Seven Female TV Reporters Work with a Sense of Mission

Seven female reporters with Zhejiang Satellite Television are widely acclaimed for their first-hand coverage of typhoons across Zhejiang. They are Zhang Hong, Li Yan, Gu Xiaoyan, Hu Qunfang, Shao Yiping, Bu Yelin and Dou Beibei. I recently interviewed six of them, as Gu Xiaoyan is now engaged in a PhD course in Beijing-based Qinghua University. The female reporters are known as seven sisters of Zhejiang Satellite Television.

The seven sisters established themselves heroically in the typhoon season in 2005. That year, Zhejiang, a coastal province in eastern China, was repeatedly whacked by destructive typhoons. The tropical storms known as Haitang, Matsa, Kalim, Nabi and Khanun came in close tandem and made crashing landfalls in Zhejiang. When these storms hit, people moved in opposite directions: most were leaving for safe shelters but teams were moving toward typhoons. The latter includes PLA soldiers, local armed police soldiers, fire brigade people, medical teams, village leaders and news media. Most of these groups were in a mission to rescue people and make sure that all were safe. People from news media were there to cover the storms and rescue projects in all possible angles.

Arguably the most eye-catching among the media groups were female reporters from Zhejiang Satellite Television. Covering typhoons was no joke at all. In some cases, the wind hit everything at a speed of 40 yards a second. To make it easy to understand, the wind acts as if an automobile moving at a speed of 280 miles per hour hits you. A wall can’t stand such a storm. How could these fragile female reporters have coped with the raging winds and rainfall?

They showed what they could do in such storms: the prime time news program at Zhejiang Satellite Television screened on-the-spot reports. In order to prevent themselves from being blown away, they often had to tie a thick rope around the waist on one end and have it fastened on a thick cement pole on the other; behind them enormous waves came down like mountains crashing; they were totally drenched and their hair plastered on the forehead. Yet they reported, giving audience firsthand information on the storms and on the people. These reports gave the government additional information for emergency decisions. Through their reports, people across Zhejiang witnessed how rescue workers made sure that no life was lost and how governments at all levels dedicated resources to the success of rescue missions.

Former Zhejiang Governor Shen Zulun called the news center at the Zhejiang Satellite Television shortly after watching the report one evening. He expressed his heart-felt thanks to these reporters.

The young women are brave. After learning a wave dike in Yuhuan County had broken and created an opening of 80 meters wide, Zhang Hong rushed there. She moved in and did a field report. Gu Xiaoyan later commented that they were eyes of the people. If they had stood back, they wouldn’t have been able to let people see what was happening. To give an on-the-spot coverage on Typhoon Saomai on August 10th, 2006 to CCTV, China’s largest national television network, Gu Xiaoyan braved the storm for more than ten hours in drenching rainfall. The technicians worked hard to set up devices and get satellite signals so that the report could be beamed to the satellite. Gu waited in the rain. It was not until eight o’clock in the evening that the satellite connection was ready. On the same day, Shao Yiping chased the typhoon and visited four rural towns and produced five reports. The PLA commander turned her down when she made the request to ride a rubber boat with soldiers to reach villagers on the expected path of the incoming typhoon. She refused to be turned away. After hard persuading the commander finally agreed to let her and her cameraman take a boat. The duo successfully reported how PLA soldiers spent the whole afternoon trying to get villagers evacuate and leave for safe shelters.

I heard Zhang Hong mention the word “mission” several times in our interview and asked her to explain. She gave me a brief statement. “Just as the Chinese characters implies, a reporter by occupation is a person who records events. I believe a reporter’s mission is twofold: she reports what’s new and she serves the people.”

The seven sisters have done more than giving accounts of disasters. A big part of their everyday coverage can be attributed to the task of serving the people. This function of journalism may sound a little bit strange, but media exposure in China is a powerful weapon to fight minor wrongs and business malpractices in everyday life. With reports made by the seven sisters, some migrant workers have got back their overdue wages. After the seven sisters reported that farmers in Quzhou in southern Zhejiang had difficulty marketing oranges, the local farmers suddenly found their hard-to-sell produce become popular with clients.

At 15:20 on November 15, 2008, a subway construction site near the city proper of Hangzhou suddenly collapsed, making the worst accident in the history of subway construction in China. For a while, all kinds of rumors flew. More than 30 journalists and a satellite truck from Zhejiang Satellite Television came to the spot to cover the tragedy. They were there for four consecutive days and nights. When the event was unfolding at a fast rate, Zhang Hong was taking a sick leave at home due to a severe cold. She immediately came to work. In the first few days, everyone was asking why the accident had happened. The news media tried very hard to draw its own conclusion. Zhang Hong attended all the press conferences and visited the site and managed to interview all the key people. Meanwhile she searched information online for similar accidents in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. The facts she had carefully garnered and analyzed were good enough to enable her to report the event most objectively. CCTV noticed her balanced and informative coverage and asked her to report from the spot on its behalf. Her comment on the accident and rescue activities was highly appreciated. As a matter of fact, her report helped stabilize the public emotions. Her coverage of the accident was awarded the second prize of China News Prize.

The seven sisters are a group of journalists well known among their colleagues across the country and television audience. How can they look so confident and professional when they face life-threatening risks? They have fears and they don’t know what will happen the next second. But rescuers in natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes set them a good example in courage and professionalism. They feel responsible for telling these stories to their audiences. They have fears, but when everyone else is moving forward to help others, they say they as journalists have no reason to step back.

And ordinary people in disasters show their golden hearts and generosity. These moving moments have also given the seven sisters courage to do their best.

Though sometimes they have their separate assignments, more often than not, the seven sisters band together to cover an event from all possible angles. Many special news programs with Zhejiang Satellite Television are named after them.