In Focus

In Focus is a popular 60-Minutes style muckraking show that is on every evening for 15 minutes at 7:38pm. Watched by 300 million viewers and launched in 1994, it features reporters sticking microphones into the faces of corrupt officials and investigates controversial topics such as domestic violence and the flouting of pollution laws by factories. Although many controversial topic are addressed some topics such as forced abortion and the status of dissidents are still off limits. I'm not sure if it Is still on.

Former Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongi said he watched In Focus every night and sometimes showed taped segments from it during his meetings. The show gained such a reputation that many people said, "If you have a problem, don’t go to the police or the Communist party, go to In Focus."

In Focus and other news magazine shows like Oriental Horizon, Probe and Beijing Express use hidden cameras and in-your-face interview tactics. They walk a dangerous line of investigating corruption and scandals, often involving Communist party members, but not digging up anything that might offend Communist party leaders.