CCTV is expanding its overseas presence by increasing the size of its international bureau from 19 to 50 staff in the next three years; even the official journal of the Chinese Communist Party, Seeking Truth, is launching its English edition this year. Beijing is also piloting an ambitious international journalist training program led by a consortium of leading Chinese universities with the specific goal of training the necessary manpower to staff China’s overseas media empire.
Top leaders in Beijing have supported the ‘Go Abroad’ strategy for the Chinese media. During a visit by Hu Jintao to CCTV and the People’s Daily, he emphasised the weakness of the Chinese position in the global media landscape and urged the need to upgrade China’s ‘national cultural soft power.’
The newly appointed head of Xinhua News Agency told his staff that ‘to strengthen the capability of international broadcasting and to break free from the dominance and monopoly of Western media are the important tasks given to us by the party.’
Backed by a river of gold from the state coffers and blessed by the top leaders in Beijing, the state-owned media is sharpening its knives in preparation for the coming battle with Western media.
The head of Xinhua News Agency was starkly naked in his aggressive ambition, saying at a global media summit in Beijing that ‘our core market is outside of China. We must quickly march to the centre of the global media stage to compete with others; we cannot afford to be on the periphery.’
One of the key areas of reform is the emergency reporting mechanism. In the aftermath of the Lhasa fiasco, Beijing realised that blanket media coverage could only fuel negative speculation and instructed state-owned media outlets to be more responsive and flexible in this regard. The head of Xinhua once again took charge and told his staff to be the first to break major news relating to China, so it can ‘guide both domestic and international opinion.’
However, guiding international opinion is not so easy a feat to achieve, especially for a media organisation that is entrusted with the task of being the ‘mouth and tongue’ of the party.
The surge in manpower, massive cash injections and other related cosmetic surgery can certainly make Chinese media more attractive to viewers, but it will not change the fundamentals. Without independent investigative journalism and editorial integrity, we can only expect better polished and packaged spin out of Beijing.
The popular Phoenix TV is a case in point, the product of a failed union between Rupert Murdoch and a former Chinese PLA veteran. It learnt very quickly from Murdoch about the tool of the trade. Its sophisticated presentation aided by dazzling arrays of former Wall Street bankers and beautiful overseas Chinese presenters cemented its reputation as a favorite amongst the middle class viewers. However, it still has to practice self-censorship in order not to incur the wrath of Beijing’s censor.
Exquisite delivery without substance cannot win influence, especially with a critical Western audience. Credibility cannot be purchased; it has to be earned.
A better and less expensive strategy would be for Beijing to loosen its iron grip on the development of private media enterprise in China and give them some breathing space and a freer voice. A case in point would be to allow the independent editors such as Hu Shuli to speak more freely within a much relaxed guideline.
We all want to hear more voices from China, but not a sanitised laudatory chorus.