"Newspaper War" over Aussie broadcaster for China state TV
Edwin Maher relaxes in Beijing
LA Times
LA Times
A Chinese journalist who took part in a Reuters Foundation course has stepped into a row over American accusations that a well-known Australian broadcaster is a propagandist for the Beijing government.
Zhu Yan, who attended a "Reporting HIV/Aids" workshop in London two years ago, came to the defence of Edwin Maher, New Zealand born former well-known Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) weatherman and journalist who is the first non-Chinese to anchor prime-time news on the state-run English language station CCTV9-International.
Maher has won the Friendship Award, the highest honour that a foreigner can receive from the Chinese government, for his contribution to journalism.
But Zhu Yan says many Chinese took offence at an article in the Los Angeles Times which portrayed Maher as "mouthing the party line... a shameless government yes-man who gives all Western journalists a bad name."
The article, by L.A. Times reporter John Glionna, triggered what Zhu Yan calls "a newspaper war" in China. "Many Chinese do not like what the L.A. Times published, so I wrote an article in English." Zhu Yan's profile of Maher appeared in the English language China Daily.
He quoted the broadcaster as saying he tried "within the parameters of the system and environment... to provide a better standard of news bulletin."
Zhu Yan wrote: "Maher takes the media-state relationship in China as a fact of life and a matter of acceptance: "When you work for an organisation, it's like being selected to play in a team and there is a captain in the team and there are rules of the game. You have to abide by the rules. If you don't like them, you get out."
When Maher began his broadcast career in Wellington in 1965, radio was totally controlled by the New Zealand government, Zhu Yan wrote, quoting Maher. The one news bulletin at 9pm mostly consisted of government department handouts. Change came gradually from the 1970's. "Change always comes," the article said.
Likewise, Maher says he has "seen great change at CCTV9 in a relatively short period of time," including live interviews on controversial issues.
Zhu Yan's article concluded: "Without great changes in China, Maher would not have become China's Western face."
In the past few months Bloggers including some based in China have taken up the controversy. Some strongly defend Maher's position while others argue that the L.A. Times article was objective and properly sourced.
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