China’s Propaganda Tool 沒譯出：
金錢與緋聞：中國反腐風暴刮進央視
黃安偉 2015年02月15日
The New York Times
王青雷在北京的新辦公室。他從2003年起在央視從事製作工作，直到2013年因為公開譴責其宣傳傾向而被迫離職。
北京——習近平在加速進行打擊政府官員腐敗、肅清政治敵人和抵制西方影響的大規模運動。這期間，他利用中共最強大的宣傳工具——國家電視台——來猛烈開展宣傳攻勢。
這家機構全稱為「中國中央電視台」。在它的新聞節目中，一些知名商人還沒受審就在表達懺悔之情。冠名為調查性報道的節目對蘋果等外國公司進行抹黑。一名落馬的中共領導人的受審過程，經過大幅剪輯之後，在黃金時段向億萬觀眾播出。
然而，中共的怒火如今也燒到了央視自己身上。腐敗調查在這家中國最具影響力的新聞宣傳機構中引發地震，相關的名人、性交易和賄賂醜聞的報道舉國矚目。
官方新聞報道以及持續關注此項調查的人士表示，至少已經有15名央視高級員工被黨或政府的有關部門帶走。其中最有名的是37歲的芮成鋼。他是財經新聞主持人，能言善道，穿意大利西裝，開積架車，多年來在瑞士達沃斯的世界經濟論壇(World Economic Forum)年會上進行採訪報道。但他缺席了上個月的年會，令人感覺明顯。
央視的上萬名員工人心惶惶。很多人表示，用金錢換取正面報道的做法非常普遍，每個人都擔心被帶走的電視台員工會揭發同事的這類行為。和這篇文章中其他接受採訪的人一樣，他們不願具名，擔心談論仍在持續進行的調查會遭到當局的報復。
管理層猶豫不決，不願做出重大決策。央視的新總部是座地標性建築，其外部裝修在2008年就已經完成，但樓內大部分辦公室空空蕩蕩。現在，搬入新總部的工作已經停滯，而一些高預算的紀錄片項目也遭到凍結。
高管和製作人怕當出頭鳥，把豪車閑置在車庫裡不用。央視員工透露，在台里的最高層中，如何防止記者從採訪對象那裡受賄成為了首要議題。
這場風暴在央視掀起的時候，正值它為中國的海外宣傳攻勢充當先鋒，並且在將自己打造成一個覆蓋面更廣的全球性新聞媒體，意圖覆蓋的漢語受眾估計達7億人。
「國家電視台是整個國家的臉面，」王青雷說。他從2003年起在央視的從事製作工作，直到2013年因為公開譴責其宣傳傾向而被迫離職。「現在這張臉是髒的，全是爛泥。應該有一個清理過程來把它洗乾淨，才能讓整個國家再次煥發自豪感。」
中共對央視的調查包含兩個主要部分，彼此之間存在交集。第一部分的調查針對的是業務領域的腐敗行為，特別是芮成鋼工作過的央視第二套財經新聞頻道。另一部分的調查則涉及中共領導人和央視主持人及高管之間的關係——有時還頗為曖昧——其中很多人也在財經新聞頻道工作。
有關央視員工和政府官員之間的性關係，傳言很多，但卻無法獲得獨立證實。不過有一些個人關係是眾所周知的。例如，芮成鋼為谷麗萍的一些活動當過主持人。谷麗萍已因涉嫌腐敗和非法金融交易而被拘禁，她的丈夫令計劃是前國家主席胡錦濤的幕僚。目前這對夫妻正在接受調查。
央視和其他一些新聞機構的高管和記者透露，至少有一名現任和一名前任央視女主持人已被控制，正因她們和周永康的密切聯繫而遭受調查。周永康曾是中國安全部門的最高負責人，也是幾十年來因為腐敗問題而被捕的中共官員中級別最高的一名。周永康的第二任妻子擔任過央視的記者，比他年輕28歲，目前也被控制。
這些記者和高管稱，在央視工作了22年的李東生和周永康關係密切。調查人員懷疑他違反黨的規章制度，把央視的年輕女性介紹給周永康等官員發生性關係。周永康去年12月被開除黨籍時，官方通訊機構新華社稱他「與多名女性通姦並進行權色、錢色交易」。
李東生曾被提拔為中共中央宣傳部副部長，後來官至公安部副部長，直到2013年12月被帶走調查。
這些調查，給央視這個志在全球的巨型宣傳機構投下了長長的陰影。央視從2008年開始大舉向國外擴張，現在擁有70家海外新聞分社，包括在華盛頓的一家旗艦分社。央視在向全球各地播放阿拉伯語、英語、法語、俄語和西班牙語節目。
2011年，央視推出紀錄片頻道，嘗試與BBC上可以看到的那類高端節目開展競爭。它收購了很多外國紀錄片的播映權，並聘請了菲爾·阿格蘭(Phil Agland)這樣的知名西方製片人。但員工們表示，由於該頻道雄心勃勃的主管劉文去年7月遭到拘禁，一些重大項目已經叫停。
央視的現任、前任員工和新聞媒體分析師稱，這些狀況以及對宣傳作用的再度強調，進一步損害了央視的聲譽。
「中國媒體的腐敗程度令人震驚，」北京外國語大學的新聞學與媒體研究教授展江最近在一次網上討論中說。「這是世界上最腐敗的地方。不客氣地說，這是中國的恥辱。」
央視多次拒絕了我們的採訪請求。
央視前製片人王青雷說，他認為習近平的反腐敗運動無法解決央視的弊端，也不會改變中國的一黨制。
「這個反腐敗運動主要是政治鬥爭的工具，」他說。「所有行動都是在打擊某個派系，但是整個系統不會有任何改變。」
事實上，中國是把腐敗調查當成一個契機，來強化央視的宣傳作用，讓其播出更多講述普通中國人及其日常生活的傳統內容。記者被告知要強調「道德價值觀和社會美德」。
「我們現在更多地向普通人、農民和農民工的故事傾斜，」一位記者說。
多年以來，央視腐敗泛濫一直是公開的秘密。其最簡單的形式，就是記者和製片人收取少量賄賂以換取正面報道。記者通常會收到多至1000元人民幣的「紅包」或「車馬費」，作為受訪者的一種答謝。央視員工說，有時還會根據報道的類型，協商出高得多的費用。
有幾個人透露，其中一項涉及央視財經新聞頻道主持人和高管的核心調查，把重點放在了大宗受賄案以及與中共腐敗領導人有關係的人身上。芮成鋼是該頻道最有名的主持人，自稱與美國前國務卿亨利·A·基辛格(Henry A. Kissinger)、澳大利亞前總理陸克文(Kevin Rudd)、以及擔任耶魯大學校長之職直到2013年的理乍得·C·萊文(Richard C. Levin)有交情。
財經頻道負責人郭振璽去年6月被拘，比芮成鋼早一個月。安全官員在一個周五的下午前往演播室，帶走了芮成鋼，因此當晚的《經濟信息聯播》留下了一把空空的主持人椅子。
數年前，官方決定讓央視更多地以市場為導向，於是財經頻道的新聞節目和業務運營都由同一個總監來負責。這種雙重角色滋生了大量腐敗機會。「央視每個人都知道這種安排是沒邏輯、沒道理的，」前製片人王青雷說。
王青雷等人稱，去年為期六個月的審計工作暴露了頻道的財務違規行為。
中國官方新聞媒體發佈的信息稱，芮成鋼自己把新聞和商業混合在一起，是他這個案子的核心問題。2002年，他參與成立了一家名為帕格索斯傳播機構(Pegasus Communications)的公關公司，五年後被美國公關公司愛德曼(Edelman)收購。中國一家新聞機構在網上發佈政府文件稱，芮成鋼在2010年前一直持有帕格索斯的股份。
2009年和2010年，芮成鋼仍然持有帕格索斯的部分股份。愛德曼早前的一份聲明和中國的新聞報道稱，該公司在達沃斯為芮成鋼所在的財經頻道提供服務，在那裡為其安排了一個演播室。
央視還存在其他形式的腐敗問題。一些員工說，誇大預算的現象很普遍。這是指制定或者批准的預算多於所需的金額，這樣他們就可以把部分資金裝入自己的腰包。
一位資深記者表示，他相信當局開展這些調查，是為了警示新聞媒體及其他行業的機構。「打擊央視的腐敗是要在社會上掀起波瀾，」他說。
但就目前來說，還是央視本身受到的影響最大。
「最近，我和另一位離開央視的節目導演聊了聊，」王青雷說。「這個人對我說，『我在央視度過的每一天都感到很羞恥。』」
黃安偉(Edward Wong)是《紐約時報》北京分社社長。
《紐約時報》的一名員工對本文有報道貢獻。Mia Li 對本文有研究貢獻
CCTV, China’s Propaganda Tool, Finds Itself at Center of Antigraft Drive
February 15, 2015
The New York Times
Wang Qinglei, a former producer who worked at China Central Television, or CCTV, from 2003 until he was fired in 2013 for publicly denouncing propaganda on the network, at his new office in Beijing.
BEIJING — As President Xi Jinping accelerated his sweeping campaign against government corruption, political enemies and Western influences in China, he deployed the Communist Party’s most powerful propaganda tool, the state television network, like a hammer.
News programs on the network, China Central Television, showed confessions by prominent businessmen before they had even been put on trial. Foreign companies like Apple were smeared by so-called investigations programs. Heavily edited excerpts from the trial of a fallen party leader were broadcast in prime time to hundreds of millions of viewers.
- 查看大图
The New York TimesThe headquarters of China Central Television, second building from left in background, as seen from Mr. Wang's office. - 查看大图
ReutersRui Chenggang, a well-known financial news anchor on China Central Television, was absent last month from the annual conference of the World Economic Forum, where he had been a fixture for years.
But now the wrath of the party has turned on the network itself. An inquiry into corruption at CCTV, as the network is known, has shaken up the nation’s most influential news and propaganda organization, riveting the country with reports involving a seamy mix of celebrities, sex and bribery.
At least 15 senior network employees have disappeared into the maw of party and state detention, according to official news reports and people who have been tracking the investigations. The most famous, Rui Chenggang, 37,a smooth-talking financial news anchor who wore Italian suits and drove a Jaguar, was noticeably absent last month from the annual conference of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, where he had been a fixture for years.
The network’s more than 10,000 employees are on edge. The practice of trading positive coverage for cash is so prevalent, many say, that everyone lives in fear that employees who have been detained will reveal details about their colleagues. Like others for this article, they spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the authorities for talking about the continuing investigations.
Managers hesitate to make big decisions. The move into the new landmark CCTV headquarters, which has been mostly empty since its facade was completed in 2008, has stalled, and some high-budget documentary projects have been frozen.
Executives and producers, afraid of making themselves conspicuous targets, are leaving their luxury cars in their garages. Among the top ranks, figuring out how to stop journalists from taking bribes from the people they interview has become a priority, CCTV employees said.
The turmoil at the network comes at a time when it has become both the spearhead of China’s propaganda efforts in foreign countries and a more expansive global news conduit for an estimated 700 million Chinese viewers.
“A nation’s TV station is the face for the entire nation,” said Wang Qinglei, a former producer who worked at CCTV from 2003 until he was fired in 2013 for publicly denouncing propaganda on the network. “Now this face is dirty and full of mud. There should be a cleansing process to wash it, so the entire nation can be proud again.”
The party’s investigations of the network follow two main strands that overlap. One is corrupt business practices, particularly at CCTV 2, the financial news channel where Mr. Rui worked. The other involves the relationships, sometimes intimate, that some party leaders had with anchors and executives at the network, many of whom are also at CCTV 2.
The widespread gossip about sex between network employees and government officials could not be independently confirmed, but some personal ties are well known. Mr. Rui, for example, hosted events for Gu Liping, who is now detained on suspicion of corruption and illicit financial dealings and is the wife of Ling Jihua, an aide to former President Hu Jintao. The couple has been placed under investigation.
At least one current and one former female CCTV anchor who have been detained are being scrutinized for close ties to Zhou Yongkang, the former security chief and the most senior party official to be arrested in decades for corruption, according to executives and journalists working for CCTV and other news institutions. Mr. Zhou’s second wife, who is a former CCTV journalist and is 28 years his junior, has also been detained.
Li Dongsheng, a close associate of Mr. Zhou and a 22-year employee of CCTV, is suspected by investigators of having introduced young women at the network to Mr. Zhou and other officials for sexual encounters in violation of party rules, the journalists and executives said. When Mr. Zhou was expelled from the party last December, Xinhua, the official state news agency, said he had “committed adultery with a number of women and traded his power for money and sex.”
Mr. Li, who rose to become deputy director of the propaganda department and then vice minister of public security, has been detained since December 2013.
The investigations are casting a long shadow over a vast propaganda apparatus with global ambitions. CCTV began a big international push around 2008 and now has 70 news bureaus overseas, including a flagship in Washington. CCTV channels broadcast programming around the world in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
In 2011, the network started a documentary channel to compete with the kind of high-end programming seen on BBC. It has bought the rights to many foreign documentaries and hired prominent Western producers like Phil Agland. But since the detention last July of the ambitious head of the channel, Liu Wen, some major projects have been halted, employees said.
Current and former employees and news media analysts say the revelations, along with a renewed emphasis on propaganda, have further damaged CCTV’s credibility.
“It is shocking how corrupt the Chinese media is,” Zhan Jiang, a professor of journalism and media studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said in a recent online discussion. “It is the most corrupt in the world. To put it bluntly, it is the shame of our country.”
CCTV declined repeated requests for an interview.
Mr. Wang, the former producer, said he did not think Mr. Xi’s anticorruption campaigns would cure the ills of the network or China’s one-party system.
“This anticorruption campaign is very much a tool of political struggle,” he said. “All it will do is strike down one faction. But the system is not changed in any way.”
Indeed, the party has taken the corruption investigation as an opportunity to reinforce the network’s propaganda role, ordering up more old-school stories about common Chinese and their daily struggles. Reporters have been told to emphasize “moral values and social virtues.”
“We are now directed to place more emphasis on the common man, farmers and migrant workers,” one journalist said.
The corruption that permeated the network had been an open secret for years. At its simplest level, reporters and producers take modest bribes in exchange for positive coverage. Journalists typically receive up to $160, known as “red envelopes” or “taxi fare,” as a token of thanks from sources. Network employees say much larger fees are sometimes negotiated, according to the type of coverage.
Several people said one central investigation, involving the anchors and executives of CCTV 2, the financial news channel, was focused on large-scale bribetaking as well as ties to corrupt party leaders. Mr. Rui was the channel’s most famous anchor and had boasted of friendships with former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger; former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia; and Richard C. Levin, who was president of Yale until 2013.
The head of CCTV 2, Guo Zhenxi, was detained last June, a month before Mr. Rui was. Security officers seized Mr. Rui at the studio on a Friday afternoon, leaving an empty co-anchor’s chair that night on his program, “Economic News.”
When officials decided years ago to make CCTV more market-driven, the director of CCTV 2 was put in charge of both news programming and business operations, a dual role that offers many opportunities for corruption. “Everyone at CCTV knows this setup is illogical and unreasonable,” said Mr. Wang, the former producer.
Financial irregularities emerged during a six-month audit that was completed last year, Mr. Wang and others said.
Information released by state news outlets points to Mr. Rui’s own mixing of journalism and business as a central part of the case against him. In 2002, he helped found a public relations firm, Pegasus Communications, that was bought five years later by the American public relations company Edelman. Mr. Rui held stock in Pegasus until 2010, according to government documents posted online by a Chinese news organization.
In 2009 and 2010, while Mr. Rui was still a part owner of Pegasus, the companyprovided services at Davos to CCTV 2, Mr. Rui’s employer, arranging for a studio there, according to an earlier statement from Edelman and Chinese news reports.
Corruption takes place in other ways at CCTV. Budget padding is common, several employees said; people who draw up or approve budgets for productions sometimes request more money than is needed so that they can pocket some of the cash.
One senior journalist said he believed the authorities intended for the investigations to be cautionary lessons for other organizations in the news media and beyond. “The crackdown at CCTV was designed to create shock waves in society,” he said.
At the moment, though, the tumult is greatest at the center.
“Recently I spoke to another director of programming at CCTV, who is leaving,” Mr. Wang said. “This person told me, ‘Each day I spend at CCTV is another day I’m spending in shame.’”
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