Abstract
Following the theoretical grounding in the previous chapters, Chap. 5 evaluates how Chinese media houses are established in Africa. It draws on the author’s fieldwork in Angola, Kenya, Mozambique and Uganda to illustrate the development and operation of China Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Central Television and China Radio International. The focus is on the process of newsgathering and selection, agenda setting and interaction with audience markets. The chapter then reflects on the production of the media content, and analyzes how the process feeds into the construction of the mediatized image of Africa for both Chinese and international audiences. Several questions are addressed. Chinese media houses share a sense of obligation to promote China’s interest in Africa. How do they do it? Have they achieved the desirable effect? Does their presence in Africa increase people’s awareness of China and win the hearts and minds of African people? Through an analytical focus on the mediated processes of negotiating, globalization and nationalism, the chapter takes on Chinese media narratives to examine how the story of Africa, the story of Chinese in Africa and the story of Africans in China have been told.
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Notes
- 1.
Craig Wynn, “Will China Daily replace Financial Times?”, Eyewitness News, July 11, 2013. http:ewn.co.za/2013/07/09/Is-China-Daily-replacing-the-Financial-Times#.
- 2.
Craig Wynn, “Will China Daily replace Financial Times?”.
- 3.
Lionel Barber, “Financial Times to move to single global print edition”, The Guardian, October 3, 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/09/financialtimes-lionelbarber.
- 4.
David Shambaugh, China Goes Global: The Partial Power (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013).
- 5.
David Shambaugh, China Goes Global: The Partial Power (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 231.
- 6.
Huang Kuo and Li Shubo, “Promoting China’s Influence in Africa: A Strategic Analysis”, in Media and the building up of International Discourse: A international Communication Perspective, eds. Guan Juanjuan and Huang Kuo (Beijing: Chinese Broadcasting Publishing House, 2017).
- 7.
Catie Snow Bailard, “China in Africa: An Analysis of the Effect of Chinese Media Expansion on African Public Opinion”, The International Journal of Press/Politics, Vol. 21(4) (2016), 446–471, 454.
- 8.
Li Lianxing, “Zimbabwe sees increasing role for RMB to maintain investment”, China Daily, December 1, 2015. www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/XiattendsParisclimateconference/2015-12/01/content_22597385.htm.
- 9.
LI lianxing, “‘Nations need to show initiative for results’”, China Daily USA, December 2, 2015. http://africa.chinadaily.com.cn/2015-12/03/content_22611912.htm.
- 10.
Li, Lianxing, “Chinese language opens ‘new window’”, China Daily, December 2, 2015. www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/XiattendsParisclimateconference/2015-12/02/content_22598762.htm.
- 11.
Li, Lianxing and Hao Nan, “African flights spread Air China’s global footprint”, China Daily Africa December 4, 2015. http://africa.chinadaily.com.cn/weekly/2015-12/04/content_22626048.htm.
- 12.
Li, Lianxing, “Capital city shows plenty of signs of China’s popularity”, China Daily U.S.A., December 2, 2015. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/XiattendsParisclimateconference/2015-12/02/content_22598535.htm.
- 13.
Li, Lianxing, “Other nations can join Sino-Africa partnership”, China Daily Europe, December 4, 2015. http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-12/04/content_22625430.htm.
- 14.
Li, Lianxing, “President urges wildlife protection”, China Daily U.S.A., December 3, 2015. http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-12/03/content_22619867.htm.
- 15.
Mi Xiaobing et al., “CCTV: An Organizational Structure Analysis” 2014 URL. http://wenku.baidu.com/view/e39b8a02e518964bcf847ccc.html?re=view.
- 16.
“About Program: Faces of Africa”, CCTV Africa, 2015, http://cctv.cntv.cn/lm/facesofafrica/index.shtml.
- 17.
- 18.
- 19.
Xinhua News, “Xinhua News Agency launches its English News Television channel on April 30”, April 30, 2010. www.news.cn/world/cncyytkt/jj.htm.
- 20.
Mi Xiaobing et al., “CCTV: An Organizational Structure Analysis”.
- 21.
“About Program: Faces of Africa”, CCTV.
- 22.
Anonymous (staff at Xinhua News Agency, Africa bureau), interviewed by Li Shubo, at Xinhua News Agency office, Nairobi, February 10, 2014.
- 23.
Beatrice Marshall (CCTV Africa, producer and anchor of Talk Africa ), interviewed by Li Shubo, at Xinhua News Agency office, Nairobi, February 13, 2014.
- 24.
Pang Xinhua (CCTV Africa, Director), Interview by Li Shubo and Helge Rønning, at CCTV Africa Nairobi, February 12, 2014.
- 25.
Ibid.
- 26.
Geoffrey York , “Why China is making a big play to control Africa’s media”, The Globe and Mail, September 13, 2013. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/media-agenda-china-buys-newsrooms-influence-in-africa/article14269323/.
- 27.
Steven Kaferoo (journalist from Daily Monitor), Interview by Li Shubo, at Kampala, Uganda, February 4, 2014.
- 28.
Shubo Li, “Covering Ebola: a comparative analysis of CCTV Africa’s Talk Africa and Al Jazeera English’s Inside Story”, Journal of African Cultural Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/13696815.2016.1188687.
- 29.
James Wan, “Propaganda or proper journalism? China’s media expansion in Africa”, African Argument, August 15, 2015.
- 30.
Zhang Yanqiu and Simon Matingwina, “Constructive Journalism: A new journalistic paradigm in Africa”, in China’s Media and Soft Power in Africa: Promotion and Perceptions, eds. Zhang Xiaoling, Herman Wasserman, Winston Mano (London: Palgrave, 2016).
- 31.
Gagliardone, 2013.
- 32.
Catie Snow Bailard, “China in Africa: An Analysis of the Effect of Chinese Media Expansion on African Public Opinion”, The International Journal of Press/Politics 21(2016), 446–471.
- 33.
Bailard, “China in Africa: An Analysis of the Effect of Chinese Media Expansion on African Public Opinion”, 446.
- 34.
Anonymous (staff at CRI, Africa bureau), interviewed by Li Shubo, at Xinhua News Agency office, Nairobi, February 11, 2014.
- 35.
Anonymous (staff at CRI, Africa bureau), interviewed by Li Shubo, at Xinhua News Agency office, Nairobi, February 11, 2014.
- 36.
Du Shunfang, “An audience study on radio broadcasting media in three East African countries and an assessment of CRI’s reception”, internal report, China Radio International, October 2013.
- 37.
Emeka Umejei, “Do Chinese media organizations in Africa tell the true African story?”, China-Africa Reporting Project, March 10, 2017. http://china-africa-reporting.co.za/2017/03/do-chinese-media-organisations-in-africa-tell-the-true-african-story/.
- 38.
Emeka Umejei, “Do Chinese media organizations in Africa tell the true African story?”.
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Li, S. (2017). How Chinese Media Houses Are Established in Africa. In: Mediatized China-Africa Relations . Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5382-5_5
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