Discovery Channel to tell the story of China
Print Edition
A HARD hat-clad American TV host grips the bamboo-and-steel scaffolding, the dizzying urban landscape of Shanghai unfolding far below him.
“I’m bringing cameras and questions to places outsiders are rarely permitted, to investigate the aspirations of the world’s fastest-growing middle class,” architect Danny Forster tells Discovery viewers.
There is just one catch: both the cameras — and the questions — are co-funded by the Chinese government.
The government is investing heavily in documentaries on China that are hosted by foreign TV personalities and air on major international networks.
The State Council Information Office unveiled its latest such effort this week in Beijing at the premiere of “How China Works,” a three-part series hosted by Forster that will air on The Discovery Channel.
The show, created “with the support and guidance” of the SCIO, is part of a three-year deal in which Discovery will air an hour of China-themed programs a week, reaching 90 million viewers in 37 countries and territories.
Discovery executives declined to detail the financial terms of the deal, dubbed “Hour China.”
“To tell a good Chinese story, it won’t be enough to rely just on our media,” Cui Yuying, deputy director of the SCIO, said at the series’ launch ceremony.
“We look forward to seeing such strong and influential global media as The Discovery Channel tell an amazing Chinese story,” Cui said.
Discovery and the Chinese government have been working together since 2004, and the TV giant has produced 65 hours of China-themed programs.
Its previous series include “Long March Into Space,” on China’s ambitious space program, and “Rebuilding Sichuan,” about the government-led recovery effort following the devastating 2008 quake in southwest China.
Forster, a Harvard-trained architect, has presented “Extreme Engineering” and “Build It Bigger” on Discovery and the Science Channel, and Wednesday’s launch event featured strobe lights and thumping music.
“We all know China is the factory to the world, but the China of tomorrow is more innovation-centric,” said Vikram Channa, vice president of production and development for Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.
The new series will tell the story of “the emerging China, the China dream,” Forster said, citing President Xi Jinping’s catchphrase.
Enrique Martinez, the acting president of Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, said that the program was “a complete brainstorm” between SCIO and Discovery, and that the network would retain editorial control over the end product.
“Obviously, we have to pass certain filters editorially within our organization as well as from a regulatory standpoint for transmissions around different places in the world,” he said.
Asked whether the series amounted to an “advertorial” funded by the Chinese government, he responded: “I’d say watch the shows.
“They’re incredible, insightful, and just extremely deep analyses of what is transpiring.
“One of the things that’s very clear right now is that China is on the world stage,” he said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
