Vale Barry Pearton: Founder, Editor, Asia Today International

Malaysia Sun

a day ago

In the early 1980s, after witnessing opportunities in Asia, Barry Pearton saw a clear gap in Australia's media market. Without nothing but optimism, courage and a kitchen table as his office, he founded Asia Today International.
With his wife, Florence as the editor, Barry brought news on the economic development of Asia to Corporate Australia, at a time when news on Asia was mainly event-driven and negative. The headlines then were about the murder of Australian journalists in East Timor, or the boatpeople from Vietnam. Such was the fodder of news reporting from Asia - much to the annoyance of some Asian governments,
notably the sensitive Malaysian government who objected to the tone of reporting on the country.
In a few short years, the newsletter format matured into a subscription magazine.
Asia Today International became part of the reading library at many airline lounges in airports around Australia and Asian gateway cities. It was carried onboard by Asian airlines and a sprinkling of carriers on their Asian routes. But it was Qantas that provided a key distribution channel for the magazine. The magazine was also available to guests in the club floors of some of Asia's leading hotel chains.
Barry was prescient in his observation of events in Asia and, indeed, the wider world.
In its editorial, published in October 1997, he wrote: "In our 1994 Yearbook, ASIA'95, we said the latter half of the1990s would present relatively more risks in Asia than did the1980s - because Asian economies in the '80s were able to commit to development unencumbered by political constraint. "It is ironic," we said then, "that Australian unwittingly led the best decade of Asia go..."
He tagged the 1995 Yearbook, ASIA '96, "a year of living cautiously". "1995 was the year of the Mexican crisis - and a year in which the yen appreciated markedly. We pointed to worrying trade gaps in some Asian countries as a consequence of strong foreign investment flows, and of widening trade deficits in Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea," he wrote.
The Asian Financial Crisis occurred in 1997 largely due to debt as a result of trade deficit. "In our 1996 Yearbook, ASIA'97, we noted the collapse of the electronics markets and its impact on Asia's export sector, The question challenging economic planners, particularly in Thailand and Indonesia, is whether this is a cyclical downturn or whether it implies a more deep-seated problem,' we said at the time."
And so on.
Barry was one of the wittiest headline writers there were in his generation. In one issue published in October 2009 he wrote: "Will G7 sink the good ship Recovery?
The issue covered the aftermath of the global financial crisis and the counter- productive policy decisions of the developed economies.
Barry's cover headline for the December/January 2019/20 issue was "Asia 2040 The Shape of Things to Come. Among the stories was the instability in Asia and the shift towards a bipolar world. And it asked: "US-China trade war: The new normal?"
Although the magazine was originally conceived for Corporate Australia, its coverage was such that it was picked up by global subscription agencies such as Lexus Nexus, EBSCO and others.
Over 38 years, and a bulging archive of more than a million words capturing the growing pains of Asia and celebrated Asia's economic success gave Barry a unique perspective of the region.
Of all the countries where he worked, Hong Kong captured his heart. So, it was with deep sadness that he wrote "Breaking Hearts in the Streets of Sorrow" in the December 2019/January 2020 issue.
These were his words: "Expect the unexpected. It is the timing, the sheer suddenness of the violence and civil disobedience, that is spooking business in trouble spots across the world today. Who, less than six months ago, could have foreseen the streets of flames, teargas, terror, bitterness and sorrow that epitomise Hong Kong today...."
Barry's time in Hongkong was formative. Most importantly, he met and successfully wooed, to the envy of many colleagues, fellow journalist Florence.
Among his various roles in Hongkong was as correspondent for the Melbourne Herald which took him to China to cover Gough Whitlam's ground-breaking trip there.
Not known for his attachment to trade unionism, at least in Australia, he also served as Chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association. In that capacity he successfully the argued the case for proper compensation for the employees of the China Mail, a lively afternoon paper which was closed down with scant notice or severance pay by its rich owner, the South China Morning Post.
Barry was also closely involved, with fellow Australian Jack Spackman, in the founding of the HK Press Club, a Wanchai meeting spot for local journalists then not allowed to join the Foreign Correspondents Club.
After Hong Kong, Barry had a brief stint in London where he worked shifts at the now defunct News of the World and Construction News.
Upon his return to Australia, Barry kept up with old friends from Hongkong, some of whom contributed to Asia Today International and was always open to a meal or a drink and share news, gossip and ideas, always good-humoured with those with whom he disagreed. In short, a good friend, an excellent journalist and -- let's not forget -- an entrepreneur.
Barry was lived through the changes in journalism moving from hot metal printing that he experienced working for the Herald Sun in Melbourne and later in the South China Post in Hong Kong to digital production.
He found it hard to reconcile with the changes that journalism has undergone with the advent of the Internet and social media. He could not understand how young journalists could consider what was published on social media as a source for a story. For him it is all about the footwork, about the face-to-face interviews and not just one but multiple to double-check and triple-check facts.
His style was pedantic, and some would say old school. For him every comma must be in the right place, and grammar must be impeccable. He was always with a red pen ready to correct copies submitted by his correspondents.
Asia Today International consumed the last 40 years of his life. It was a labour of love and source of great pride.
Barry was born on December 31, 1944, at Colac a small Victorian town. He went to at least a dozen schools as his father, an executive of what was then GJ Coles, the forerunner of Coles Supermarket chain, was transferred from city to city to open new stories.
When not subbing and producing his magazine or talking politics with his friends Barry could be found immersed in the latest spy novels. He loved conspiracy theories and delighted to identify landmarks that he had read about in books during his travels whether it is the Dome in Paris (in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code) or the endless mention of Foggy Bottom and Pentagon in a huge array of other novels about the CIA agents.
Barry passed away peacefully with his wife, Florence, by his side on March 15,2025. He will be deeply missed by all those who know him.
Source: Asia Today International