On Chinese TV, what's cool is no longer correct By Edward Cody (Washington Post) Updated: 2005-09-30 09:21 The phenomenal number of viewers meant that advertising rates soared, beyond
what China Central Television charges for spots on its most popular programs.
The main sponsor, Mongolian Cow Dairy, went from third-largest to the largest
dairy in the country during the show's run.
Li Xiang, the emcee
of the 'Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Supergirl
Contest' [sohu] | Sales more than doubled,
according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper. The China Europe International
Business School announced that it would make the "Supergirl" show a case study
for its master of business administration program.
Worst of all to the Beijing officials who direct China's broadcasting, the
show was emceed by Li Xiang, an edgy pop music hostess from the provinces who is
well known for using Hong Kong and Taiwanese words as she banters with singing
stars onstage. And the winner was a spike-haired, punky-looking Sichuan province
student, Li Yuchun, who deviated so clearly from the standard of soft beauty
espoused by China Central Television that bloggers described her as "boyish."
The new rules were issued a week after the finale and included a mention that
"flirtatious and affected manners on stage" are also banned. Nevertheless, Li
Yuchun announced plans to record an album and has scheduled promotional
appearances across the country, including at the prestigious Peking University.
Yu Dan, director of a mass communications institute at Beijing Normal
University, said the use of Taiwanese and Hong Kong phrases actually went out of
fashion several years ago in big-city studios such as those in Beijing or
Shanghai. A China Central Television producer agreed, saying the rage now is
getting out of the studio to make audience participation programs in which the
master of ceremonies is less important.
"But 70 percent of Chinese television stations are at the city or county
level, and they don't have the money, the vision or the human resources to move
forward," Yu said. "So their programs are stuck in the last century. They don't
know how to renew their offerings."
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television declined to comment on
the new regulations, saying they were suggested by the equally official China
Radio and Television Society, an association of industry workers. At the
society, a spokeswoman queried by telephone and fax said officials were unable
to provide an immediate comment but were working on one.
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