Launched 25 September 2000 Slogan See the Difference. Owner China Central Television | Picture format 16:9 Country China Founded 2000 | |
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Network China Central Television Owned by China Central Television Profiles | ||
CGTN (China Global Television Network), formerly known as CCTV-NEWS, CCTV-9, and CCTV English International, is a 24-hour English news channel, of China Central Television (CCTV), based in Beijing. The channel grew out of CCTV International, which was launched on 25 September 2000. Coverage includes newscasts, in-depth reports, and commentary programs, as well as feature presentations. Its free-to-air satellite signal can be received by more than 85 million viewers, in over 100 countries and regions. It is also carried by cable, DTH, IPTV, and terrestrial TV platforms or systems in many nations. It caters to a global English-speaking audience, including overseas Chinese and English speakers in China.
Contents
History
CCTV began considering English-language international news programming on 1 January 1980, at the start of China's "Reform and opening up" period. English news bulletins began on CCTV-2 in 1986 and became available to overseas viewers when they moved to CCTV-4 in February 1991, and CCTV-13 in August 1991. CCTV-9 began broadcasting across China on 25 September 2000, becoming the country's first all-English television station.
On 1 January 2003, CCTV-9 entered the United States cable market, as part of a deal that allowed AOL, Time Warner, and News Corporation access to cable systems in Guangdong. In its early years, CCTV-9 broadcast English language news bulletins and cultural interest shows for most of each day, and aired mostly reruns during the overnight hours in China. One of its biggest projects was covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Until April 2010, CCTV-9 was a mixed general interest channel featuring news, travel programming, and language training. But on the 26th of that month, CCTV-9 was relaunched as a 24-hour English-language news service, and its name was changed to "CCTV News."
On 31 December 2016 at midday Beijing time, the channel was relaunched as CGTN (China Global Television Network), and new programs debuted.
Revamp
The channel name of CCTV-9 was changed to CCTV News at 7 pm (Beijing Time) on 26 April 2010. Some shows were rebranded while other new programs were added. The English website is managed by China Network Television (CNTV), a web streaming service of CCTV. On 1 January 2011, the channel's former name CCTV-9 was taken over by CCTV's two documentary channels.
With new faces, new studios, and new equipment, the channel's upper managers said they hoped to strengthen the network's news gathering abilities, while aiming to present more perspectives from throughout China, and across Asia, to the rest of the world. The next steps in this process included hiring additional foreign correspondents and setting up a number of international bureaus.
On 6 February 2012, the channel launched “CCTV America” and a schedule of daily programming originating from a production center in Washington, D.C. On 11 October 2012, CCTV News launched its Africa operation in Nairobi, Kenya. CCTV News currently has three broadcast centers—Beijing (main), Nairobi, and Washington—with 70 additional bureaus across the globe.
The revamp also saw the permanent addition of news and world financial markets tickers, similar to those seen on leading news channels, although these features had already been used intermittently in the previous decade. In Hong Kong and Macau, the channel is available on Cable TV Hong Kong Channel 72, TVB Network Vision Channel 84, Macau Cable TV Channel 85, and HKBN BBTV Channel 736.
Programming
CCTV News usually airs a live news bulletin in the first half of each hour. As well as a generic news program, there are specialist bulletins focusing on Chinese and Asian news, such as China 24 and business news BIZ ASIA. Programming in the second half of each hour includes, sports bulletins, a travel show called Travelogue which takes viewers to destinations around China and the world, and magazines covering the arts, science and sports.
The programs on CCTV News include News Update and News Hour, providing comprehensive global coverage; and China 24 and Asia Today, delivering the latest domestic and regional developments. Specialized programs include Biz Asia, Biz Talk, New Money, Culture Express and Sports Scene, providing news and information on business, finance, economics, culture, and sports. Shows such as Dialogue and World Insight extend balanced and critical perspectives on current affairs affecting all corners of the globe.
CCTV News also provides programs on culture, history, and modern society of China and Asia. In Crossover, hosts and guests of various backgrounds and experiences talk about issues throughout China. Travelogue is the ticket to dynamic and exciting landscapes in China and abroad. Rediscovering China explores contemporary Chinese and Asian culture and social changes through the eyes of international visitors. And Story Board delivers a visual profile of all Asian countries.
Current Programs
Former Programs
Staff
The Chinese staff members at CGTN English range in experience from interns to media professionals with years in the business. Executive producers, producers and senior news anchors typically have higher education, often from universities in other countries. By 2007, the channel had about 300 staff members, of whom 70 were full-time with about 30 foreigners on contract. Ahead of the channel's 2010 relaunch, it began to hire foreign correspondents based in countries around the world, and in 2011 CCTV News started to hire English-speaking Chinese reporters based in 30 provincial bureaus across China.
Foreign news anchors
In addition to Chinese anchors, CCTV News relies on foreigners as news presenters, some of whom have extensive experience, such as Edwin Maher (a former newsreader and weatherman from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), while others may be recent university graduates just embarking upon their careers.
Former comptroller Jiang Heping defended the policy of putting foreigners on air, arguing that “we feel international on-air personalities boost the credibility of CCTV News and befit its image as an international channel. In this regard, CCTV News will not restrict the origin of its employees and choose to build its unique identity through its programming.”
The first foreign news anchor on what was then known as CCTV-9 was Chris Gelken, who joined the channel from Hong Kong's TVB and presented the 30-minute business show, BizChina. Gelken left CCTV News in 2005, and returned to TVB from 2010 to 2013.
Another prominent personality in CCTV-9's first decade was Mark Rowswell, otherwise known as Dashan. He hosted Travel in Chinese on CCTV News and has been honored for his work in promoting cancer awareness in China.
In addition to those individuals, the channel later recruited Phillip Yin of Bloomberg Television, and Mike Walter from USA Today, to helm Biz Asia America and The Heat, respectively, when the Washington bureau opened in 2012.
The weather on CCTV News is hosted by a rotating cast of presenters, so the staff changes on a frequent basis, partially because these updates are produced by an outside company which supplies content for several English-language media outlets around China.
CCTV Africa
CCTV Africa is China Central Television´s news productions center which was launched in Kenya on 11 January 2012. CCTV Africa focuses on African news and perspectives as well as international news.
CCTV Africa will be responsible for newsgathering and task assignments on the African continent. CCTV Africa initially produce a one-hour program every day, including Africa news, Talk Africa and Face of Africa editions, and broadcast through CCTV´s English news channel.
CCTV Africa will provide a platform for its Chinese audience to better understand Africa and promote the China-Africa friendship so that the real China can be introduced to Africa, and the real Africa can be presented to the world
CCTV America
CCTV America is the Americas division of CCTV News, the English-language news channel run by Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television. It is based in Washington, DC and runs bureaus across North and South America. The service employs a mix of American and Chinese journalists and produces Americas-based programming for CCTV News.
CCTV America is led by director general Ma Jing with veteran Asia journalist Jim Laurie as executive consultant. It began broadcasting on 6 February 2012.
Current
Former
Awards
In 2010, when the CCTV-NEWS because of its diversity in the global flow of information and broader vision won the 2010 Hot Bird TV award, the national window Award.
Criticisms
Despite its revamp and recent launching of CCTV America, critics have voiced concerns over the level of self-censorship exercised by the channel, especially on sensitive domestic issues in China. Philip Cunningham of Cornell University, who has appeared more than 100 times on China Central Television talk shows said sensitive issues such as Tibet and Xinjiang were heavily edited on various programs.
Ma Jing, Director of CCTV America defends such allegation by saying that the channel edits stories the same way other news organizations do. She said: "We uphold the traditional journalistic values. We consider accuracy, objectivity, truthfulness, and public accountability very important, more important than anything else."