The article is from WeChat public account: News Lab (ID: newslab) , author: Hang Shu, from the title figure: Figure worm
On January 1, 1979, China and the United States established diplomatic relations. Shortly thereafter, Deng Xiaoping led a Chinese government delegation to the United States. Zhao Zhongxiang, a 37-year-old announcer, landed on the American continent with a television coverage group.
During the visit, Zhao Zhongxiang successfully cooperated with the program hosts of NBC, ABC, and CBS, and broadcasted domestically via satellite for 10 consecutive times, which caused a great response. . Zhao Zhongxiang’s skillful ability to host made his American counterparts astounding, calling him “China’s Cronkite.”
In January 1979, Zhao Zhongxiang visited the United States with Deng Xiaoping and entered the White House to interview President Carter.
“I don’t think I have a reason to be nervous”
News students will never be familiar with the name Walter Cronkite. Cronkite is the chief anchor of CBS Evening News in the United States, and he has reported on almost all major historical events of the contemporary United States.
In the 1952 US presidential election, Cronkite was appointed as a core member of the press group. The producers say that all production teams are running a relay race, and Cronkite is the last one. This “last stick” English word “anchor” has since become synonymous with TV news anchors.
Cronkite’s rich knowledge reserve and ability to respond to changes have made him a pride in the hosting industry and made news anchors one of the most respected and trusted professions in the United States for many years.
In 1963, Cronkite reported the assassination of President Kennedy
American colleagues have praised Zhao Zhongxiang as “China’s Cronkite”. So what does he think about it? In an interview, Zhao Zhongxiang said:
“Cronkite is very famous in the West. His Vietnam War interview, moon landing commentary, and Kennedy assassination scene reports have made a worldwide sensation. He is far above me in terms of qualifications, knowledge, and achievements. However, he claims to have 3800 In the United States with 10,000 TV viewers, compared with China with 500 million viewers, we have more viewers than him. You can even say the other way around: ‘Kronkite is Zhao Zhongxiang of the United States!’
Zhao Zhongxiang was born in Beijing on January 16, 1942. In February 1960, he participated in “Beijing Television” (now CCTV) Among the thousands of recent high school graduates recruiting announcers, Zhao Zhongxiang became the only one selected. Eight months later, he hosted the National Day live broadcast with Shen Li, China’s first female TV announcer.
For more than 20 years since then, many important central documents, announcements, and major international and domestic news have been broadcast on TV by Zhao Zhongxiang. These include China’s first successful atomic bomb test, the launch of the first artificial satellite, the Sino-Indian border self-defense counterattack, the Treasure Island incident, and Vietnam.Self-defense counterattack.
It wasn’t until 1982 that CCTV came with a second male announcer: Xue Fei, a 77-year-old graduate of the Broadcasting Department of the Beijing Broadcasting Institute.
In 1978, CCTV began producing 20-minute domestic news and 10-minute international news, and later merged into “News Network.” At this time, there was only Zhao Zhongxiang who was able to act as the host of the broadcast.
During this period, he also interviewed some foreigners who are friendly to China. Therefore, when interviewing US President Carter at the time, he was already capable of being indifferent and calm.
Zhao Zhongxiang reports that when he walked into the lobby outside the Oval Office of the White House, some reporters asked him: “Are you nervous? Strive for success!” He said, “Thank you, I don’t think I have any reason to be nervous. In the interview Before your president, I have interviewed many heads of state.
Investigation Report
To become a “Chinese Cronkite”, you should not only have sufficient accomplishments and works in news broadcasts and interviews with people, but also take the initiative to conduct some in-depth investigative reports.
In early 1985, Zhao Zhongxiang left the broadcasting group of “News Broadcasting”, and instead collected, edited, and broadcasted, hosting a series of feature films. Among them are “Beijing” which talks about agricultural achievements, “Talk to Baosteel” which invites Baosteel to answer social questions, and “Visit Han Boping, Beijing Deputy Mayor on price issues”, three episodes of the series “Impact and Reflection”, “Twelve Hours” “Timed Interview” and other programs.
One of them worth mentioning is Impact and Reflection. In 1983, Shijiazhuang Paper Mill was on the verge of closing down, and Ma Shengli stepped forward and contracted the paper mill. Two years later, his reforms turned the factory into a profit, but the reforms also violated some people’s interests. As a result, the material of false accusation of Ma Shengli’s “top ten counts” was listed in the “Internal Reference” of the People’s Daily, and someone instructed to stop propagating Ma Shengli.
Ma Shengli, the “first person in state-owned enterprise contracting”
In this case, reporters from Xinhua News Agency and other news units went to Shijiazhuang. After careful investigation, they overturned the false words that had a great impact on Ma Shengli, and rightly supported the reformers.
In the “Impact and Reflection” show, Zhao Zhongxiang is not just a passive announcer. He participated in interviews, rewritten the commentary of the first episode, and wrote a commentary. He clearly supported Ma Shengli. Zhao Zhongqiang said that this interview touched him a lot.
In the era of reform, a series of new phenomena and problems have emerged, and it is especially important to reflect, report and show attitudes to these issues in a timely manner. In the first decade of the reform, the official media played an important role in the supervision of the Chinese public opinion field, and also made a lot of in-depth and infectious reports on the current disadvantages.
The text of these reports inevitably bears the imprint of that era. It may now seem out of context and difficult to understand, but in the era in which it has been powerful, it has ignited street discussions and continued to promote the reform process. The “Three-color Report” of the Daxinganling Fire in China Youth Daily in 1987, which was recently read again, is a silhouette belonging to that era.
Trace the roots, which should be attributed to a good start. At first, many people in the society still adhered to the old-fashioned ideas during the ten years of civil unrest, degraded many things that did not meet their own ideas, and even felt that they should be arrested and sentenced. In some places, the determination to reform is weak, or there is simply interest.
Programs like “Impact and Reflection” have pointed out the source of the problems that endangered the results of corporate reform, and played a role in clearing the source and emancipating the mind. In the call of the times, TV news is not absent.
Humanistic care in the interview
As a reporter, Zhao Zhongxiang’s observation of the character’s subtle mentality and basic humanistic care reflected in the interview are reflected in many reports.
On one occasion, he went to Beijing Anding Hospital for an interview. This is a psychiatric hospital. When he first accepted the task, he felt a little awkward and worried. However, what he was exposed to on the day of the interview changed his opinion, so he devoted himself with great interest in order to introduce the audience to the scientific knowledge of assisted treatment of mental illness.
He recalled that when he talked to a female patient, he originally asked: “When did you get mentally ill?” But this was too offensive, so he said, “How long have you been in the hospital? Before you were hospitalized How do you feel bad? “
The patient removed his guard and talked to him. She said that she was a primary school teacher and was diagnosed with auditory psychosis. She finally said, “I’m going to be discharged recently. I miss my students very much. I really want to heal the disease sooner and contribute to my education.”
After the show was broadcast, it was well received by the audience. The audience said that the show not only introduced the knowledge of treating mental illness, but also reflected the relationship between people under the socialist system.
It is necessary to remind us of the time background of the 1980s. In 1981, China issued a stamp with the name “International Year of the Disabled” -yes, the “disabled” was the official title of the current “disabled”. At that time, China’s protection of vulnerable groups was not much, and there were more discriminations and misunderstandings in society than it is now. The groundbreaking significance of such reports is self-evident.
In 2003, during the outbreak of SARS in Beijing, Chai Jing was fully armed and advanced into the hospital ward of the front line against SARS. This situation and the figure who stepped into the “psychiatric hospital” a few decades ago have a coincidence across time and space.
“National Idol” and Old Seniors
For a full twenty years, there was only one male announcer on the Chinese TV screen, and he was Zhao Zhongxiang. Later, there were more male faces on TV, but Zhao Zhongxiang was still the most famous announcer, host and reporter in China at that time.
As he said, there were “500 million” TV viewers in China in the 1980s, and everyone basically only watched CCTV programs. So, CCTV broadcasts a TVIn the drama, the streets and alleys are empty; every song is broadcast and every family will sing.
As soon as Zhao Zhongxiang’s voice came out, people across the country recognized it. Wherever he went like a star, he would always be recognized and chased him.
Chinese painter Zhou Huaimin said that instead of watching TV screens, just listening to the sound, he can tell that it is Zhao Zhongxiang. In an interview with Zhao Zhongxiang that year, he mentioned what kind of “national idol” treatment he received after 25 years in the industry.
During a dinner at Hongbinlou Restaurant in Beijing, Ding Yilan, then the director of China Radio International, banqueted friends and relatives, and also went to Zhao Zhongxiang. When the elders toasted him for Zhao Zhongxiang’s achievements, they shocked some customers next door. The scene was boiling, and the next seat came one after another to toast Zhao Zhongxiang.
In a mass event in the Beijing People ’s Cultural Palace, when Zhao Zhongxiang was discovered, he was immediately surrounded by enthusiastic audiences and asked him to sign. Even the PLA soldiers on duty nearby came to maintain order. Zhao Zhongxiang “guaranteeed” to go out. When he was sent to a lobby to rest, the soldiers themselves took out their books and asked him to sign.
Zhao Zhongxiang also tirelessly imparted experience to the younger generation. He served as the broadcasting director of CCTV, and served as a judge on the host competition several times. He also wrote about his interview experience in the article “Talking on TV Interviews” in the Journal of Communication University of China, Modern Communication, 1983.
He said, The interview must be fully prepared, both daily accumulation and full understanding of the event or person before the interview. Be sincere and enthusiastic, and respect each other from the bottom of your heart.
He said that TV reporters should be in front of the camera and show their best energy and not be disturbed by live noise. To talk to the interviewee, you have to face the interviewer; to speak to the audience, you have to look at the camera, the camera is the audience’s eyes.
He said, sit and sitThere are stand-ups, don’t interrupt the other party’s thinking, “Don’t pour tea in the speech.” Language must be refined, and at the same time learn to improvise according to the outline.
He also said, “As long as it reflects the party’s policy spirit and brings it out in the problem, it can have a good publicity effect.”
This can be said to be the “oldest qualified” TV reporter in China at the time, preaching to colleagues. The basic skills of interviewing pointed out in this article undoubtedly have a strong sense of the times. Now it seems that it does not seem to mention common sense, but does the current interviewer have almost all done it?
Old age
Zhao Zhongxiang, who retired from the news post, then switched to literary shows. He hosted 12 Chinese New Year Gala and partnered with Yang Lan after the opening of the Zhengda Variety Show. The two programs “Animal World” and “Human and Nature” completely infiltrated Zhao Zhongxiang’s efforts and voices. After Zhao Zhongxiang retired, he was still hired as the dub of these two programs.
These are familiar stories, because the tradition of CCTV variety shows has been passed down with the annual party and shows. However, the news story co-started by young Zhao Zhongxiang and colleagues had to start from the beginning after the prosperous 1990s.
In 1993, when the Bai Yansongs came from the “Fourth Ring Road of Reason” to the “Passionate Road of Peace” and became “temporary workers” recruited by “Oriental Time and Space”, the “Caotai team” of the CCTV News Commentary Department again Pick up. After that, Zhao Zhongxiang could only be remembered because “it’s time for the animals to mate again”.
In his later years, Zhao Zhongxiang was caught up in scandals and controversies. He opened a noodle shop, wrote three autobiographies, and even was exposed that he must make a living by meeting people, taking pictures, and selling calligraphy and painting. Most of the time, his old life is no different from a standard retired cadre.
Zhao Zhongxiang is an old man who has come from more than half a century ago. It can be said that he is a character who has crossed the times. His thoughts and thoughts all bear the marks of his youth. In the face of a more complex world, his three perspectives seem stale, and his individual words and deeds are either frightening or dumb.
This is also the limitation and conservativeness of an era when he was facing “the great change that has not happened in the millennium”, which also complicated the evaluation that later summarized his life.
He might not have expected that he would have to explain the process of alleged “sexual harassment” over and over again. The same behavior once made his counterparts in the United States, those of Cronkite’s successors, ruined in one go. Even brilliant things like Matt Lauer’s (Matt Lauer) will be rejected by one vote.
“Every time you want to criticize anyone, you remember that not everyone in this world has the superior conditions you have.”
Born in the new era, the broad horizons, renewal of thinking, and change of ideas that young people have are also a “superior condition” compared to older people.
Zhao Zhongxiang failed to surpass the time he was in, but he successfully played his role in that time. Therefore, he will be written into the history of Chinese television, in this perspective, let future generations remember him.
Zhao Zhongxiang is an outstanding representative of the earliest TV reporters in China. This is what he really should be remembered for.
Source
Zhao Zhongxiang, talk about TV interview, modern communication, 03, 1983
Yu Shanlan, Cronkite in China——Interview with CCTV host Zhao Zhongxiang, Xinjiang Press, Issue 02, 1988
Huang Jian, he meets you on the screen——Interview with CCTV announcer Zhao Zhongxiang, journalist, No. 04, 1985
The article is from WeChat public account: News Lab (ID: newslab) , author: Hang Shu