Amsterdam-based CRTV is a Chinese media group producing radio, TV, Internet and a magazine. The 44-strong staff also organise cultural events. It’s an all-volunteer enterprise which makes a big impact, reaching an audience of over 200,000 - by Tao Yue

Founded in 1996 by several second generation Chinese, CRTV started off broadcasting two hours of news radio a week in the Netherlands. The programmes, in Cantonese, were designed to help older Chinese immigrants who often don’t speak Dutch plug into their host society. Fourteen years on, the station now has six hours of live broadcasting a week in Cantonese, Mandarin and Dutch. There’s also a monthly TV programme, a bimonthly full-colour magazine, and Internet multimedia. The only thing hasn’t changed is that all staff still work on a voluntary basis.

People-centric
CRTV’s 44 volunteers all work or study fulltime and see the broadcasting as a “hobby”. “We don’t have the means to pay our staff,” says Hong Tong Wu, Chairman of CRTV, “but we offer them opportunities to learn about media and journalism, to realise their creative dreams, and to make friends or network.”

The Mandarin group members are mostly students in the Netherlands temporarily. For them, CRTV is a way to meet like-minded people, enrich their lives and expand their social networks. “Student life in Holland is quite boring,” says Si Han Ding, a volunteer from Leiden University. “However, I met many interesting people at CRTV and it feels like a family.”

His schoolmate Li Pan volunteered for a completely different reason. “I grew up listening to radio with my father—I don’t watch TV—and my dream was to become a radio DJ. How can I refuse such a golden opportunity of sitting in front of a microphone with the red ‘On Air’ sign above my head?” She laughs.

Opportunities
CRTV has also attracted several media professionals like Sandra Lau, a writer, and Jimmy Tai, a TV and film producer. They were keen to start their own projects and CRTV helped make it happen. “This is how we attract talents— by giving them autonomy to create,” Hong Tong says. Just like that, CRTV magazine and TV were born with Jimmy and Sandra chief editor and producer respectively.

Multiple Targeting
CRTV broadcasts in three languages with three distinct audience bases. Its Cantonese radio programmes, focusing on Dutch news, target older Chinese immigrants who came to the Netherlands from Hong Kong in the 1960s and 70s.

Its Dutch radio programmes cater for these immigrants’ children and grandchildren who are fluent in Dutch culture but want to learn more about their roots. The same goes for the magazine on Chinese culture which is published in Dutch

The Mandarin radio programmes capture an entirely different group - students and young professionals who have recently arrived from Mainland China. Listeners can get information and tips on living in the Netherlands, as well as relieving homesickness by “meeting” fellow Chinese on air.

The TV programmes focus on entertainment and cultural events related to China and are broadcast in either Cantonese, Mandarin or Dutch.

Shanghai Collaboration
In April this year, CRTV’s Mandarin radio programmes expanded their audience to include 200,000 listeners in Shanghai. A number Hong Tong says is more than he’d ever dreamed of reaching. This followed a trip he made to China in 2009, after which he was asked by the Shanghai Media Group if CRTV was interested in placing its material on Live It Up Shanghai—a popular English-Chinese lifestyle show with a 200,000 strong audience of mostly upper-middle class Chinese and expatriates.

Since then the Mandarin team has been busy working with Shanghai. They supply a ten-minute clip every week on how Chinese students and yuppies experience life in the Netherlands. “Shanghai listeners like our informal chatty style,” says Xue Fei Chen, the producer. “No matter what we talk about, they find it refreshing!” “There are still limits, however,” adds Li Pan. “Shanghai explicitly said no sex or drugs.” The team has now started work on a new series about travelling in Europe at Shanghai’s request.

Future plans, says Hong Tong, include expand the Mandarin broadcasts and supplying more material to Live It Up Shanghai. CRTV is also talking with Zhejiang Radio and two TV production companies in Shanghai. “Though moving slowly, we are getting there!” he says modestly.