At the end of 1993, CCTV began a substantial reform of the "Oriental Time and Space" column - establishing a news commentary department, and at the same time preparing to create a daily news commentary program during the evening prime time to fill the gap in China's There is no space in the history of this largest television station with its own flag and horn! The launch of "Focus Interview" is undoubtedly a pioneering initiative.
In early February 1994, the entrepreneurs of "Focus Interview" held the first formal preparatory meeting at the Media Conference Center in Beijing. Sun Yusheng, who has just served as the director of the newly established news commentary department, deputy director Yuan Zhengming, producers Zhang Haichao, Liang Jianzeng, Zhang Buping and others took the first pulse on this new column to be launched.
On April 1, 1994, "Focus Interview" was launched as a sub-column of Oriental Time and Space, broadcast after the daily news broadcast. At 19:38 in the evening, a rich baritone voice came out of a CCTV program: "For current affairs tracking reports, news background analysis, social hot topics perspective, and popular topic commentary, please watch "Focus Interview" every day." With excitement music, a simple city building group standing on the horizon appeared on the TV screen, with a big eye logo made of red, green and blue rising from it. At the same time, "Focus Interview" has been rebroadcast on CCTV-2 (Economic and Life Service Channel), CCTV-3 (Traditional Music Channel), and CCTV-7 (Children's Military Agricultural Science and Technology Channel).
Since then, this familiar opening of "Focus" has appeared in front of hundreds of millions of viewers every day; and the big eyes that have become the logo of the "Focus" column have been watching the audience and paying attention to society.
On July 1, 1997, due to the return of Hong Kong, the title of "Focus Interview" was changed.
On November 27, 2000, in conjunction with the revision of the news column, the title of Focus Interview was changed and the dubbing "Speak with facts, Focus Interview" was added.
On November 5, 2001, Focus Interview changed to a color title.
On May 12, 2002, due to the launch of CCTV12 (Western Channel), "Focus Interview" was rebroadcast on CCTV-12.
On August 5, 2002, "Focus Interview" was canceled from rebroadcasting on CCTV-7.
On May 1, 2003, due to the launch of CCTV-News (now CCTV-13), "Xinwen Lianbo", "Weather Forecast" and "Focus Interview" were successively merged with CCTV-1 on this channel. Machine live broadcast. At the same time, a rebroadcast of "Focus Interview" on CCTV-News was set up. At the same time, the rebroadcast of "Focus Interview" on CCTV-3 was cancelled.
On October 20, 2003, because CCTV-2 was renamed as the Economic Channel, "Focus Interview" was canceled from rebroadcasting on CCTV-2.
At the end of 2004, because CCTV-12 changed its name to the Social and Legal Channel, "Focus Interview" was canceled from rebroadcasting on CCTV-12.
On April 3, 2010, the title of Focus Interview was changed to a high-definition version, but the animation remained unchanged.
In 2013, "Focus Interview" underwent a major revision for the first time since its launch. The duration was increased to 17 minutes. Each issue no longer focused on one focus, but on two or even more hot spots, and added new topics. Host Lao Chunyan. On January 1, 2013, Focus Interview received a major revision. The title was changed, complete music was presented to everyone, and dubbing was carried out at the same time. The original sit-down broadcast was changed to a station broadcast, and the time was extended to broadcast two messages every day.
In addition, the revised program adheres to the characteristics of public opinion supervision, is closer to people's livelihood, and will strengthen the "deep and sharp" comment function. After watching the first revised program, many viewers felt that the new version of "Focus" was popular and fashionable, and even Guo Degang's cross talk was also featured on "Focus". Let ordinary people take selfies and express their feelings
CCTV's flagship news column "Focus" was founded in 1994, and it can be said that it has accompanied the growth of a generation. This public opinion supervision program, which has an important influence on Chinese society, has only made some minor adjustments to the program for a long time. Beginning in September 2012, CCTV announced on a large scale that this old news program would undergo a major revision. The direction of the revision was to strengthen in-depth reporting of breaking news, increase the proportion of social and livelihood programs, and improve the host's broadcasting method and studio packaging. Make adjustments in many aspects.
On the first day of 2013, "Focus Interview" was officially revised, and the length was increased from the original 13 minutes to 17 minutes. In the past, each program only had one topic. Since last night, it has been increased to two topics. In the future, there may be more than three topics. The two topics broadcast last night were both related to people's livelihood. The first was to sort out the new regulations and laws that were implemented in 2013, with a special focus on the new traffic regulations. The second is to open a small section - "Serial Photos" of ordinary people, using the method of ordinary people interviewing ordinary people, looking back on 2012 and looking forward to 2013. In addition, two commentators, Bai Yansong and Yang Yu, have been added.
Judging from the first revised program, many viewers recognized that the topic of "Focus Interview" was focused on people's livelihood and found it very down-to-earth. In particular, CCTV reporters no longer interview others from a high position, but instead put the cameras in the hands of ordinary people and let them say what they want to say most, which many viewers find very rare. Last night, a little boy faced the camera and said: "I went to school in 2012. I was so tired. I had to get up early every day and do homework. What are you doing with such difficult questions? I am only 6 years old." This interview, many The audience praised it for being very real and expressing the feelings of many children.
The new host is standing and hosting
In addition to the changes in content and topic selection, the packaging and host of "Focus Interview" have also changed a lot this time. Yesterday morning, the program team of "Focus" exposed the new title of the program online. The new title looked very fashionable and attracted the attention of many netizens. It was retweeted thousands of times on Weibo in just half a day. After the broadcast started last night, the newly joined host Lao Chunyan changed the previous way of sitting and hosting. He stood up for the first time and used a touch screen guide during the broadcast. Lao Chunyan previously hosted the "China Legal Report" and "Everyone's Views Weekend Edition" columns on CCTV's Social and Legal Channel.
In addition, the packaging of the program content is also very relaxed and user-friendly. Flash animation has been added to the program content, and Guo Degang's cross talk has appeared in the program, which has never happened in "Focus Interview" before. Some viewers ridiculed: "Is "Focus" competing for Guo Degang's CCTV debut with the Spring Festival Gala?" Not only that, when discussing new traffic regulations, there was an example of someone covering the license plate, and the license plate number was "Pro O 594SB." After the program was aired, many viewers said they burst out laughing on the spot. The serious program became more relaxed and seemed more enjoyable.
A signal for TV news reform
Regarding the revision of "Focus Interview", Dr. Chang Jiang of the School of Journalism, Renmin University of China said that the revision of "Focus Interview" is actually a change in the tone and tone of CCTV news. As an integral part of the "big project" of writing style, the revision of "Xinwen Lianbo" is actually an inseparable whole and cannot be viewed in isolation. This change releases a signal for TV news reform.
Chang Jiang said that in fact, the reform of TV news programs usually follows a step-by-step process: first the concept is loosened, then the form is adjusted, and finally the numerous obstacles can be overcome and the content level changes. . The change in concept has gradually accumulated since the publication of "Eastern Time and Space" on May 1, 1993, and has reached the level of "qualitative change". Therefore, by 2013, changes in TV news programs should be able to fully enter the stage of form adjustment. Chang Jiang pointed out that according to international practices and trends, the next step in form change should be to integrate broadcast news programs (such as "Xinwen Lianbo") and news commentary programs (such as "Focus Interview") into a truly meaningful on television news magazines. In fact, there are no conceptual obstacles to this idea, but factors such as the division of powers and responsibilities within CCTV and the setup of departments may create obstacles.