Information about Xinwen Lianbo

Xinwen Lianbo (Simplified Chinese: 新闻联播; Pinyin: Xīnwén Liánbō) is a daily news programme produced by China Central Television. It is shown simultaneously by most terrestrial television channels in mainland China, making it one of the world's most watched television programmes, and a key instrument for state propaganda. It has been broadcast since 1978.^[]

Name, format and distribution

There is no standard English translation of the name. Variants in use include Evening News^[1] and Network News Broadcast^[2]. An Oxford dictionary gives news hook-up.^[3] The Mandarin name has two words: Xinwen () means "news" and Lianbo () is a portmanteau meaning something like "connected broadcast", referring to the fact that material is received from, and transmitted to, stations around the territory.

The programme consists of a daily news bulletin of approximately thirty minutes, beginning with the headlines and proceeding to detailed reports. ^[4] In special circumstances, the broadcast is extended beyond the 30 minutes alloted when deemed necessary. For example, during the 1990s, the death of Deng Xiaoping extended Xinwen Lianbo broadcast beyond the regular time for over a week. The announcers are shown seated, with a window into the control room behind them.^[5] The format has hardly varied for three decades, even its details. Standard Mandarin is always used, in accordance with government language policies, and throughout the broadcast the language is formal and flowery,^[6]. The delivery is stilted, without happy talk or humour.^[0] Although CCTV has access to the latest technology, it never includes 'two-ways' of the kind that are common in 21st century Western bulletins. Even the opening titles and music have remained unchanged: a comparison of the 1991^[8] and 2007^[8] sequences reveals differences in superficial technology rather than symbolic imagery.

The programme justifies its title with a comprehensive distribution system that has led the Washington Post to dub it "one of the world's most watched news programs." Calculations based on official statistics suggest as many as 135 million people tune in each day. ^[2] The Wall Street Journal calculated in 2006 that it had fourteen times the audience of the highest-rated US news show. The initial 7 pm broadcast is carried simultaneously on CCTV-1, CCTV-News, and on the primary channel of each provincial station (Anhui Television-1, BTV-1, Chongqing Television, etc.). CCTV-News usually repeats the programme at 9 pm, and there are later repeats dubbed into selected minority languages for viewers in appropriate regions (as of 2006, at least Mongolian and Tibetan). This ensures that urban cable viewers may see around half the available channels carrying the programme, while it is often carried on all the available terrestrial television channels in rural China.

Announcers

It is always presented by two announcers, usually one male and one female, chosen from a very small pool. From 1989 to 2006, the main newsreaders were Xing Zhibin and Luo Jing^[2] , assisted by four others.^[0]. on 5 June, 2006, two younger newscasters were introduced unannounced, Li Zimeng and Kang Hui.^[0]

• Kang Hui (male), born around 1970, graduate of the Beijing Broadcasting Institute. Newsreader 2006-.^[0]
• Li Ruiying
• Li Zimeng (female), born around 1978, graduate of the Beijing Broadcasting Institute. Newsreader 2006-.^[0]
• Luo Jing (male, 罗京). Newsreader 1989-.
• Xing Zhibin (female, 邢质斌). Newsreader 1989-.
• Wang Ning (male, 王宁)
• Zhang Hongmin (male, 张宏民)^[9]

Political significance

News values

What is the judgement for important news in the minds of many Chinese journalists working for the official media or for propaganda journalism today? Xu Zhaorong, a reporter of Xinhua makes the following 14 observations (Symposium of Journalism 1998):

• 1. Important activities, personnel changes and meetings of the party and the state, such as the banquets of the National Day, meetings of Party and the national People's Congress;''
• 2. The activities of party and state leaders, such as their inspection tours, their meetings with foreign guests, their meetings with home delegates, the departures and arrival of their visits abroad and the tea parties hosted by them;
• 3. Important policies, guidelines, laws, rule, regulations and documents of the party and the state;
• 4. Important commentaries on important events and policies...

– Li Xiguang

As with all news broadcasts in mainland China, the running order is dictated by the socio-political importance of the individual or group concerned (rather than Western news values). Therefore the activities of the President of the People's Republic of China are almost always the first item, followed by reports on the members of the Politburo Standing Committee in rank order.^[2] Diplomatic engagements are usually shown before domestic engagements. Significant statements from the Central People's Government or the Communist Party of China are read out, in full, after the headlines.^[10] When significant events or speeches are covered, the camera will carefully pan across the Politburo Standing Committee.^[11]

Progaganda aims

The programme plays a role in the CPC's communication mechanisms at both the mass and élite levels.

On the one hand, it is the news source with the widest reach amongst China's large population, and so it provides the Party with the opportunity to influence the masses. According to Li, watching the bulletin has traditionally been "a national ritual at the family dinner table."^[11]

On the other hand, it is used as a mechanism to signal changes and continuities in policy and personnel. New policies are introduced by special features, such as a the 'model cadre' used to promote Three Represents in 2002.^[1] The ranked shots of the Politburo Standing Committee indicate their relative power: "Each leader is allocated a certain number of seconds in front of the camera, Chinese media experts say, with the time for each one carefully regulated by the party propaganda department."^[1] This lies behind the programme's extreme formality, because any miscommunication could have serious consequences.

Declining popularity

...[T]he main viewers are China's legions of government and party officials, particularly in the provinces, and businessmen who want to keep up with the policies and attitudes that will affect their ability to make money.

– Edward Cody, Washington Post, citing Zhou Xiaopu of Renmin University

All CCTV programmes are under commercial pressure, but Xinwen Lianbo is less affected than most. It has few competitors, though Hong Kong's Phoenix TV and Shanghai's Dragon TV^[12] It is also one of CCTV's major earners. While there are no commercials during the show, the slots immediately afterwards sell for US$100,000 each,^[13] and the five-second slot just before 7 pm is the most expensive CCTV offers, worth 24 million RMB in 2003 (about 7% of CCTV's annual advertising revenue).^[14]

References

External links

• Official website
• Duowei recordings on Youtube (for a specific edition since 1 February 2007, search Youtube for
  "新闻联播yyyymmdd" where yyyymmdd is the edition's date in Beijing Time).
• Xinwen Lianbo from 1991, via 6rooms