Media Relations in the Pandemic Era: Learning Mandarin

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging, that doesn’t mean relationships with the media aren’t being maintained. As part of their public relations activities, PR practitioners must think as creatively as possible to maintain relationships with journalists. It’s even better if these public relations activities can address their needs and answer their questions.

To that end, in order to strengthen existing relationships with journalists, iQiyi and Media Buffet PR have launched an initiative to help journalists improve their communication skills, particularly in Mandarin.

“Master the Language with iQiyi” is an intensive and exclusive program for selected journalists, offering them the opportunity to learn Mandarin for free. The program’s kickoff took place last Saturday, August 14, 2021, marking the start of the first class for Batch 1, which was attended by journalists from various local and national media outlets as well as members of the Chinese drama fan community.

The “Master the Language with iQiyi” classes are 100% online via Zoom and will be held twice a week—every Wednesday and Saturday—for three months. iQiyi and Media Buffet PR are partnering with Jakarta Mandarin to provide mentors who will teach practical Mandarin through scenes from movies streaming on iQiyi. How exciting is that? When else do you get to learn a language from movies?

For fellow journalists who missed out on learning Mandarin, don’t worry! Batch 2 of “Master the Language with iQiyi” will open this coming November, and it’s sure to be just as exciting!