Meanwhile, one old hand in the news business is attempting to start a "revolution" in Taiwan with two proposals for news programs about Europe. Just what kind of revolution is she trying to start?
In the German elections this past September, Helmut Kohl succumbed to a nation-wide desire for change and had to step down after 16 years as German Chancellor. This was major news, but the local broadcast news media only touched on it briefly.
"Taiwan's coverage of European events is [as informative as] a blank sheet of paper. It's like a 'white terror' with regard to European news," admonishes Carol Ann Chang, an experienced reporter who has lived in Britain for a number of years.
Chang says, "China Television, Taiwan Television and Chinese Television all have at least two full-time correspondents based in the United States. But not a single TV station in Taiwan has even one correspondent based in Europe, either full- or part-time. The preference for the US over Europe is blatant!"
Reporting is in her blood
Chang, who has single-handedly set up Taiwan News International (TNI) in London, was once the producer of Chinese Television System's (CTS) "CTS News Magazine." When she traveled to Britain to pursue graduate study in journalism at the University of Wales, she also worked as British correspondent for CTS and later for Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV).
Chang arrived in Britain just at the time of the Tiananmen Incident. In London's Chinatown and Hyde Park, uncounted numbers of Chinese of all political and regional backgrounds were protesting.
As soon as she heard the news, Chang dropped her bags and took to the streets to interview the protesters. She immediately got in touch with CTS and reported from the scene that very day. Seeing so many Chinese acting together moved her deeply, and she set herself a goal of one day reporting all she saw and heard in other countries to the people of Taiwan.
It wasn't long before Chang got her chance. In 1993, a Hong Kong cable television station calling itself Chinese Television Network, which aimed to be a kind of Chinese CNN, asked her to set up their London bureau. She began to hire people all over Europe, even traveling as far as Moscow, and created several news specials which were both popular and critically acclaimed. Unfortunately, the station later changed hands, and the new management shut down the London bureau. In 1996, Chang established TNI on her own in London to continue providing Taiwan's major television stations with up-to-date European news.
In September of last year two ideas for programs crystallized out of the journalistic blood of her heart. The first was for a show called "Greater Europe" which would cover major news about Europe and about ethnic Chinese in Europe in a 90-minute format. The second was for a 60-minute news features program to be called "Far from Taiwan's Shores." For this second program Chang even flew to Africa to film a pilot episode about Taiwan's agricultural mission in Malawi.
"It's called 'Far from Taiwan's Shores' because its objective is to introduce Taiwanese viewers to the world outside of Taiwan," says Chang.
"Far from Taiwan's Shores"
The management of all the stations to which she pitched her idea were interested. But so far she has only been successful in selling her coverage of events such as secret goodwill visits to Europe by high government officials such as Vice President Lien Chan, and only when local stations were unable to send their own correspondents. As yet, no station in Taiwan has signed a long-term contract with her to buy stories, nor have they bought either of her programs.
With regard to this situation, Fung Chien-san, a professor in the department of journalism at National Chengchi University, says that lack of interest in international news is a global phenomenon, one which confronts the whole world's media. Most Americans, for example, have never been much concerned about events outside of the United States. He recommends that the media look for ways to cooperate in the production of program content and divide costs as they currently do for satellite transmission fees when there is a major story. He believes that doing so would not only benefit the stations themselves, but also provide the viewing audience with a greater variety of programming.
On the other hand, Hu Yuan-hui, manager of the news department at Formosa Television (FTV), feels that while Fung's idea is great in theory, it is not practicable. He says that the media in Taiwan are extremely competitive, pointing out that the desire to scoop a domestic news story means there is little enthusiasm for cooperation; participants would likely squabble over first broadcast rights and programming content. Terry Lee, manager of CTS's news department, also states that because the programming of every TV station has it own particular character, programs that were made cooperatively would not necessarily be usable by all. Moreover, since the liberalization of Taiwan's media, ratings and ad sales have become the primary considerations of television stations. International news, which has never had a large audience, would be subject to cost-to-revenue considerations. Hence, the ideal of expanding international news coverage is far from becoming a reality.
More than they could ever use?
Chen Yin-hsia, assistant director of the China Times' news center, says that the high cost of news coverage by broadcast media means that Taiwan's television stations buy most of their international news from foreign sources. None of the local stations try to scoop international news, nor do they attempt to compete in terms of quality. It is almost as if there is an unspoken agreement among them to avoid driving up costs.
For Taiwan's television stations, buying from foreign sources is easy and cheap. Local stations often even have more such news than they can reasonably use. For example, CTS's Terry Lee says that his station purchases international news from ABC, known for producing news features; CNN, which focuses on breaking news; and NHK, which is Asian in focus.
Chang, however, disagrees with this approach, holding that, "It doesn't provide what Taiwanese people really want."
Ho Chia-chu, chief of the news program division of CTS, agrees that the perspectives on Europe from Taipei and London differ. But for this very reason, Ho feels that Chang's angle on the news may not be the one that Taiwanese television needs. Ho cites the Cannes Film Festival as an example. Ho says that Taiwan's viewers are probably only interested in the awards. They are not terribly interested in an in-depth report on the judging process or exclusive interviews. For this reason, he feels that foreign-sourced news is sufficient. Moreover, if there is a story of local interest such as a trip to Europe by the ROC Premier, local stations send their own staff. Hence, he feels there isn't much need for an organization which reports directly from Europe such as Chang's TNI.
In fact, in recent years Taiwan's media have become more and more concerned with international affairs. Last year, for example, FTV allocated more than NT$1 million to send four news teams abroad-one each to Quebec, Northern Ireland, Australia and the three Baltic states-to produce a series of programs entitled "Creating New Nations." The series not only reflected the station's desire to cover more international issues, but also was essentially a staff training exercise. Further, "It gave Taiwanese something to think about by showing both the external pressures that these nations are facing, and the internal conflicts over national identity and development." But Hu Yuan-hui admits that it's not every year that they have so much money available.
Casting an eye on Europe
Chang takes a different view. She thinks that a reporter who lives in a society and has strong connections to it will perceive events very differently than a reporter who is just sent overseas on assignment.
"A news reporter who lives on location has made long-term observations and has contacts. A journalist shouldn't simply see an event occurring and then investigate; he should be aware of an event in development, before something obvious occurs," says Chang, stressing the importance of basing staff abroad.
Chang feels that Europe in particular, with its deep political, economic, cultural and artistic roots, is worth observing. For instance, Chang feels that Britain's low campaign costs and clean elections, and the direct response of its voters to candidates who talk nonsense, make it a democratic model from which Taiwan could learn.
Chang also feels that Taiwanese should be more aware of news pertaining to ethnic Chinese in Europe.
Here, she cites the Vatican's appointing of the Reverend Paul Shan, Bishop of Kao-hsiung, to the position of Cardinal. The Rev. Shan is only the fifth ethnic Chinese in the world to be so appointed. At that time, Huang Kun-huei, then secretary-general to the President's Office, and Wu Den-yih, then mayor of Kaohsiung, led a delegation to Europe to attend the ceremonies. Chang further points out that the Vatican is the only nation in continental Europe with which Taiwan enjoys formal diplomatic relations. She feels that in addition to the religious significance of a Taiwanese bishop being honored by the Vatican, the news media should also have analyzed the event for behind-the-scenes wrestling between Taiwan and mainland China.
The Cloud Gate Dance Theater's European performances are yet another example. In Taiwan one sees neither the difficulties the dance troupe undergoes while touring, nor the Europeans' response. And then there was PRC Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to London to attend a summit of European and Asian leaders. What did he say while meeting with the leaders of overseas Chinese communities? Why did German Chancellor Kohl line up to meet him? "Such issues are not covered by the foreign news services. They do not consider the needs of Taiwanese," emphasizes Chang.
The "Shadow Team"
Whenever one of Taiwan's major television stations purchases coverage from TNI, Chang racks her brains for members of her loosely knit "Shadow Team" best suited to the assignment. This "team" is actually just a list of ethnic Chinese living in Europe who speak the local languages. Some are experienced journalists, while others are students without reporting experience.
For example, when First Lady Tseng Wen-hui visited Europe in November of 1998, several local television stations-including CTS and TVBS-bought the story from Chang's TNI. In the space of just over 10 hours, Chang, who was in Taiwan at the time, got in touch with an ethnic-Chinese student without much reporting experience named Wu Keng-ju and put him on the story. Everything-from lining up a cameraman and setting up the satellite connection to carrying out the interview with Tseng-had to be arranged within a very narrow timeframe, but Wu, who had accompanied news teams to the Cannes Film Festival several times, managed to pull it off. As a result, Chang's "Shadow Team" has a new member.
But the two-year-old TNI is still in its infancy and Chang's financial resources are limited. In fact, at the moment TNI is essentially Chang herself-her enthusiasm, professional skills and the network of contacts gathered over the years-and a telephone number where she can be reached. The company has no address, nor any formal staff.
In order to put the company on a more stable financial footing, Chang needs clients who will sign TNI to long-term contracts, and she needs to sell special-report-style programs. "These are the roof beams of TNI's house," says Chang.
Catch 22
Chang's long struggle has at least laid a foundation. For the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, except for TTV almost all of Tai-wan's news stations bought coverage from her. And if there is major news from Europe, Taiwan's news media think of Chang. Lee Tai-lin even goes so far as to say, "Carol Ann Chang is Europe." Nonetheless, Taiwan's major television stations hesitate when it comes to signing a long-term contract or buying one of her special reports. As a result, TNI still lacks a roof.
Hu Yuan-hui says that, on the one hand, Chang must find a buyer for her programs before she can really begin to shape TNI. On the other, buyers don't have confidence in the programs she can currently offer them. It's a catch-22.
According to Hu, another factor is that although international news now has an audience in Taiwan, it is not a very large audience. When television stations are confronted with Chang's proposals, they are thinking mostly about cost effectiveness.
Take Chang's "Greater Europe" as an example. Her asking price is US$10,000 per episode, which she feels is just about enough to cover her production costs. But the stations to which she is pitching her show are not sure that their advertising revenues would be enough to cover this amount, and so they are unable to come to a decision.
The basic language of television
There are also two views of the very personal style of Chang's programs.
* * *
Driver: We're here.
Chang: We're here? This is the church?
Chang: We have arrived at the manger in which Jesus was born. Let's go in and have a look. . . . We can't film here? Can we film through the window?
* * *
In the program "In Jesus' Footsteps," Chang comes across more as a tour guide than host. She is not dressed up, there is no special lighting and she doesn't have a script. She just leads the viewer from the place of Jesus' birth to the place of his death, stopping at all the major sights along the way. She even films the act of requesting interviews.
Chen Hao, executive director of the news department at TVBS, says that Chang is passionate about news. Her productions all reflect her own personal style, and she doesn't try to make them trendy. Chen says it's as if she's telling you a story. He likes her style, but says that a commercial television station must consider whether programs suit its overall style. This is especially true of news departments, which rarely buy entire programs from an outside source.
After seeing the pilot for "Far from Taiwan's Shores" which Chang filmed in Malawi, Hu Yuan-hui felt similarly. He says that the appearance of Chang herself on the tape gives it a strong on-the-scene feeling, but he wonders whether viewers would find the style acceptable. Ho Chia-chu says, "Television has its own fundamental language and grammar. You must consider selling points and the market."
But Chang feels that television stations should not underestimate the ability of viewers to accept different things. "Television programs don't have to be ice-cold models of perfection. You can cough. You can reveal the difficulties involved in interviewing."
A revolution still in progress
"Chang's effort is like that of a different voice striving to be heard over the roar of the mainstream. Although there aren't many programs like hers in the mainstream media, in a multi-faceted society, there should be a place for them," says Weng Shieu-chi, a professor in the graduate school of journalism at National Chengchi University.
Chang is exceptionally determined. And her friends, seeing her beating herself black and blue as she tries to blaze her own trail, often nag at her. Nancy Wang, who works in the advertising industry, says that Chang nonetheless sticks to her guns. She is out there every day chasing her ideal in spite of the ticking time bomb of her high blood pressure.
"She knew early on that she would probably face rejection when she came back to sell her programs, but she comes back for another try every year," says Chen Yin-hsia. Chang wryly admits that her uncompromising character has led her friends to declare that she is part rhinoceros. But she believes: "As long as I come back every year to tell everyone I haven't given up, I will one day succeed."
p.108
For her persistence in presenting her proposals to the management of Taiwan's television stations, Carol Ann Chang compares herself to a rhinoceros.
The romance of the lights along the Champs Elyses in front of the Arc de Triomphe have left many feeling charmed by Europe. Yet how much more do Taiwanese really know of Europe? (photo by Pu Hua-chih)
p.110
At the Fifteenth International Agricultural Film Festival, held in Slovakia, all four documentaries entered by Taiwan's Great Studio Productions were nominated for awards. One of them, "Gene Transfer," even won the "National Judges' Prize." But in Taiwan, this news was almost completely unreported.
p.112
Reporting from the School for Peace in Israel, Carol Ann Chang quotes a religious leader there who states that there are only schools for war in this world; there are no schools for peace. But there, Jews and Palestinian Arabs with Israeli citizenship live and study together. Chang is moved by what she sees and hopes to share this feeling with her viewers.
(courtesy of Carol Ann Chang)
p.113
"Shadow Team, move out!" When Chang went to the Malawi to film a program, she
recruited a cameraman on location, adding a new member to her "Shadow Team."
(courtesy of Carol Ann Chang)
p.115
After long observation of Taiwan's news media, Chang dreams of a day when Taiwanese spend more time looking at the world beyond Taiwan's shores.
Reporting from the School for Peace in Israel, Carol Ann Chang quotes a religious leader there who states that there are only schools for war in this world; there are no schools for peace. But there, Jews and Palestinian Arabs with Israeli citizenship live and study together. Chang is moved by what she sees and hopes to share this feeling with her viewers.
"Shadow Team, move out!" When Chang went to the Malawi to film a program, she recruited a cameraman on location, adding a new member to her "Shadow Team." （courtesy of Carol Ann Chang）
After long observation of Taiwan's news media, Chang dreams of a day when Taiwanese spend more time looking at the world beyond Taiwan's shores.
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