A Chinese Al-Jazeera - Five Reasons this is a Good Thing

The Ascott, Beijing

WTF, February already?

1440 hrs

Recent revelations that China is planning on investing over US$7 billion in an effort to create a credible global radio and television news service using Al-Jazeera English as a model have provoked comments that range from the dismissive to the skeptical to the paranoid.

I am not convinced China is going to create a credible global voice in the near term, but I think it is only a matter of time before it happens. Rather than concern America and the world, however, we should see this effort as a positive development because even the sketchy details we have of the program suggest a new maturity in China's approach to strategic communications, public diplomacy, and indeed world opinion.

1. China Needs to Care About What the World Thinks - the fact that China is ready to undertake this effort means that China's senior leadership acknowledges that global opinion matters to China. This may be obvious to those of us steeped in communications, international relations, soft power, and/or public diplomacy, but it is a light-bulb moment for China's leaders. Since declaring the People's Republic sixty years ago, China has maintained an almost cussed independence of action, speaking and acting as if it cared nothing for what the world thought. This is apparently no longer the case, and that opens a new series of doors to influence Chinese policy.

2. If You Build It, They May Not Care - whatever else China Radio International, CCTV-4, and CCTV-9 have accomplished, their growing availability worldwide has not had much apparent effect on how China is perceived abroad. China's leaders have learned an important lesson: they do not get a hearing purely by virtue of China's size or growing importance.

3. Propaganda Fails - the acknowledgement that the service's credibility depends on a level of editorial objectivity unknown elsewhere in Chinese media (including the current global radio and television services) is an implicit recognition that propaganda is dead as a tool of public diplomacy. This is not only a rejection of previous practice but of orthodox Communist communications doctrine.

4. The Audience is King - the initiative recognizes that China must communicate with the world in a way that audiences can appreciate, rather than using a the intonation and buzzwords of Chinese political orthodoxy. If you've ever heard a government official speak in public - or watched a Chinese newscast - you know what I mean.

5. Being Heard Means Looking Good - the initiative recognizes that China must compete in a global marketplace of information, and China's take on world affairs will not be heard unless it is packaged and delivered in a format and context that is comfortable to non-Chinese viewers. If there is a single lesson from Al-Jazeera, this is it.

If you are not certain that China coming to these conclusions is necessarily a good thing for the rest of the world, consider this. If I have learned one lesson in my career as a communicator, it is that the more a government or company alters its approaches to appeal to an audience, the more responsive that entity becomes to its audiences in its thinking, policies, and behavior.

The unspoken secret of the "perception management" process - the part we don't always share with our clients - is that the process changes both sides, not just the audience. This will be especially true as we move out of the Age of Broadcast and into the Age of Conversation.

I am in no way suggesting that China will suddenly change its domestic policies, drop single-party rule, or gang-stomp the Somali regime because the PRC desires greater global influence. But if China is committed to its stated global communications objectives, small but significant changes in the nation and its international relations are an inevitable result. As the Bush administration learned, global influence is unsustainable when foreign policy and strategic communications are formulated and conducted in willful ignorance of global opinion.

On the other hand, I have had some people suggest to me that, providing China sticks to its commitment to offer evenhanded reporting on its global channels, this may signal to Chinese leaders that they can use the same approach at home. At best, this is wishful thinking. Media aimed at overseas audiences will serve the purpose of building Chinese credibility abroad. Media aimed at home will remain focused on maintaining social stability and supporting the evolution of a "harmonious society." We can expect a wide "Chinese wall" between the two.

For now, anyway.

Comments

[john brown]

Hi, Had the pleasure of citing your blog in my "Public Diplomacy Press and Blog review." Best.

[Ancky]

Communication is what we demand.what matters is the way to communicate.
as a student learning English, I gradually notice the difference between us, realizing that there is no inferiority or superiority in culture.A s long as we have a happy life, we can choose any lifestyle ,because we are all human.

[David]

Hi John, many thanks for that! Cheers, David

[David]

Ancky, thanks for commenting. You are of course absolutely right. Communication is essential to bridge the gap in understanding between China and the world. Properly handled, this government effort could be an important part of that, but I suspect it will take some time and experimentation before our leaders here in China can become comfortable with that.

[MacLean Brodie]

This is refreshing to read and I agree wholeheartedly with your points above. To steal a phrase, it's good to see them putting the PR back in the PRC.

It seems to me that the primary and lasting need for this service is education. I live in China, and I suffer day to day trying to understand and assimilate the rapid changes I see around me. Consider my mother, whose primary education about China was delivered more than 30 years ago, and is updated only intermittently when disaster (man-made or natural) strikes. How can they impact her?

In a sense, there's a particular historical narrative that determines why the West is so skeptical, and why media and citizens are as critical as they are. Developing programming and playing on the audiences terms won't begin to even address China's own national interests. The dialogue that dominates (in Canada, from my experience) is far too narrow for the average citizen not to dismiss any new station as propaganda, regardless of its veracity. I don't see how a Chinese media outlet can possibly win at playing this game in the short term.

On the commercial viability front, Al Jazeera has a natural constituency, since it serves a distinct linguistic and cultural group that has been traditionally under-served by state-operated entities. The English service has grown out of A-J's increasing credibility and capacity. While there are many overseas Chinese who may tune in, I don't feel that my compatriates at home are screaming for more Chinese programming.

If the solution by nature has a longer time-horizon, I think that China may win by loosening the reigns and developing better programming on CCTV 9 while continuing to expand its reach around the world. There are a new generation of China-aware governments and citizens that will watch the programs with interest and will pick up on the social and systemic constraints that are naturally portrayed.

A reinvigorated and restaffed news bureau may also be picked up by foreign media as a viable alternative to AP/Reuters/Xinhua if and when they begin to act less like state automatons or high school reporters. It's not hard to pinpoint exactly why CCTV 9 isn't watched internationally or even here at home.

My experience with Chinese TV is that CCTV 9 is among the most conservative channels already, and would benefit from being closer to the Chinese popular media in portraying the struggles and successes of the average citizen. If perception management is the game, then I can't see how starting at home, even with a censored media outlet isn't the obvious solution.

[David Feng]

Here's a BIG Chinese-language (not just "PRC") media problem (and this could prove the case for some "foreign media" outlets, too): there is no neutral tone in the Chinese media. (The closest thing is Cankao Xiaoxi -- the "all-black-'n'-white news newspaper -- but they started ditching "unfriendly" articles right after it became available to the general public.)

Think about this in the Greater Chinese media sphere: PRC media, if we're to look at it very narrowly, is "red" so-called. The CCP has all the mics here. (Then again, I did mention this was a very "narrow" view.)

Go on over to Taiwan. You think there's "liberty", "no censorship" and "freedom of the press" there? It's all an illusion. (Sorry.) Tune into Taiwanese TV. Yes, they're free to criticize the President and folks like that. Freedom of speech? Heck yeah! There were even cases when a "Blue" (pro-unification) guy and a "Green" (pro-independence) guy -- beat each other up on a talk show. (I swear I'm not making that one up!)

But notice how some TV channels are pro-KMT while others are pro-independence? This is a bigger thing in the Taiwanese newspaper market. The China Times is "blue"; the Liberty Times is "green". If you do Wikipedia-speak: POV? NPOV?

OK, so "neutrality" (especially from one source) is difficult, then. I do admit -- it's not easy. The Swiss have tried their best on Swiss TV, and they're doing a fairly good job, but that's not to say never ever made a mistake or something. Here's one thing worth thinking about: presenting multiple viewpoints (especially on one channel). This is not just for a PRC-established "global news channel". It's for anyone starting Chinese-language "CNNs" (and please -- don't just outright copy other folks. Ain't good.)

Off on a slight tangent: you know what's a real killer program? (This one you can ape -- it's good.) Euronews -- and its No Comment bit. There is absolutely NO COMMENTARY -- AT ALL. The audience is treated to clips with no comment -- leaving THEM to formulate what that clip could be on about.

That's the ultimate killer. If anyone could do more No Comment-ish like programs, that'd be something.

[Chris Carr]

Damn good post, David.

Cheers,

Chris

[Chris Carr]

Damn good post, David.

Cheers,

Chris

[Juandy]

I used to watch CCTV 9 at my home in Indonesia on Satellite TV. From my opinion it has many informative and interesting stories, especially the documentation series. However I'm aware that the station is perhaps strictly controlled by the government, but still it still doesn't lose what we call "Popular Taste". So I just enjoy them... :)

Amazing Chinese Tales & Anecdotes:
http://chinese-tales.blogspot.com

[Chinese Translator]

Hi! Thank you for this post. I really appreciate it!