Given the tight restrictions on foreign-owned channels operating in China, specially news channels (as Rupert Murdoch found to his cost some years back), how do you build your brand in that complex and politically sensitive market? MediaCorp’s Channel NewsAsia thinks it’s found the solution— by targeting provincial areas as well as major cities and towns; and with a much greater emphasis on Asian coverage than its English-language rivals. “Channel NewsAsia’s unique position is simply that more than 80% of programming is on Asia, so as much as we cover the ‘sensational stories’ like disasters, scandals and political conflicts, we also cover the less sensational but what we consider to be equally important aspects of Asia, such as success stories of Asians, growth of economies and development in technologies,” says Woon Tai Ho, the channel’s managing director. “Asia is where we work from, so the depth we give it is unprecedented compared to global news channels.