CCTV Launches Revamp With Morning News Overhaul
CCTV's news programming is generally considered a rather dry affair, characterized by austere news readers scrolling through the officially sanctioned news of the day. As a result, newly appointed President Jiao Li received a mixed reaction on June 23 when he unveiled plans to revitalize the news programming on four key channels by the end of 2009.
Jiao Li spoke out about the need to improve Chinese TV channels' ability to function as effective propaganda instruments shortly before taking office at CCTV. As the former vice minister of the Central Propaganda Department, the subject is clearly something close to his heart.
His plans for CCTV include increasing the broadcaster's focus on news and factual programming but he doesn’t want the station to keep churning out its notoriously stuffy news programming. His plans include revitalizing the format, timeliness and delivery of the news to transform it into something more engaging and dynamic. There will be more room for commentary, public opinion and debate; less focus on blow-by-blow reportage of government meetings.
Around one month after Jiao Li's announcement, on July 27, CCTV went live with the first new program to emerge from the revamp: a brand new version of the Morning News program on CCTV News (CCTV-13). So what does a revitalized CCTV news program look like?
Well, in a superficial way, it looks not unlike CNN. In fact, The Beijing News reports that the program has already been dubbed "the Chinese CNN" in China thanks to its resemblance to the American channel.
Like CNN, the new Morning News program revolves around an anchor - Hu Jie - who sits in the studio and runs through the stories of the day while connecting with various correspondents who provide commentary and analysis. While this format is fairly standard in the western media, Morning News marks its debut on national Chinese TV.
The program also provides much more extensive and up-to-date coverage of news and current affairs, plus lifestyle, technology and sports programs. The producers have opted to mix light news and entertainment with serious news and current affairs stories in another new move for the show. The maiden program, for example, ran a story on a joint China-Russia military drill and a feature on ice cream.
The presentation and production values for the Morning Show have also changed to complement the new content. The producers have started placing greater focus on using technologies like CGI to better illustrate events and bring a greater sense of excitement and immediacy to reports.
With all the new content, Morning News has extended its run time from two hours to three hours every day. The show is now aired from 6am to 9am every day.
While it will be a while before we can see what Chinese viewers think of the new Morning Show via TV ratings, CCTV is set to make similar changes to other news programs on CCTV-13, as well as CCTV-1 (Comprehensive), CCTV-4 (International Mandarin) and CCTV-9 (International English).
Will Jiao Li succeed in creating news and current affairs that are entertaining and informative while retaining their propaganda value? Or are these aims fundamentally incompatible? The revamp will help determine how successful CCTV is in maintaining - and regaining - viewers in a China where many disgruntled people have already turned to alternative news sources, such as blogs, online video and bulletin boards. It also remains to be seen how the new format will cope with major national political events, such as the upcoming 60th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.