Louise Williams

Louise Williams is an Australian journalist who has covered Asia for more than a decade, based in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. She has worked primarily for the sister publications, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, but has also written for The Independent (London), The Observer (London), as well as filing reports for the BBC World Service. In 1999 she was part of the Herald's team covering East Timor which won the Walkley Award for excellence in journalism for coverage of the Asia Pacific region. In 1994 she won the Citibank Pan Asia Journalism Award in conjunction with Colombia University. She has written two books on the region and contributed to several others.

Losing Control »

Freedom of the Press in Asia

Publication date: January 2014
‘A free press is not a luxury. A free press is at the absolute core of equitable development’ according to World Bank President James Wolfensohn. A free press is also the key to transparency and good governance and is an indispensable feature of a democracy. So how does Asia rate? In Losing Control, leading journalists analyse the state of play in all the countries of North Asia and Southeast Asia. From the herd journalism of Japan to the Stalinist system of North Korea, Losing Control provides an inside look at journalism and freedom of the press in each country. One conclusion—a combination of new technology and greater democracy is breaking the shackles that once constrained the press in Asia. ‘Brings together Asia’s best and brightest observers of the press.’ Hamish McDonald, Foreign Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald ‘A rare insiders’ view exposing the real dynamics behind social and political change in Asia.’ Evan Williams, Foreign Correspondent, ABC TV ‘A timely and necessary contribution to the debate over the quality of freedom in Asia.’ Geoffrey Barker, The Australian Financial Review