Since January 25, every morning from 7 to 8 a.m., listeners to China Radio International (CRI), one of China's national radio stations, have been able to hear a new voice hosting a news program called The Beijing Hour, a program with lively news and current affairs in China as well as around the world. The host was the focus of great attention even before she showed up for the program because of her career background.

Susan Osman

Susan Osman was once an anchor for the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and has 28 years of working in journalism. But last year, BBC refused to renew her contract because of her age. Her son, a Cambridge graduate who had previously visited China and was very impressed, suggested that she come to China. She sent a resume to CRI and later was given a job.

In a recent interview with Beijing-based World News Journal, Osman said she had known little about Chinese media, but she said she does not worry about any difficulties brought about by the differences of Western media and the Chinese. In her eyes, the focus of CRI and Western media reports is similar.

She said she respects her Chinese colleagues because "they can do live shows that are not in their mother tongue," and, of course, she hoped she could bring some "positive" changes to CRI's English programs.

As Osman hosts a morning program, she has to get up at 2 a.m. to arrive at the workplace at 4. Her working attitude has impressed those who worked with her, and her hosting style is also loved by Chinese listeners. One listener sent a message to the program, saying that he/she really liked Osman's light hosting style and her "pure London accent."

Osman is not the first foreigner to work in Chinese media. At CCTV 9, the English channel of Central China Television (CCTV), growing numbers of foreign faces show on the screen as anchors.

Edwin Maher

Edwin Maher was the first foreign news anchor to work for CCTV. As a veteran news reporter from New Zealand and weatherman, Maher decided to work in China in 2001.

Although he had no clear idea about China when he first arrived, he said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Maher soon got to know this country. He noticed China was attracting greater attention from the West and that growing numbers of foreigners are interested in what is going on here.

In 2007, Maher received China's National Friendship Award in Beijing, the highest honor for foreigners who have made significant contributions to the development of China's society.

James Chau

After Maher, more and more foreigners chose to work for Chinese media, including James Chau, who comes from a family with roots in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

"It is a natural choice since my roots are in Asia," he said in an interview with China Newsweek.

"China is a vast country with a large population. You can not judge it without knowing more about life and history here," Chau said.

He has been the anchor for several programs including World Insight, News Hour, World Wide Watch and Asia Today.

Compared with experience in Hong Kong-based Television Broadcasts Ltd. (TVB Pearl), where he was a reporter and anchor for the English-language channel's news and financial bulletins, he said there is no big difference between working in Hong Kong and Beijing.

After joining CCTV, Chau has reported major stories including the annual sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). In addition, he has presented live studio coverage of government press conferences on issues ranging from the treatment of the bird flu virus to the protection of intellectual property rights in China.

Chau said Beijing is now a place of great opportunities and working there gave him a strong sense of achievement. "My job is to build a bridge for mutual communication between China and the world. It is exciting."

Tony Perkins

Tony Perkins is another foreign anchor at the English channel of CCTV. He came to Beijing on the last day of 2007 and started working at CCTV 9 as a sports news announcer on the first day of 2008. He came to China with extensive broadcast journalism experience in the United States.

For Perkins, sports are enjoyment and sports news anchors should involve the audience sitting in front of TVs in the enjoyment. He said, as a sports journalist or TV program host, what he should do is to tell stories about sports.

Anchoring Sports Scene, Perkins worked on English-language coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. He said at the beginning his family didn't understand why he had chosen to come to China until a journalist from NBC interviewed him during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the interview was broadcast on TV all over the United States. "My family are all proud of me," said Perkins. "Now they watch me on the news every day on CCTV 9.

Chen Yin

Compared with other foreign anchors, Chen Yin, the anchor of Cultural Express and Travelogue at CCTV 9 is different, as she speaks fluent Mandarin. Born in Beijing, Chen moved to the United States with her parents at 5.

Chen returned to China at 21 to teach at the China Foreign Affairs University.

Soon afterward her passion for television and love for China got the best of her and she joined the CCTV team, becoming the youngest foreign anchor at CCTV 9.

Chen said she greatly enjoyed her present job, especially as the travel guide. "It is a lot of fun, and I went to almost all the interesting places and got to know more about China."

With the growing numbers of foreigners coming to CCTV 9 as anchors, Chen's colleagues are of many nationalities from various backgrounds. She likes the multi-cultural working environment.