Danny Boyle addresses Chinese (and Western) journalists
The latest target of a Jose Mourinho tirade was something I have spent my fair share of time ranting and raving about – the Chinese media.
The Special One was particularly irked after Inter’s defeat to Lazio in the Italian Super Cup, which was played in Beijing last weekend, when a Chinese journalist challenged his claim that the loss was down to the temperature and poor pitch by asking why Lazio were not similarly affected. It seems like a good question, but hit a spot with Mourinho who angrily responded:
“I know why Chinese football is so rubbish and why China has won gold medals in so many sports but not football, it is because the journalists are so unprofessional.”
When later questioned further by a Xinhua journalist, he claimed that the Chinese media “do not understand a thing”.
Mourinho’s claims hold little weight, and were clearly triggered by his disappointment at losing the match. But however ill-considered his comments were they raise an interesting issue – how well equipped are Chinese journalists when it comes to interviewing western subjects? From what I’ve seen, there is still plenty of progress to be made.
The westerner (let alone the western celebrity) is still something of a novelty in China. Meanwhile the Chinese like nothing more than to be told by a foreigner how wonderful China is. These two factors invariably combine, and many interviews and press conferences involving western celebrities visiting China don’t progress far beyond the ‘What do you think of China stage?’
I attended the Chinese premiere of Slumdog Millionaire in Beijing a few months back and watched on as Danny Boyle was bombarded with inane questions from a room full of China’s most influential print, television, radio and internet media. Some repeated questions which had already been asked. Others asked what his favourite film was or if he liked China.
When a western journalist asked one of the few intelligent and relevant questions of the day – one relating to the issue of piracy and how many people in China had owned the film on DVD three months before it was being released in the cinema – the cameraman of one of the country’s preeminent media outlets stopped filming as he felt the question did not reflect well on China.
At the time of the premiere, rumours were abound that Boyle was being lined up to direct the new James Bond movie. Not one journalist raised the issue with him until I had a quiet word with him on the way out. I found it a little odd that not one of the other hundred plus journalists present had thought to ask him the same question.
The problems seem to be deep-seated. For one, Chinese journalists have never been encouraged to ask challenging questions to interviewees, whether they be Chinese or western. But the real issue seems to be that whenever any westerner of note is in China, the story is always: “Such and such is in China.” Rarely do we get far beyond that, and as such the chance for relevant content is missed.
China is clearly keen on increasing its influence on global media. Just a few months ago the government launched a second major English language daily newspaper with the intention of competing internationally. But until the country’s media can learn to treat visits by major western figures – whether they be football managers, film directors or politicians – as the norm rather than a novelty, China won’t be producing news that is of much interest to the rest of the world.
