Bai Yansong

Who is Bai Yansong?

Bai Yansong is a news commentator, anchor and journalist for China Central Television. He has become one of the most recognizable figures in China, serving as the lead anchor on stories such as the Sydney Olympics and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Bai worked in the newspaper industry before moving to televised news and eventually became an anchor for Focus Report and Oriental Horizon, where he had a reputation as a politically incisive journalist. During his time with CCTV, Bai has been involved in the establishment of several news commentary programs including Timeline and News 1 + 1, the first live news commentary program in China. He has also been the anchor on several more news programs and was a host on the talk show Tell It Like It Is.

Born in Inner Mongolia, he lived on a university campus with his parents who were both professors and graduated from the Beijing Broadcasting Institute before beginning his career in journalism. Bai has extensively covered diplomatic ties between China and Japan during his tenure at CCTV and is part of a political consultancy group that advises the two countries on Sino-Japanese relations. He works to promote political reform through his position in the media, and critical reports on his programs have been suppressed by government censors at least once. As a humanitarian, Bai has been involved in supporting disaster relief efforts following the Sichuan earthquake and promoting efforts against HIV/AIDS.