Hiring of Australian anchor is first step by broadcaster's international service to attract a wider western audience
A relaunch and makeover is planned for next month by CCTV International as the broadcaster seeks to shake off its image as a boring government mouthpiece.
One of the most obvious effects of the changes is already apparent, with the appearance of a new morning news anchor, Edwin Maher. The veteran from Australian television is being touted by the channel as one of its few non-Asian news anchors.
But a few weeks into his one-year contract, Maher is still nervous about his new role. 'A friend told me I licked my lips a lot during my early broadcasts,' he said. 'I still feel a bit nervous, but not as much as during my first two weeks. It's the different equipment, the different studio and the different situation.'
Maher's morning newscasts are CCTV International's attempt to attract a larger western audience - specifically in the US, where the show is aired during evening prime time.
Maher says he tries to avoid any uneasiness that might come from presenting what many viewers see as government propaganda by 'not trying to read into the news, not thinking about what is behind the content. [Politically sensitive news] like any other news, has to be read clearly. That is my bottom line.
Because I'm in China, some news may be regarded as politically sensitive or whatever, but that doesn't affect my interpretation of it to the audience.'