Happy birthday CCTV

A big party

China Central Television (CCTV) is 50 years old. They threw a party in the Great Hall of the People on Saturday, and Xinhua filed a report:

China celebrated the 50th anniversary of its television broadcasting service and founding of the China Central Television Station (CCTV) here Saturday…

….Corresponding with the development and changes of domestic and international situation, the country will build modern media system and enhance the power of news media for domestic and world service so as to create a favorable social environment and atmosphere for public opinions, [President] Hu [Jintao] said.

He hoped the CCTV to make itself a leading media group with strong international influence, advanced technologies, rich contents and good coverage.

The Xinhua piece is mostly hot air such as the above; it does not go into any detail about the history of CCTV. For a potted history of the early years of the station, see Morning Sun, a ‘Film and Website about Cultural Revolution’; excerpt:

1953-1956

In 1953, representatives from China visit the USSR and Czechoslovakia to study television technologies.

In 1955, the Chinese Central Broadcasting Bureau proposes the establishment of China’s first television station in Beijing. Zhou Enlai adopts the proposal, stating that China’s television industry should be part of the “Five-Year Culture and Education Plan.” Television’s goals are propaganda, education, and cultural enrichment.

…

1958

Beijing TV Station (later renamed China Central Television Station, or CCTV, in 1978) begins broadcasting on May 1, 1958. The first broadcast includes a 10 minute report on Labor Day; model workers report on production outputs; a documentary called “Go to the Countryside” shows Communist officials working with farmers; other segments include cultural programs, dance and poetry readings, and a Soviet program on “Television.”

There was only one channel, which went on the air a few times a week, for two to three hours beginning at 7:00 PM. The black-and-white broadcasts consisted of news, documentaries, entertainment and educational materials, and reached only the Beijing area. Initially, there were only 50 television sets, for use by government officials.

The first news item produced by the Beijing TV Station, airing on May 15, was a report on China’s success in making its own cars. Its first newsreel covered the Red Flag, the Party’s theoretical journal. News consisted mostly of still photos, text, and talking heads, along with news documentaries.

TV dramas were also produced, with heavy political tones — “A Bite of Cabbage Cake” contrasted life under the Nationalists before 1949 with life under the Communists. It was broadcast live on June 15, 1958.