Audience + History
China Central TV, further referred to as CCTV, is a globally driven network seasoned in providing news from around the globe with an Asian target audience; however not limited to. Originally launched in Beijing on April 26th of 2010, the network spanned into America just shy of two years later on February 6, 2012 and also is reporting live feed in Africa, Europe and South Asia. Because CCTV is a major source in global news linked to Asia, the audience is mostly viewers from an Asian background or at the very least has significant ties to Asia.
Migration has been occurring since ancient times and in today’s world, people migrate from their homeland in vast amounts but yet still want to be connected with a quality news source that relates to their homeland. “In recent years, especially with the advent Digital Broadcasting Satellite (DBS) technology, transnational media has become central in the consumption of news by immigrant populations.” (Christiansen, 2004). CCTV is that source for the many Asians who have wondered from their homeland but need to have some sort of link back home. The CCTV news source is also versatile in offering news to everyone that is interested in current events and interesting storytelling regarding Asia and beyond. The program does not discriminate as the network is highly diversified with many workers from all walks of cultural backgrounds.
CCTV is a subsidiary of China Central Television. China Central Television is the corporate hub of 42 channels, CCTV-America being one of them. The large scale network is the largest in the world and reaches an audience of 1.2 billion viewers and readers. The English branch, CCTV, reaches 85 million people from over 100 different countries. (CCTV-america.com). CCTV-America is produced from Washington D.C., all CCTV programs are headquartered in Beijing with a sister production site stationed in Nairobi, Kenya. It’s no easy fete to be this involved on a global basis and to provide accurate and current information to such a large scale audience but CCTV has a good grasp and finding successful ways to make it happen.
China is laboring at an accelerated rate and is leading the world in manufacturing. In 2010, China became the largest manufacturing country in the world and took an even bigger lead in 2013 with 23.2% of manufacturing in the country beating the United States from having the lead two decades before. (Meckstroth, 2015). There is a plethora of business being conducted in China and throughout Asia on an international scale and seeking news with an Asian foundation is critical. For anyone who is dealing with Asia, either on a personal or a business level CCTV is the source for update news stories regarding the Asian economy.
China is a powerhouse and ever growing as consumerism relies on manufactured goods. Asia is not only lucrative in manufacturing, they have a steadfast of agriculture and strong telecommunications industry. (Haft, 2015). Asia is also rich with timeless traditions throughout history. Asian culture is like none other and they are robust in one of the most interesting cuisines on the planet. There is much to be said about Asia and the people who called it home.
CCTV-America though doesn’t traditional track their viewers using standard analytics like Nielson’s ratings, they are said to have a larger audience than some programs on CNN and FOX News. (Stern, 2013).
Focus + Team
CCTV is mostly serious in tone. The site provides serious topics that are feeding in current events regarding topics including but not limited to, oil, natural disasters, politics, culture and education. In all of CCTV’s websites they have a section dedicated to Chinese culture, whether it be to learn more about the language, travel or to just learn more about Chinese culture in general. On the CCTV-America website, the user is able click on “Chinese Culture” and learn the colors of the country, World War II history and ponder on the pandas.
One notable journalist who has worked for CCTV is Chai Jing. Born in Shanxi Province, Chai Jing carries the titles of journalist, investigative reporter, author and environmental activist. Since CCTV is notably serious in tone, working to provide the public with the most current and accurate news, one can only try to make the world a better place through investigating and journaling and Chai Jing was that person.
Chai Jing worked for CCTV for just over a decade between the years of 2001 and 2013. She is most known for her documentary regarding an up close look into China’s environmental issues titled “Under the Dome”. The documentary gained over 150 million views in China alone. Under the Dome covers China’s air pollution and helps raise awareness. Migrants and other people not living in China are able to get a look inside the city and boosting them to become enlightened on climate change and how negative environmental changes have such an astounding impact on the planet.
Another renowned journalist and leader for CCTV is Jim Laurie. Jim Laurie is currently serving as the Executive Consultant for CCTV-America. He has a significant amount of years of experience reporting news from Asia. He earned his degree in History with a minor in Asian studies from Washington University. He was the first American to provide news from Vietnam during the Indochina War in 1975. Jim Laurie has received many awards including the Peacock Award, two Emmy Awards and an Amnesty International Award for human rights. Jim Laurie was a significant liaison in the launch of CCTV-America in 2012. His rich history of Asian reporting has provided news on a global basis and molded the news programs that we see today. He is one of the many journalists that did not major in journalism. His major was in history with a certificate in Asian studies. His education and robust knowledge in history guided him to his passion where he is able to write and lead CCTV in Asian global news. (Laurie, 2013).
Jim Laurie’s work generally covers war, conflict and economics. His work enriches readers on the harsh realities of these subjects with very little humor. His work is no joke. Most often the news is generally not funny but tragic, scary and brutal. Jim Laurie, along with the main tone of CCTV is covering topics that are not to be taken lightly. One of the many major events that Jim Laurie witnessed was the assassination of Philippine leader, Benigno Aquino Junior. Benigno Aquino Junior was assassinated in 1983. Jim Laurie was one of the last journalists to interview him on his flight, he was then arrested after exiting the plane and onto a detour to prison. During his transport to prison, a quarrel broke out and he was shot to death.
Jim Laurie is considered a celebrity in journalism. He has accomplished so much in a professional lifetime. Jim Laurie was on assignments that were not for the faint of heart. He put his life at risk in order to provide news. His experiences are jaw dropping and his professionalism has taken his career to amazing heights. He also ensures the ethical practice of CCTV throughout his journey with the company.
In 2015, CCTV-America won three awards at the New York Festivals Competition. One of the Awards went to best news coverage in Afghanistan and CCTV-America’s “Newshour” took home the glass trophy. CCTV-America’s new coverage from Afghanistan certainly has a mature and global feel with sophisticated news. A Bronze award went to Anand Naidoo for his interview on CCTV-America with Nick Griffen, the Chairman of the British National Party. The interview discussed the details and opinions of Nick Griffen when it comes to the predicted minority of indigenous people of Britain. His segment was highly intelligence and offered much insight on how the British National Party feels about protecting the natural, aka indigenous people of Britain. Anand Naidoo questions Nick Griffen to uncover if there is any racial or discriminatory intentions from the British National Party. Anand Naidoo, in one part of the interview attempts to put Nick Griffen in place as to his word usage of Native Americans versus what Nick was referring to them as “Red Indians”.
Mei Yan and Monna Kashfi won the Gold World Metal for their eighteen minute film on “Jen Bricker: When Can’t is a Four Letter Word”. The Gold World Metal was for the Human Interest category. The film also won Sliver World Metal for Human Concerns. (CCTV-America, 2016). The film is about a women who was born without legs and has accomplished so much with her passion in gymnastics. Jen Bricker doesn’t see herself as disabled in having no legs but expresses her strength in achieving wondrous goals with determination.
Also taking some awards home are CCTV-America photojournalists. On February 16, 2016, three photojournalists won awards from the White House New Photographers Association (WHNPA). Andrew Smith, Joel Witte and Duane Watkins all were recognized to be some of the top photojournalist among 900 members in the WHNPA.
It is clear that CCTV has been making strides since inception. There are many news sources to turn to but when a news source has grown so large in such a small amount of time, it shows that there is integrity in news. But even in the upmost corporate responsible environment l lies a few scandals here and there.
Scandal
One major scandal that CCTV is on the record for is the DaVinci scandal. In 2012, a CCTV journalist by the name of Li Wenxue was investigating DaVinci, an upscale furniture store that imports furniture made in Italy. The scandal included a mix match of stories claiming that CCTV was distorting information regarding video and recording surveillance with a warped confession of furniture claiming to be from Italy but instead was made in a factory located in Guangdong, China. The CEO, Doris Phua, of DaVinci ended up paying Li Wenxue in the prevention of having the so-called distorted videos released to the public. Therefore, DaVinci claimed an act of extortion from Li Wenxue.
CCTV’s claim was altered rebutted and found to be false, when an investigation from the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Bureau concluded that there was no specific evidence that DaVinci was producing furniture in Guangdong, China. Moreover, the false claim from CCTV cost DaVinci a detrimental decrease in sales. This onset created a long and large scandal for CCTV, the journalist, DaVinci and all the other parties that were involved. (Murphy et al, 2014).
The DaVinci scandal was certainly a tangled web of many guilty parties involved. It was tough for the public to figure out exactly what happened because accusations were being thrown all over from every party involved in the scandal. The moral of the story, is that media plays a gigantic role in how the public things and when a story is broke and is broke under the acquisition of false pretenses, it’s very difficult to reverse that when all parties are against each other. It’s inevitable for such a large network to run across issues that are scandalous.
DaVinci had to pay of many fines and the Chinese government tightened up on their laws regarding language as to where products are made and the labeling involved. More investigation is needed in order to find out what happened to Li Wenxue.
In 2013, Wang Qinglei was fired for critiquing a broadcast on national TV regarding the pre-trial confession of Charles Xue. Not only was he fired but he also was indicted with criminal charges. (Griffiths, 2013). Wang Qinglie was also suspended a few years back for stating a plea for more safety measures after a train crash on air. In his statement of resignation he was stating his criticism was used for an ultimate take down of the scandal regarding the story and was primarily looking out for the safety for the people in the country.
In February 2016, Wang Huanian, a reporter from CCTV, was fired due to his unprofessional behavior when checking in at the winter games. His actions were caught on camera and shows him seeming to have an abuse of power. Wang failed to cooperate with security and therefore was fired from the news company.
Celeberties
A celebrity that comes to mind for CCTV is Karim Moufid, who is a reporter for CCTV Arabic, he reports from the CCTV base in Morocco. On his LinkedIn page, he states, “I have been a dedicated journalist for sex years”. The sentence seems full on English minus the translation of the number six. Other than that, CCTV is a fairly recent news source compared to CNN which was launched in 1980. There are many more years for CCTV to grow and gain more of an audience. One would think if you’re a reporter for a major news source, the LinkedIn profile would be accurate. This is a time when transnational news is expanding in strides and digital media is a major source for news.
Conclusion
CCTV though serious in nature has a bubbly feel. Journalists and actors are exciting to be apart of such a sophisticated news company. CCTV is not even a decade old, so there is many more years to come; however, they are off to a extremely impressive start.
The news company is Asian focused which could probably raise a lot of flags for media propaganda and lobbying. The ethical part of journalism has been under fire recently and many viewers are picking up scents of corruption. However, a company has to come from some source and whatever that source may be is apart of a global culture and knowledge is power, so providing the world with news is an enlightening venture. It is however, essential for editors, writers and journalists to provide the most accurate information and do it as ethically as possible and it takes a lot of work to make all that happen.
CCTV is also referred to as “closed circuit television”. Closed circuit television are the surveillance cameras set up anywhere such as police holding stations and police cars. These cameras are becoming ever popular and common in public for capturing suspicious behavior. So, it’s important to take note when researching CCTV so that these two abbreviates are not confused with the stories following the headline.
In conclusion, CCTV is a recent network stemming from the cultural threads of China. They’ve been reporting since around 2010 and have much more to expand on. Overall, it is clear that the network is large and supported as their presence around the world is substantial and the news they provide, offer many people, especially Asians, with a good source of information regarding current events.
Works Cited
Christiansen, C. C. (2004). News Media Consumption among Immigrants in Europe: The Relevance of Diaspora. Ethnicities Ethnicities, 4(2), 185-207.
CCTV reporter Wang Huanian fired after refusing to cooperate at security checkpoint at Winter Games. Video shows security asking Wang to cooperate as he returns a dead-eyed look • / r/China. (2016, January 26). Retrieved April 20, 2016, from https://www.reddit.com/r/ China/comments/42k9h3/cctv_reporter_wang_huanian_fired_after_refusing/
Griffiths, J. (2013, December 2). CCTV reporter fired for criticising Charles Xue 'confession' broadcast. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from http://www.thatsmags.com/china/post/2338/ cctv-reporter-fired-for-criticising-charles-xue-confession-broadcast
Haft, J. (2015). Unmade in China: The hidden truth about China's economic miracle. Cambridge: Polity.
Jim Laurie. (2013, January). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from http://www.jimlaurie.com/ index.php?option=com_content 10.1177/1468796804042603
Learn more about CCTV, work here too. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2016, from http://www.cctv- america.com/2015/11/25/learn-more-about-cctv-work-here-too#more-98200
Meckstroth, D. (2015, March 30). China Solidifies Its Position as the World’s Largest Manufacturer. Retrieved April 18, 2016, from https://www.mapi.net/blog/2015/09/china- solidifies-its-position-world’s-largest-manufacturer
Murphy, P. E., & Sherry, J. F. (2014). Marketing and the common good: Essays from Notre Dame on societal impact. New York: Routledge.
Ross, S. (2015). The 3 Industries Driving China's Economy | Investopedia. Retrieved April 18, 2016, from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/091515/3-industries-driving- chinas-economy.asp
Stern, J. E. (2013, February 19). Made in America, Funded by Communists. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from https://newrepublic.com/article/112413/cctv-news-america-expansion- american-journalists-chinese-paychecks
