Media News - Tuesday, June 30, 2009

China to broadcast in English in European supermarkets

China will unveil its latest attempt to present western audiences with its take on world events this week as the state-run news agency, Xinhua, launches an English-language television news programme to be broadcast in supermarkets and outside Chinese embassies across Europe. The programmes, which will be produced by Xinhua's Beijing bureau, are part of a large investment programme by Chinese authorities intent on wielding 'soft power' alongside an increasingly muscular position on the diplomatic stage. Supermarkets in Brussels are reported to be among those that will be airing the broadcasts, along with screens outside Chinese embassies in other European capitals. Few details have yet to be disclosed, but the launch on Wednesday will involve about a dozen European broadcast partners showing mostly 10-to-15-minute news programmes, along with short features and lifestyle items, officials said. Xinhua has not divulged which organisations have signed up to broadcast its programmes or expand on the nature of the deals with its partners. However, it has ambitious plans. According to earlier reports in the Chinese media, the country's government has set aside as much as GBP 4bn to fund international expansion of various state-owned media organisations in the hope that they could one day rival the scope of coverage of networks such as CNN and the BBC. (The Guardian)

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