Research Associate with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. His stories revolve around startups and new technologies, to name a few- “The lowdown on AI logistics startup Locus $22M funding by Falcon Edge and Tiger Global” (2019), “Bitten by wanderlust, driven by technology-Arvind Nithrakashyap’s journey to Rubrik” (2018). He is number five in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.

Oranuch (Mimee) L

She is the co-founder and CEO of Techsauce Media, one of the leading media for tech startups and corporate innovation in Thailand. She is also the co-founder of Thumbsup Media, a leading digital marketing & blog community in Thailand. Ms. Mimee before starting her own business has more than 12  years of experience in marketing-related roles and product strategy with some of the leading IT& Telecom companies such as; Atos Origin, Total Access Communication (DTAC), and Truemove. She has expertise in tech startups and entrepreneurship, innovation, digital marketing, product development, and big data analysis. She is number six in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.

Rama Mamuaya 

Rama is the founder of DailySocial.net and his work can be read in both the English and Indonesian versions of the website. He manages entirety for his blog from codes, reports, doing researches, events, webmaster stuff, and even washing the dishes. He is a tech startup enthusiast and advocate of tech-entrepreneurship. Mr. Mamuaya has also spoken on various international stages to a global audience about innovation, tech policy, tech ecosystem, and entrepreneurship. He is passionate about technology and did his Bachelor, Information System from Universitas Tarumanagara (Untar). To name a few of his popular stories- “Indonesia unlikely to see widespread 4G LTE rollout until at least 2014” (2013), “Google continues YouTube’s local push with a dedicated site in Indonesia.” (2012), “Why Rocket Internet and its clones are doing Southeast Asia a favor.” (2012). He is number seven in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.

Gang Lu

Gang Lu is the founder and CEO of TechNode and is one of the most recognized influencers of China in the global technology sector. He is a blogger, Ph.D., a speaker, a geek with a passion for the internet, tech, and R ‘N’R. His latest blog is “It’s not just Silicon Valley any more” which was published in November 2019. What started as his personal blog soon became a highly respected international innovation platform with 6 business units. His company connects China’s startup technology with the rest of the world. He has done his Ph.D. in Wireless Communications from the University of Sheffield and has been honored in 2017 with the ‘1000 Talents Plan’ of Shanghai. He has also received the British Council’s Study UK Alumni Entrepreneurial Award, 2017-18. Some of his interesting reads include- “Sorry Apple, your “most advanced” features are already commonplace in China”(2018), TechCrunch Hangzhou: Beyond Unicorns” (2018), “Southeast Asia, we have arrived” (2018). His personal blog that was on the Internet Market news in Asia especially in China was voted as the best China Tech Blog in 2007-2008. He is passionate about the Open Web concept and is quite active in building efficient channels between Asia web and global industry besides among the Asian local markets. He is number eight in our list of top 8 media people in Asia you should follow.