Editor’s note: this article was translated and edited from Southern Weekly (infzm.com) and discusses a number of changes in news content broadcasted on CCTV since the beginning of 2013. An analysis of content aired on the popular evening news channel “Xinwen Lianbo”, reveals some interesting patterns in terms of what stories are receiving more coverage than before. This article focuses on two particular stories – the recent air pollution in Beijing and the demolition of an old housing area in Chengdu – to suggest how CCTV may be in the midst of a surprising change in news content coverage. 

If you’re someone who keeps frequent tabs on the news, you’d agree that 2013 has already gotten off to a pretty eventful start. For China, a whole host of recent events have sparked debate throughout the country and beyond, leaving us with no shortage of topics to discuss.  But how is the mainstream Chinese media dealing with this recent frenzy of news?

As we near the end of the Year of the Dragon, some interesting patterns have emerged regarding the content of CCTV’s “Xinwen Lianbo” (新闻联播). Food price increases, Beijing pollution, foreign affairs and entertainment have all received key focus in the news, while political meetings and activity of China’s leaders has made up barely a quarter of the coverage (see image above).

Stealing the spot of the leaders

 “Food is too expensive, villagers like us can’t take it anymore,” exclaimed one disgruntled citizen on a recent news program. Her words were later the subject of a joke on Weibo, with one user stating, “This villager was broadcast on the news at 19:02 on January 20 as a main headline. She’s taken the news spot that was previously held by the country’s leaders.”
The villager was featured on camera for around ten seconds in a report about the rise of food prices that lasted about six minutes in total. The report and others like it seem to have overturned the usual “three stage discussion” pattern that previously appeared on the news. The “three stage discussion” is a colloquial term coined by Chinese netizens to mockingly describe the style of news programs: “the first ten minutes showing busy leaders, the next ten minutes showing happy citizens, and the last ten minutes showing troubles in foreign countries.”

Below we take a look at two popular news stories that have been covered recently, and beg the question as to whether or not the apparent demise of the “three stage discussion” suggests a change in approach to news reporting in China.

Case 1: repeated broadcasting of PM2.5 coverage

On New Year’s Day, CCTV host Li Ruiying delivered a report saying that 74 cities in China now had air quality monitors, and that mobile phone users could receive PM 2.5 updates via text message. Li ended the two-minute report stated: “The dream of China is the well-being of its people.”

During the bout of heavy air pollution that smothered north China on January 11, CCTV’s daily news broadcasted a series of reports regarding for a total of seven days in a row. The total time spent covering the subject was almost 35 minutes, with a daily PM 2.5 report lasting around five minutes a day. Each report showed a smog-covered Beijing with visibility reduced to only a few hundred meters and dust-covered cars winding through the haze.

Audiences were given their first in-depth look at PM 2.5 during a “Xinwen Lianbo” broadcast on January 14. The report showed the appearance of PM 2.5 under a microscope, and after one minute of analysis, the reporter stated that “due to its size of only 1/20 of human hair, PM 2.5 particles are thin enough to penetrate directly into lungs, causing internal damage.” As of the January 14 report, this was only the sixth time the term had been mentioned on CCTV news.

Traffic light becomes focus of pollution report

One interesting aspect of the report was a special focus on a traffic light near Gongzhufen on Beijing’s third ring road. In the morning, it was shown as lightly covered in fog, though viewers were able to distinguish the red and green lights. As the day progressed, it became less and less visible until the evening where it was merely a faint glow amidst the smog, with drivers presumably struggling to see it at all.

After the Ministry of Environmental Protection publicly announced which cities were China’s ten most polluted in a news broadcast on January 13, Vice Premier Li Keqiang stated: “The government should commit to timely and accurate PM 2.5 data.”

Within a total of 17 news stories during that seven-day period, 13 were related to air pollution, and three of them discussed background information on P.M. 2.5. There was also talk of environmental protection measures such as building more green spaces in cities and cutting down on driving cars.   

Case 2: The destruction of the Caojia neighborhood in Chengdu

Between January 4-8, CCTV broadcasted a story on the destruction of the Caojia Street in Chengdu. Coverage of the story accumulated a total airtime of over 25 minutes.

This pattern of reporting lead to Renmin University professor Chang Jiang to mockingly dub the story “News Opera”, which he admits did possess a decent level of effectiveness.  “Obviously a lot of thought went into the story as it was suitable for both daytime TV and evening news audiences. It received a lot of audience approval.”

The first “episode” of this story was broadcast on January 4, and was reported by a young journalist by the name of Wei Wei. She stated that between 2002 and 2012, she’d witnessed the rapid modernization of Chengdu and the gradual tearing down of various old buildings in favor of Western-style high-rises. She then goes on to mention one area named Caojia Street, stating that most of its 3,756 citizens – the majority of whom are retired workers and their families – were told their homes were probably going to be destroyed. Wei Wei then asks whether these residents actually agreed to the demolition and whether their best interests are being kept in mind.

From there, the story delves deeper into the lives of the residents of Caojia Street, portraying their daily lives as a tough struggle. Residents are shown having to share public toilets and kitchens, and having to queue up to wash their hair or cook, with the inside of their houses being dark and damp.

No solution

At the end of each programme, the CCTV broadcast highlighted certain tensions between the citizens of Caojia Street and the district government who were pushing for the demolition of the area. The last episode of the report ended with the news reporter asking whether or not the issue could be solved for the benefit of the citizens of Caojia Street. In a unique approach to broadcasting in China, the news channel this time only seemed to tell the story, and didn’t offer any solution or ending to the story.

A report about Caojia Street ten years ago mentioned that it was set to be torn down due to its lack of funding, with the broadcast depicting many residents looking forward to moving into new homes. Many were shown selling items on the street in order to raise enough money to help pay for their moving. The report at the time emphasized that many of the residents of Caojia Street saw the tearing down of their old houses as their last chance to upgrade into a better home.

The broadcasting style of the Caojia Street story and the P.M 2.5 analysis suggest that changes have been made in the approach of certain news stories in China, with a seemingly more open and accepting style of journalism being employed.

Source: infzm.com

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Keywords: changes in news content on CCTV