Editorial - IIAS Newsletter Online 26

The year 2001 marked a few changes in the Newsletter, among which are some introductions among the editorial board. Mark Meulenbeld (Princeton University) has joined us as our new China Editor, and Stephan van Galen (CNWS, Leiden University) has taken on the editorship for the Southeast Asia mainland. We would like to point out that our IIAS colleagues also deserve recognition for their very hard work in taking on the formidable task of assembling and editing news published in the Pink Pages. The IIAS Newsletter is shaped by the combined efforts of the editorial board, the staff, and, of course, our readership. Over the years, the editorial room had been assembling a file of readers' reactions called 'Fanmail', which has proven to be a source of support in times of deadline aggravations. However, in the past several months, the file has accrued a value somewhat beyond that, as it tells us a great deal about who our readership is, what you appreciate, and, inevitably, don't appreciate about the Newsletter. At the beginning of 2001, the IIAS embarked on an effort to canvass a random selection of our readership with an opinion survey; we sent it out to associates and colleagues and asked about the Newsletter in terms of its relevence, approach, appearance, variety, and various other features. It was in this spirit that we invited Han van der Horst, a historian with Nuffic, to address our readers with his view on the Newsletter. We agree with a number of his points, and we very much hope that he and you will appreciate the modern subject matter taken up in this issue's special theme section, 'Pop Music in Asia', guest edited by Keith Howard of SOAS in London. A message to all of our readers keep letting us know what you think!

* The Editors