Sekiya - News

[Sekiya]

Overview

This post covers the history of news in Sekiya and has a list of hyperlinks with each Sekiyan news source I have created so far, and any articles published by said publisher!

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History of News in Sekiya

Early News

Historically, the news industry in Sekiya has been extremely lacking. In the late 1200s, when Sekiya united as a country, the nation only had 1 nationwide newspaper, with extremely poor efficiency, often reporting on issues late, and with papers taking sometimes up to 2 weeks to be delivered to rural communities. Many cities, such as the rapidly developing Xinghai and the industrial behemoth of Heping had many city-wide newspapers, that covered city and national news, however had extremely limited reach.

The first reliable, nationwide newspaper in Sekiya came in 1297, when the Order of Starism created the Starist Chronical. Sekiya was abundant with Starist temples and shrines, both within the inner cities and rural communities, and all of these locations were well mapped and accessible to the Order, making them the perfect place to distribute their weekly paper. The Chronical wasn't like most papers at the time and was more like a pamphlet that just happened to contain some news. Being run by the church, the paper's was free, with most of the work towards the paper being voluntary, and funded by Tithe. However, its views were very religion centric and appraising of the Sovereign, with little to no cover on critical stories. The Starist Chronical was grew rapidly in size and popularity, and by 1305, around 90% of Sekiya had reliable access to the Starist Chronical.

As Sekiya became more connected, both locally and globally, the interest in news started to increase, and the Chronical just wasn't enough anymore. Following the beginning of the establishment of rail in Sekiya, a local city paper based in Xinghai, decided to use rail to distribute it's papers. Now known as Nanwen, they initially expanded to the nearby city of Anzhou. From there, they expanded quickly into the states of Damao and Daxing, and by 1325, was the most widespread, daily paper in Sekiya. A second printing office was opened in the city of Anning, and later a third in Weishan, solidifying Nanwen's domination on news in the south. Nanwen inspired many other papers to go regional, such as Fugu News. 

Fun fact! To this day, the Starist Chronical is still being published and distributed across shrines and temples, however, is now treated more as a religious newsletter.

Radio

Radio was introduced to Sekiya in 1324, however was restricted to government and military use. Sekiya's radio infrastructure boomed with the outbreak of the Nuran war, as the nation made huge investments into its radio coverage. Following the end of the war, Sekiya, now with a large war debt, started selling off and privatizing radio towers. The first company to make efficient usage of Radio in Sekiya was Heping News Network. HNN had been a strong news distributer in Heping for over 3 decades, however was struggling to distribute it's news across the bustling city, which had now effectively engulfed several surrounding cities in the area. HNN's first radio broadcast was made in late 1345, and has broadcasted every* day since then.

*HNN, like other stations, doesn't broadcast on the day of the Sovereign's death. Additionally, an anti-monarchist terrorist attack in 1390 which almost collapsed HNN Tower, caused the service to halt for 3 days.

TV

TV came to Sekiya in 1358, however there was very little demand for it. Even in 1360, much of rural Sekiya was unconnected to Sekiya's national power grid, and for those living in the cities, the average, depressingly small studio apartment enjoyed by millions of workers could not fit a TV, let alone have sufficient signal strength. Due to this, TVs only really thrived in communal areas, primarily bars, where people would sit, and watch shows and sports. News wouldn't make a breakthrough onto TV until the 1380s, as many preferred getting their news from a radio, instead of going out just to watch it.

Due to their decrease in size and ability to be wall mountain, many Sekiyan homes have a TV, however, there still exists a culture of watching TV as a social event, with most stadiums and plazas featuring a large screen TV that can be used to broadcast events, such as sports. Most home TVs are usually used for movies, and recently, video games.

Did you know? Introduced as part of the 1393 Television & Radio Standardization Bill, advertisement segments may not take up more than 5 minutes and 28 seconds per hour broadcasted.

Online

Most news corporations started distributing news online when the Internet came to Sekiya, with Online news becoming more popular than traditional newspapers by 1411.

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News Companies

Whilst all Sekiyan news companies are independent, the government has occasionally silenced stories, which subtly prompts most papers to be pro-government, or at least cautious with how it reports on criticism.

南闻 Nánwén (Southern News)

Nanwen is a large television and news company that operates primarily in the south of Sekiya, however, is available nationwide. Nanwen is easily available in Common, making it the most popular Sekiyan news outlet abroad. Nanwen have acknowledged this and have started to market their news towards Esferos.

• World Cup of Football 3 - Draw / Festival of Light
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• World Cup of Football 3 - Match 3 Comments / Typhoon Ling
• Top polls in Sekiya today! - 30/01/23

和平新闻网 Hépíng Xīnwén Wǎng (Heping News Network / HNN)

Heping News Network is a large television and news company that operates nationally but is most popular in the Heping Metropolitan Area. Typically, HNN is a 'serious' paper, publishing on politics, finance and large stories, aiming to avoid what could be considered 'Sensational news'.

• Coming soon!

富谷报纸 Fùgù Bàozhǐ (Fugu News)

Fugu News is a large, but regional television and news company, operating primarily in Fugu Province. It mostly covers local stories in the province, and big national stories.

• Crashed Nuran war fighter plane found in Northern Fugu

[Sekiya]

Top Story - Crashed Nuran war fighter plane found in Northern Fugu

In a chance of total luck, life-time Fugu Province resident and farmer Liu Qiang (刘强) dug up what appeared to be fragments of an ejector seat whilst ploughing the field on his family farm earlier this week. Qiang reported his discovery to the Fuzhou Imperial War Museum, and within 24 hours, the fragments were identified to be from a Zhongyu ZY7 [External Link - Darkepedia], nicknamed the Xinghuo (星火 - 'Starfire'). A search team was quickly formed, and an approximated crash area was calculated by Archaeologists.

After 6 days, the crash site was found in the west of Heben Province, near the border of Fugu. The plane was identified as a test flight that had gone missing, along with its pilot in 1342, who was presumed dead, however with the wreckage found, it is now more likely that the pilot survived the crash, although it is unclear to his fate.

Map showing the location of the ejector seat fragments, the approximated crash site area, and the location of the crash site.

The wreckage discovered in Fugu is now the fourth remaining intact Xinghuo, and will be displayed at the Fuzhou Imperial War Museum. Currently, the Xinghai Naval Air Museum has one of the other remaining three planes, which was donated by the Sekiyan Air Force in 1348 following its retirement. At the time, it was presumed to be the last remaining, fully intact Xinghuo. However, in 1360, one was found in a private collection in Kalmach and was donated to the National Museum in Easthaven. In 1370, a second Xinghuo was donated by the Kalmachian government, which had captured the plane during the war to study its design, to the same museum in Kalmach's capital. Sadly, it is unlikely that the ZY7 found in Fugu will be able to be restored to a condition like the one shown in Xinghai, which remains the most intact Xinghuo to date, with further wreckage sites unlikely to be found, as most went down over the sea near Kalmach, with the rest being scrapped.

The ZY7 Xinghuo on display in Xinghai

The Xinghuo was a short-range interceptor, produced from late 1342 until 1335. Around 140 were built in total and were stationed in both Fugo and Daxing, with the intention of deterring and intercepting Kalmachian bomber raids on Sekiya from the sea or within Ionia. The Xinghuo saw little usage, and in the later stages of the war, most were sent to Aukera as Sekiyan air volunteers.

We spoke to Liu Qiang, and some others involved in the recovery effort of the Xinghuo, let's see what they have to say!
 

	Liu Qiang (刘强): "It's crazy really, it's a very exciting discovery, and an amazing piece of Sekiyan history! Northern Fugu rarely sees any mention in the media, and it's exciting to think that this all came from this small farm! I hope that when the Xinghuo makes its way onto a display in the Fuzhou Imperial War Museum that it will be enjoyed by all."
	Sun Zhiqiang (孙志强): "As the director of the Fuzhou Imperial War Museum, this is one of the most exciting discoveries we have made in the 40 years of my presidency. I'm excited to see what the Xinghuo will look like in our museum, and how we can bring light to this amazing marvel of Sekiyan engineering."
	Wang Mei (王梅): "After 20 years of working on a huge range of historical planes, the Xinghuo is by far the plane I'm most excited to work on. It's an iconic design, and I look forward to being able to restore the plane to how it would have looked all those years ago."

Fugu news will follow this story into the future, and we look forward to seeing the magnificent Xinghuo on display within the coming years!

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[Sekiya]

Top polls in Sekiya today

Today, we'll be having a look at some of the most popular polls currently running on our website! These polls have collectively been voted on over 10 million times by people all across Sekiya! Let's have a look into them!

#1 - Would you support mandatory military conscription in a war?

27.6% - Yes, In any war.

24.2% - Yes, only in a defensive war.

48.2% - No, not in any war.

Top comments:

小雨文 [Voted: No, not in any war.] - I am one of tens of millions of Sekiyans that would say no to a conscription, or any kind of mandatory service, in any scenario. I love Sekiya, and you can bet that if our country is at war, I will do anything I can to help our great nation, however like many others, I am not a soldier, I do not want to be a soldier. The best place I can Sekiya is on the home front, be it helping with production or agriculture. We do not want to see a repeat of what happened in the Nuran war.

阴阳师 [Voted: Yes, in any war.] - My grandfather fought in the Nuran war for my freedom and every Sekiyan should be willing to lay down their life to make sure that the next generation of Sekiyans 

你的爱国 [Voted: Yes, In any war.] - SEKIYA RAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

NANW3NSUPP0RT [Did not vote] - ATTENTION: TO ALL NANWEN USERS! YOUR NANWEN ACCOUNTS WILL BE PERMAMENTLY DISABLE. YOU MUST REGISTER YOUR NANWEN ACCOUNT WITH TO BE AVOIDING PERMAMENTLY DISABLED. CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTION CAREFULLY! www.naanween.sk

meilidehua [Voted: Yes, only in a defensive war.] - I think that any war Sekiya seeks out would be unlawful, unconstitutional and against the merits of Starism, however if the future of Sekiya is at stake, I would happily defend my country and expect all able-bodied Sekiyans to take up arms also.

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#2 - What is your favourite Badashi?

Badashi - A term used to refer to Sekiya's largest 8 cities. Literally means '8 Big Cities'.

14.5% - Anzhou

10.1% - Changjing

9.6% - Cuigang

12.3% - Fuzhou

11.2% - Heping

8.2% - Weishan

15.4% - Xinghai

8.6% - Xingyuan

Top comments:

User3834 [Voted: Anzhou] - Heping is by far the worst Badashi. The only reason it's voted so highly here is it's high population! I must admit Xinghai probably does deserve top spot... but who can even afford to live there by today's standards! I love Anzhou, I grew up in Damao and moved to Anzhou for university... have lived here ever since! 

什么人士 [Voted: Heping] - Lol, if this wasn't a south-biased website then Heping would easily win. We singlehandedly carry the Sekiyan economy!!!!

Dayuan [Voted: Xingyuan] - It's a bit of a shame... Xingyuan is wonderful and has some of the best festivals and outdoors spaces in Sekiya, but gets a low rating because low population and people confuse us with Xinghai...

yueliangdehua [Voted: Xinghai]  - XINGHAI! XINGHAI! XINGHAI! Literally the best city in the world! The jewel of the southern hemisphere! Xinghai will overtake Heping's population and economy by 1350! Xinghai No.1!!!!

Lucie Camembert [Voted: Xinghai] - I'm an international student but Xinghai is the only city on this list that people outside of Sekiya would even consider a civilized place! MAYBE anzhou too. But nothing compares to Xinghai on this list.

longbao [Voted: Changjing] - The Capital is seriously underrated! I don't find many people in the nanwen forums that live in Changjing though, it's a shame!

User2637 [Did not vote] - Alexa how do I vote? Alexa, stop typing. Ah- oh- it keeps typing what I'm saying! Help! Help! Alexa, turn off!

笑乐 [Voted: Weishan] - I gave up on Weishan a long time ago.... no one visits weishan.... no one lives in weishan... sometimes i wonder... how many people in weishan even use the internet.... -_______- BUT it is my home...

云上飞行 [Voted: Weishan] - Lol...I live in Donggu for my whole life.... the farming life is easy! But i did go to Changjing on a school trip once, that was pretty fun! 

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#3 - What is your favourite Sekiyan Top Five University?

According to the 1323 HNN Report. Organised in order of highest rating, top to bottom.

23.4% - Anzhou School of Law (ASU)

18.7% - Xinghai International (XIU)

27.9% - Anzhou Medical University (AMU)

12.5% - Heping Institute of Technology (HIT)

17.5% - Anzhou East University (AEU)

Top comments:

冰山 [Voted: ASU] - I graduated from ASU 3 years ago... I didn't even study law, but instead geology...I specialized in Auran rock formations! it's really interesting, good class sizes, good lecturers, and I got to study abroad in Giovanniland for a year!

User8934 [Voted: AEU] - AEU is awesome! Although it's kinda sad when I tell someone I study in Anzhou and they get disappointed when I don't say AMU or ASU... but it's cool to see AEU on here! I study 2nd year Physics btw

月儿 [Voted: HIT] - People hate on HTC because it's in Heping and people assume that good universities can only be in the south! wrong! HIT is the best university in Sekiya, and the leading place for robotics and AI research in the country!

爱爱爱 [Voted: XIU] - I DONT REALLY KNOW WHAT I'M DOING BUT I GOT A SCHOLARSHIP TO XIU TO PLAY FOOTBALL!!!!! GO XIU!!!

zezémata [Voted: XIU]  - I am international student from Giovanniland. I like Xinghai International. Very nice university, I am studying Nuran history!

User1123 [Voted: AMU] - I love AMU but don't come to this university unless you're ready to sell your soul to gain the energy you need to keep up with all the work...lololol

liuli [Voted: AEU] - I live in Fuzhou but I'm hoping to study at AEU next year! I really really wanna study in Anzhou because it's where my favourite S-POP band is based in!

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21:09 懿月三蓝周

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End of the 1424 Yìyuè festival season

Today marks the last day of the 1424 Yìyuè celebrations across Sekiya and other starist-aligned nations. 

For those of you living under a rock, the Yìyuè festival spans the second week of Sekiya's 11th month, Yìyuè. The festival celebrates the supposed birth of Kang, the founder of the starist church. Kang was born on Hǔzhōu, and this is the day that the majority of celebrations take place. This day, second only to the Sekiyan New Year, is the day in which the most fireworks are set off on any day in Sekiya! This year set a new record, with a 48 minute long fireworks display in Xingyuan, the longest ever in Sekiya.

The week is considered Sekiya's national holiday. During the week, all schools are closed, and many businesses and shops are closed or open for half a day. Due to this, several other events have been tied into the week. As Yìyuè is also the month dedicated to the diety of Justice, Sekiya's shrines and temples are packed throughout the entire week, as tens of millions across the country seek to improve their standings with the gods, to ensure good dreams throughout Mèngyuè, next month.

In this article, we will be covering the traditional week of the Yìyuè Festival.

A note for our non-Sekiyan readers: The Sekiyan calendar is very different to the Markan Calendar! Instead of 12 months of varying lengths, the Sekiyan Calendar has 13 months, each with 30 days spread across 4 weeks, except for the 7th month, Yángyuè, which has an extra day as a national holiday on the Sekiyan solstice! 

The Sekiyan days of the week are Fěnzhōu, Gànzhōu, Lánzhōu, Cuìzhōu, Huángzhōu, Hǔzhōu and Chìzhōu, with Fěnzhōu and Gànzhōu being the two days of the week considered as the 'weekend'. In Sekiya, dates aren't typically written as the number of a month (I.e '20th Yiyue'), instead dates are written as the week and the day (I.e '2 Fěnzhōu' - aka 'Week 2, Fěnzhōu').

2 Fěnzhōu (7 Apr) & 2 Gànzhōu (8 Apr)

Whilst the fesitval hasn't officially started yet, typically people spend these days with their families and preparing stalls and food for the upcoming week.

2 Lánzhōu (9 Apr)

2 Lánzhōu is considered the first day of festivities, and is the day that most festival stalls will open. The majority of all towns and cities will have a 'festival area', with food stalls, gift stalls, outdoor games, and other recreation. 

2 Cuìzhōu (10 Apr)

On 2 Cuìzhōu, the festivities from the previous day continue. Mainly, people on this day will be worrying about preparing for the next two days of the festival, however on the early evening, cities and big towns will have a precession through the streets, composed of performers, dancers, musicians and other moving displays. 

2 Huángzhōu (11 Apr)

On 2 Huángzhōu, families tend to have their biggest meal of the year. Traditionally, families will have a 13 course meal, spread across the entire day, from breakfast to bedtime. Different parts of the meal are prepared by different people within the family, and often, neighboring smaller families may join together to share a bigger meal. The tradition of this feast comes from the idea that the population of the country should be well fed and energised in preparation for Kang's birthday. 

2 Hǔzhōu (12 Apr)

3 Hǔzhōu is the day that Kang was born, and Sekiya's national day, thus making it the most important day of the week. Many spend the day preparing for the evenings celebrations and attenting to festival stalls. In the evening, the stalls close for around an hour, for the crowds to watch the firework displays. It is said that each year on Kang's birthday, there is a chance that they will be reborn, and so cities and towns host firework displays so that it can be hoped that Kang will be able to find Sekiya and return.

2 Chìzhōu (13 Apr)

3 Chìzhōu is generally a day of rest, however many festival activities will carry over, such as the food stalls, outdoor games etc. for those that missed them. In the evening, to draw an end to the week, many people will attend a viewing of one of Sekiya's many traditional plays. These are done often by Schools, Amatuer theatre groups and professional theatre groups. These plays are between 20-30 minutes long, and are typically based on ancient literatary works in Sekiya, and feature storytelling, music and dance.

One of the popular stories told through play, written around a millenia ago in Sekiya, tells the tale of a young scholar on their journey to the Sekiyan capital to find greatness. Along the way, the scholar encounters a diverse array of people that challenge his original views on life, teaching him the importance of society, family and home. Upon reaching the capital, the scholar meets the emperor and is offered a position in the imperial court, however the scholar refuses, deciding that his place is instead back at his home village with his family. 

The play is unique in that the main character in the story is ambiguous, perhaps intended to allow the reader/watcher to fill the shoes of the protagonist. The tale is by far the most acted play in Sekiya.

3 Fěnzhōu (14 Apr) & 3 Gànzhōu (15 Apr)

Whilst the holiday is at this point, officially over, 3 Fěnzhōu and 3 Gànzhōu are not typically working days in Sekiya, meaning many people have these days off! Across these days, there is a big effort into the cleanup of the Yìyuè festival. Additionally, as the 'last chance' before returning to work, many will take one last visit to a shrine or a temple. There is also lots of charitable work done on these days.

3 Lánzhōu (16 Apr)

3 Lánzhōu marks the first day back to work and school for Sekiyans. With less than 2 months to go until the Sekiyan new year, students and workers alike will find the next several weeks to go quickly in the lead up to Sekiya's next big festival week.