Illustration by Afshin Sabouki

Telling stories that matter to Chinese viewers, whether they have lived in Canada for years or have recently become a citizen, is what motivates two local Asian television stations. Their two news directors come from vastly different backgrounds, but both strive to address Chinese-Canadians’ need to be informed in an engaging manner.

Chinese and Canadian media

Todd Ye, who originally immigrated to Canada from China in 2000, is director of news and current affairs at Fairchild TV, a Cantonese language specialty channel. He graduated from a four-year Bachelor of Arts Program in Communication at the University of China in Beijing.

In terms of university education, Ye says media training in Canada and China is quite similar. The focus for both is on achieving balanced, objective reporting. However, when it comes to reality, there are much more stringent restrictions for reporting – particularly anything about the higher levels of government – in China.

“When you try something [in your reporting] and try to push something, your editor tells you if it’s right or wrong. For example, you better not touch it, or do it another way,” says Ye.

The Chinese media, which is state-owned, strongly discourages any negative stories relating to them. One big adjustment he had to make when working in Canadian media was that it was acceptable to challenge authority.

Doug Cheng, a managing producer/editor at Omni TV, a multicultural television station, has been responsible for Mandarin and Cantonese newscasts since January 2013. Born and raised in Vancouver, Cheng studied Political Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Broadcast Journalism at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. In late 2008, Cheng was hired by Rogers and has since worked his way up to his current position.

Doug Cheng, Managing Producer/Editor at Omni TV, directs a newscast. | Photo courtesy of Doug Cheng

Differences between Chinese broadcasters

The biggest difference between the three major Chinese broadcast media in Metro Vancouver –
Fairchild, Shaw Cable and Omni – is that Omni is accessible to everyone. Shaw and Fairchild need a subscription to a cable or satellite service, says Cheng.

Another major difference is the length of their newscasts – Fairchild has one-hour newscasts while Omni has half-hour newscasts. Ye says that Fairchild covers about 60 to 70 per cent local news, while Cheng estimates Omni covers approximately between 50 to 60 per cent local stories. For both, local news refers to Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and British Columbia.

Niche focus

Omni Chinese newscasts focus on mainstream topics, but often have a different angle. For example, on the third day following the news that East Vancouver resident Ka Chi David Siu, 33, had been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his mother and had attempted to stab his niece, Cheng says one of the Omni reporters did some digging and found two people who knew Siu.

“I don’t think the mainstream would do that story on the third day,” says Cheng.

Even though the Mandarin and Cantonese newscasts are two separate entities, the editorial staff works together as one team. Stories with new immigrants resonate more with the Mandarin audience because more of them are newcomers compared to the Cantonese, who have generally been in the country longer.

“We have a niche audience. We have a very micro audience. We have to go deeper,” he says.

Mainstream media can oversimplify issues at times, Cheng feels.

Evolution of ethnic media

Guo Ding, producer and director of Omni’s Mandarin newscast, sees ethnic media as part of mainstream media. In the early days, immigrants didn’t know their part in Canadian history.

“They came to try to make money and help their families in China. They became part of the community builders. Immigrants are part of history. Chinese are not outsiders. They didn’t have citizenship in WWII, but they wanted to fight for democracy, freedom. They fought for this country. Because of this, they changed this history of Chinese immigrants,” he says.

Previously, Chinese media was a bridge for Chinese immigrants. Chinese media translated information from mainstream to Chinese. That is no longer the case, says Ding.

“We are covering stories that mainstream media cannot cover. We know the government, politicians, and the structure very well. When we analyse policy, we see what is good for the Chinese viewer,” Ding says.

“I don’t think the English media’s approach or editorial stand is based on the fact of multiculturalism,” says Ding. “The community is moving, changing. It’s not the same as it was 100 years ago. When we see issues happen in the Chinese community, the English media is blind – they cannot see the whole community, the whole picture.”

Chinese representation in media mainstream

Ye feels the mainstream media coverage of the Chinese community has improved during his time in Canada.

“When I first came to Canada, there was talk about Chinese building monster homes and driving luxury cars. Now, it’s not so much. The new Chinese immigrants are wealthier than the previous generation. The mainstream media is not focused on the differences,” says Ye.

Ye believes that new immigrants are keen to become a part of local communities and that media can help in the process.

“More and more new immigrants come to Canada and they want to be a member of the society. They don’t want to be a stranger in a new community. They try to be somewhat helpful to the community, but sometimes they are to too shy to communicate with their neighbours. It’s a problem we should face and something we should work on,” says Ye.

Cheng feels that mainstream media tends to lump the Chinese community together as one group. He believe there are many nuances.

“There’s Cantonese people from Hong Kong [and the] mainland, Mandarin people from the mainland [and] Taiwan. We are not a homogenized group. We recognize that. There are also old-time immigrants who came in the 1940s and 1950s,” he says.

In the end, success in media comes down to good storytelling, notes Cheng.

“We try to provide a good balance of information you should know, but in an entertaining way that will grab your attention. Mainstream or ethnic media, it’s what we should all strive for anyway,” says Cheng.