China Puts Best Face Forward With English Language News Channel

[groovedaddy]

SHANGHAI — The Xinhua News Agency, China’s dominant news service and the propaganda arm of the Communist Party, introduced a 24-hour English-language news channel and is preparing to open a prominent newsroom in Times Square, part of an expensive push to increase the reach and influence of the Chinese news media overseas.

The president of Xinhua, Li Congjun, said Thursday at a press conference in Beijing that CNC World, the agency’s new 24-hour news channel, was part of a government effort to “present an international vision with a Chinese perspective.”

The announcement is the strongest sign yet that China intends to spend billions of dollars over the next few years to create a global media empire that can match the country’s rising economic and diplomatic power and more effectively project its views to an international audience.

Beijing officials have long complained that China is often portrayed unfavorably in the Western media and that what it considers biased news coverage has hurt the country’s interests abroad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/world/asia/02china.html?th&emc=th

[Warpy]

1. I've watched CCTV9 for years, online and on Direct

until they canceled without notice right after the Olympic Games, which weren't carried on it. While the news wasn't particularly useful (is it ever?), the cultural programming was top notch, as was the history programming. The language lessons were, um, inscrutable.

Starting general programming here is a pretty good idea. If they keep to the high standard set by CCTV9 in everything but news, it should be a great addition to the lineup.

[HEyHEY]

2. NO WAY

I've worked in Chinese state media, it is poorly run propoganda. I don't even think this should be allowed on airwaves in the west. It's just the government, who are a perverted bunch of bastards only looking out for themselves, trying to slowly lull the west into accepting facism. Yes fascism, China is as communist as I am a fighter pilot.