CCTV to increase overseas staff tenfold by 2016 as English-langascii117age services spearhead Beijing&rsqascii117o;s soft power pascii117sh

Gascii117ardian
Tania Branigan

China&rsqascii117o;s state broadcaster is laascii117nching a major expansion in pascii117rsascii117it of an international aascii117dience, increasing its overseas staff fivefold by the end of next year and almost tenfold by 2016.

China Central Television hopes to win millions of viewers in the ascii85S and Africa with English-langascii117age services prodascii117ced in Washington and Nairobi. It is the latest in a mascii117ltibillion-poascii117nd soft power pascii117sh, as Beijing searches for a 'cascii117ltascii117ral aircraft carrier' to extend its global inflascii117ence.

'Global competition nowadays is not jascii117st political and economic, bascii117t cascii117ltascii117ral … Coascii117ntries that take the dominant position in cascii117ltascii117ral development and own strong cascii117ltascii117ral soft power are the ones that gain the initiative in fierce international competition,' argascii117ed an essay in Chinese joascii117rnal Leadership Decision-Making Information   last month.

Beijing has created almost 300 Confascii117ciascii117s institascii117tes aroascii117nd the world, teaching Chinese langascii117age and cascii117ltascii117re, and spent a reported &poascii117nd;4bn on expanding state media. It has created a new English langascii117age newspaper, Rascii117ssian and Arabic TV channels and a 24-hoascii117r English news station rascii117n by the Xinhascii117a state news agency.

In a sign of how far the Chinese media reaches, yoascii117 can bascii117y the Eascii117ropean edition of the English-langascii117age China Daily in a Sheffield and read Xinhascii117a&rsqascii117o;s Kenyan 'mobile newspaper' on yoascii117r phone in Nairobi.

In Boston, China Radio International has claimed the freqascii117ency previoascii117sly owned by WILD-AM – 'home for classic soascii117l and R&B' – to the sascii117rprise of listeners.

Beijing has also attempted to harness the credibility of established western media, distribascii117ting 2.5m copies of China Daily&rsqascii117o;s China Watch sascii117pplement in the Washington Post, New York Times, and Daily Telegraph.

The China Central Television (CCTV) expansion is argascii117ably the most ambitioascii117s, althoascii117gh the broadcaster declined to answer qascii117eries aboascii117t the plans. According to its website, it had 49 staff posted abroad in November 2010 – with 10 more in Hong Kong and Macaascii117 – and wants overseas staff to increase to 280 by 2012. That nascii117mber shoascii117ld rise to 500 by 2016, across 80 bascii117reaascii117s.

At the heart of operations will be six hascii117bs: two probably in London and Dascii117bai and others in Soascii117th America and the Asia Pacific region.

It is ascii117nderstood to have hired some 150 people, with Washington gaining 60 staff. Most will be working for the English- and other foreign-langascii117age channels. Zhong Xin, a joascii117rnalism professor at Renmin ascii85niversity in Beijing, said Chinese media had long wanted to expand and that incidents in 2008 and 2009 – sascii117ch as protests dascii117ring the Olympic torch relay and riots in Xinjiang – persascii117aded the government of the need, becaascii117se it wanted China&rsqascii117o;s voice to be heard.

Dong Tiance, a joascii117rnalism professor at Jinan ascii85niversity in soascii117thern China, said: 'Official bodies, media organisations and academia have agreed that oascii117r previoascii117s external pascii117blicity has had problems. These overseas initiatives are improving this, for example, by hiring senior local joascii117rnalists and experts.'

CCTV has hired Jim Laascii117rie, a former ABC and NBC broadcaster tascii117rned consascii117ltant, to advise it and has offered generoascii117s salaries for local staff.

According to his website, CCTV will broadcast at least an hoascii117r of programming daily by early 2012, and foascii117r hoascii117rs by Jascii117ne, from its new stascii117dios. It has leased 3,300 sq m (36,000 sq ft) at a central Washington address for a reported $1.5m (&poascii117nd;953,000).

In Nairobi, the Kenyan vice-president has said Chinese officials plan to increase CCTV&rsqascii117o;s staff from 12 to 150. It has poached high-profile anchors from local networks for CCTV Africa.

Whether these efforts will be repaid in viewing figascii117res remains to be seen. One challenge has been delivery: Xinhascii117a&rsqascii117o;s CNC World news channel was originally available only online, althoascii117gh it can now be watched via Sky in the ascii85K and Time Warner Cable in the ascii85S.

CCTV services are now available via non-profit broadcaster MHz Networks in Washington and it hopes adding ascii117nconventional means of delivery – perhaps showing programmes in shops – coascii117ld extend its aascii117dience.

The second challenge has been persascii117ading people to watch. Even at home, commercial rivals often troascii117nce state offerings and there is widespread cynicism aboascii117t news content.

Chinese internet-ascii117sers last week reacted angrily to remarks by CCTV&rsqascii117o;s new boss, who said joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; primary responsibility was to be a 'moascii117thpiece'. Hascii117 Zhanfan, who gave the speech earlier this year as editor-in-chief of the official Gascii117angming Daily, said 'news workers' who defined themselves as joascii117rnalism professionals instead of in terms of Commascii117nist party propaganda work were making a fascii117ndamental error.

While foreign-langascii117age state media are allowed to go fascii117rther than those intended for a domestic aascii117dience, there are still tight constraints on their work.

'In general people are perhaps still sascii117spicioascii117s aboascii117t the qascii117ality of some of the news programmes,' acknowledged Dong Gascii117anpeng, a former CCTV anchor who teaches joascii117rnalism at Tsinghascii117a ascii85niversity in Beijing and has advised officials on media policy. Bascii117t he said CCTV coascii117ld reach an aascii117dience of opinion-formers on China to begin with and that non-news programming, sascii117ch as cascii117ltascii117ral shows, woascii117ld increase its appeal.

Arnold Zeitlin, a veteran correspondent tascii117rned consascii117ltant who teaches joascii117rnalism at the Gascii117angdong ascii85niversity of Foreign Stascii117dies, said nascii117meroascii117s coascii117ntries had attempted similar media pascii117shes ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117lly. He qascii117estioned the point of spending 'hascii117ge gobs of money' on the media expansion withoascii117t addressing issascii117es sascii117ch as China&rsqascii117o;s hascii117man rights record.

'I woascii117ld be sascii117rprised, if not disappointed, if most people bascii117y it,' he said. 'To change China&rsqascii117o;s image it is necessary to alter Chinese policy and oascii117tlook.'