Jeerawat Na Thalang of The Nation newspaper in Bangkok, Thailand, was based at the Raleigh News & Observer in North Carolina, and she watched that state reverse a decades-long trend of voting Republican in presidential elections.

“I am amazed by the role of the TV ads … in the U.S. politics. In Thailand, the TV commercials for politicians are new and the politicians tend to coyly introduce themselves on the TV ads. The American politicians seem to use the TV ads to their full advantage…

“I was also amazed by the role of the Late Night Shows on the politics: Saturday Night Live and quite a few of late night shows which tend to parody the political candidates. These shows become a factor to reckon with. This is a lesson for whoever covers the U.S. election that it is not only about pure politics, but the media, the celebrity and the pop culture.”