CHIRONY

To honor the launch of the English-language version of the Global Times – and China’s drive to expand its media reach to Western markets – I would like to share a somewhat dated editorial that outlines some the paper’s rather typical (in China) yet pointed positions on Western media practices:

West attacks foreign CCTV anchor, labels “news sellout”
Global Times, December 6, 2007

For the last four years, New Zealander Edwin Maher has held the post of anchor for CCTV’s English-language news. Because of this, he has been criticized by certain so-called Western news experts. They hurl one insult after another, like “news sellout” and “mouthpiece.” On December 4, the Los Angeles Times published a report on Maher. He’s unfazed by groundless attacks made by certain Western figures, telling the Los Angeles Times reporter, “I simply don’t care.” But Chinese media figures who know Maher well are furious about the bigoted and unreasonable criticism.

CCTV colleagues furious at unreasonable attacks that border on bigotry

The Los Angeles Times says, “Maher was hired in 2003 to shake off its image as a government mouthpiece.” Maher anchors the news four times a day for millions of viewers worldwide. American critics say Maher is not a reporter at all, but a shameless government yes-man who gives all Western journalists a bad name. The University of California’s Berkeley School of Journalism professor Neil Henry criticizes Maher, saying the reason he is in China to broadcast news is actually to “add a whiff of Western credibility to their (China’s) news. It’s very superficial.” Henry says Maher is a “propagandist.” Bieder, a senior lecturer at the same school says, “Most Americans would say he’s a sellout.” And USA Today mocks Maher in its headline “China’s mouthpiece has a Kiwi accent.”

As this reporter understands it, these so-called Western media figures simply don’t understand Maher and they have never made any enquiries on this matter to CCTV. They see Chinese news through colored spectacles and their approach verges on bigotry. “Maher is absolutely not the kind of person they say he is,” a senior media worker told the Global Times, expressing intense indignation at the unreasonable attacks from certain Western figures in this report. This person believes that Maher is someone in the media who deserves respect, both for his character and professional ability. This media worker dismisses the criticisms of these so-called Western media experts, “Do they understand Maher? Do they know the facts?”

Maher’s work helps the world understand the real China

The Global Times also interviewed relevant media experts. The experts pointed out that since the reform and opening up, a great many foreign experts have come to China and this also applies to the news industry. Foreign experts have left their mark on many major media outlets besides CCTV. These media experts have brought different news styles to China. They have helped China’s news industry develop, giving a growing number of people in the world a more complete understanding of China. Not long ago, this reporter was in touch with a Canadian journalist, Keynes, who said that after watching CCTV9 he felt the production quality was very high. It helped him gain a more complete understanding of China and he said it corresponded with the situation he had seen in China.

Some foreign media workers helping the Chinese media have lived in China for quite a long time, giving them more of a chance to understand China’s real situation. When they compare this understanding with how they misread China before they came here, seeing it through colored glasses, some voluntarily stand up to explain the real China to the West. Their work helps China understand the world, and helps the world understand China. As Maher told the Los Angeles Times, China’s news reporting is “getting better. The door is opening wider.” At the same time, he is amazed at China’s development in the last 30 years. “I’m proud to be a part of that. People can see it differently. I don’t care.”

Certain Western experts accidentally exposed their ugly side

A senior media expert told the Global Times that some media in the West are always assuming a role of “moral judge” as if they alone “understand news,” they alone are news experts, and only their reports can be the most objective. However, they are completely unaware that they themselves are seeing China through colored glasses. Some foreign experts have lived in China for decades and criticize their so-called western news experts, saying they simply don’t understand China, don’t understand the Chinese media, or that they have only seen things superficially. Who, then, has the most right to speak? Who, then, has sold out journalism? Certain so-called journalism experts have accidentally revealed their own ugly side.

One senior Chinese journalist says wild conjectures in the Western media in recent years have reached the point of absurdity. Some Western reporters make wild and unsubstantiated guesses. The “March 8 bloggers” showed how lamentable this fixed way of thinking is: that an old and dignified news agency could issue a report without checking if it was true or false. The recent news of a so-called Olympic Village ban on Bibles was further evidence of fabrication by Western reporters. But those so-called news experts who find fault with Maher are still unaware of the problem there. When people who teach journalism cannot abide by the most basic of journalistic principles, they are not only slandering Maher, they are sullying the study of journalism.

Thanks to Black and White Cat for this translation.