EVENTS

Abstract

China Central Television (CCTV) is the flagship television network under the state apparatus of the Chinese Communist Party. The entire gamut of channels of CCTV report to and work under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (now State Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television) which comes directly under the State Council. CCTV is a multi-channel, multi-billion dollar behemoth which comprises of more than 25 stand-alone stations. Among the foreign language channels, CCTV has English, Russian, Spanish, French and Arabic. The English channel was established in 2001 but really took off in a big way, post 2009 with the decision of ‘going out’ taken by then Head of Propaganda of CCP, Li Changchun, who was supported by the then President of CCTV, Hu Zhanfan. But the real inflection point for the English News Channel came in 2010, with the decision to open Bureaus in Nairobi, Washington and London as well as to expand operations/resources from the Beijing headquarters.

This presentation would be an attempt to understand CCTV, its purpose, its structure within the various media/publishing outlets of the party, its reporting structure, its objectives, its source of funding, the myriad censorship issues faced by the channel, the clash between foreign staff and domestic staff. Since the speaker was the first Indian national hired by CCTV, the presentation will also try to focus on Chinese impressions of India and whether there are any positives therein which can be leveraged for better Sino-Indian ties.

About the Speaker

Zakka Jacob is a TV news personality with more than 12 years of verifiable experience. He currently works for CNN IBN and covers Foreign Affairs. He has anchored and covered some of the defining news stories of the last decade. Some of his most important works include the Asian tsunami of 2004, the Mumbai terror attacks 2008, the leadership transition in China 2012 and most recently the Indian General elections 2014. In 2011, Zakka left for Beijing to join China Central Television CCTV. He became the first and only South Asian face on Chinese national TV. His important work during his three years in China was to cover and front the leadership transition in China with the anointment of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang.