Rebirth 09: Starting from taking charge of Running Man on CCTV

8:55 AM, CCTV Variety Channel Editorial Office.

When Chen Yang pushed open the door, the room was already half-filled with file folders.

The editor-in-chief's office officer in charge of collecting proposals, surnamed Ma, was in his early forties, wearing reading glasses, and was busy numbering each proposal on the registration form.

The pile of materials on the table was like a small mountain, made of kraft paper, blue folders, and transparent plastic bags—a motley collection.

"Teacher Ma, this is my innovative proposal."

Chen Yang handed over the file folder.

Ma Qianshi adjusted his glasses, took the book, flipped open the cover, and glanced at it.

"Run, China...a fully real-life outdoor celebrity competition reality show?"

He read it aloud, his tone rising slightly.

"Outdoor sports?"

Ma Qianshi pushed his glasses up his nose, his face looking like he'd just eaten a sour date.

"Xiao Chen, you're in Director Sun's team, right?"

"Yes, executive deputy director of 'Happy China Tour'."

"If I may add something, the station's annual innovation proposals have always followed the same path: studio variety shows, galas, and cultural programs."

Ma Qianshi wrote a number on the registration form and casually stuffed the file bag under the stack of materials.

"All outdoors? No studio shooting as a backup? What if it rains? What if there's a safety accident? This kind of case..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone could understand what he meant: it was pure nonsense.

Chen Yang didn't reply, he just smiled.

"Teacher Ma, what's your number?"

"093".

"Okay, thanks."

Chen Yang turned and left the editor-in-chief's office.

Behind me, I could hear Ma Qianshi whispering to his colleagues, and I could vaguely hear things like "Young people don't know the rules" and "Outdoor sports, what a joke."

He didn't turn around.

093 number.

The 93rd proposal out of nearly a hundred was submitted late, numbered late, and buried at the very bottom.

For most people, this position alone would be enough to make them feel disheartened.

But Chen Yang knew perfectly well that true talent, no matter where it was kept, would eventually be revealed.

There weren't many people in the corridor, and occasionally a cameraman carrying equipment would hurry past.

The corridors of the old CCTV headquarters building are narrow and long, with fluorescent lights humming. The walls are covered with promotional posters for various programs, with the most prominent spots reserved for "News Broadcast" and the Spring Festival Gala.

Chen Yang walked to the corner and a person came towards him.

A woman in her late thirties, dressed in a well-fitting dark suit dress, with her hair neatly styled and light makeup still on her face from recording a program.

The pace was not fast, but each step was steady and firm.

Throughout CCTV's entire variety channel, there are no more than three people whose walking posture naturally exudes a sense of being on camera.

Dong Qing is one of them.

Chen Yang stepped aside, giving way by half a step.

"Hello, Teacher Dong."

His voice was soft and his tone was gentle, neither obsequious nor harsh—just the proper way colleagues greet each other.

Dong Qing paused slightly and glanced at him.

She's seen many new faces at the station, and new young directors are constantly being transferred in. Most of them either stutter or are overly enthusiastic when they meet her, as if they want to recite their resumes to her face.

This one is quite rare.

He looked to be around twenty-four or twenty-five years old. He stood there neither arrogant nor humble, and he didn't have the kind of timidity that is common among young people.

Which group are you in?

Dong Qing stopped and asked casually.

"Sun Bin's directing team, 'Happy China Tour,' Executive Assistant Director, Chen Yang."

"Oh, one of Director Sun's men."

Dong Qing nodded, indicating that she had figured it out.

Sun Bin is a senior and well-regarded employee at the station, and the people in his team are at least technically competent.

"Just submitted the proposal?"

"Just submitted, right on time."

"The competition for proposals at the station this year is quite fierce."

Dong Qing leaned against the window sill in the corridor and chatted casually for a couple of minutes, her tone tinged with weariness.

"We just finished recording the May Day special. We haven't had much rest for three days in a row. We still have to prepare for the Dragon Boat Festival special later."

"The station is indeed under a lot of pressure this year, the satellite TV stations are launching a fierce offensive."

Chen Yang added a sentence.

This statement is not outrageous; everyone at the station knows that in 2009, CCTV was being relentlessly attacked by local satellite TV stations, and its market share dropped from 35.7% to 31%, with variety shows bearing the brunt.

Dong Qing glanced at him, surprised that an assistant director transferred from another region could talk about market share data so easily.

"What new ideas do you young people have?"

"have."

Chen Yang smiled but didn't elaborate.

"Teacher Dong, take a rest. You'll have the chance to see him another day."

After saying that, he nodded slightly, turned around, and walked down the corridor.

Dong Qing raised an eyebrow as she watched his retreating figure.

The young man's tone of voice didn't seem like that of an assistant director who had only been there for six months.

He seemed like a seasoned veteran with a clear plan.

Without thinking much, she turned and walked towards the dressing room.

......

Two o'clock in the afternoon on the same day.

The conference room for senior executives of the variety channel.

Seven or eight people sat on either side of the long conference table, with piles of proposal materials spread out on the table, and the teacups had been refilled three times.

The initial review of the annual innovative program proposals started at 10:00 AM and has been going on for more than four hours now.

There were nearly a hundred proposals, ranging from dozens of pages to just three or five pages, with varying quality.

Most of them were discarded after only a couple of pages.

Jiang Bingqian, the head of the CCTV headquarters, sat in the main seat, wearing a dark suit and with his hair neatly combed back. In front of him were three proposals that he had personally selected, and he was writing annotations on the corner of one of them with a pen.

He rarely spoke, but whenever he did, no one in the room dared to interrupt.

Lin Hongyuan, the deputy director in charge of arts and culture, sat to his right. His eyes, behind his thin-rimmed glasses, swept over the materials on the table, while his pen was constantly jotting things down in his notebook.

Channel director Zhou Wenbin sat on the left, with seven or eight proposals he had initially screened spread out in front of him, discussing them in hushed tones with the person next to him.

Sun Bin sat near the door.

As the chief director of "Happy China Tour", he was qualified to attend the preliminary review, but he mainly listened and did not have the authority to make the final decision.

The pile of rejected proposals on the table was quite high, and he subconsciously reached out and flipped through them.

It wasn't that he was being impulsive; he just knew that Chen Yang had submitted a proposal today.

This guy has been with CCTV for over half a year. He's a great worker, but he's too quiet and just stays in his position without saying a word.

Sun Bin was somewhat surprised that someone had proactively submitted an innovation proposal today.

I was thinking of helping him check it out, to see how well it was written, so I could give him some feedback later.

I looked through four or five copies, but couldn't find it.

Then scroll down again.

At the very bottom of the pile of discarded items, he found a manila file folder.

Number 093, "Run, China!"

Sun Bin pulled it out and opened the cover.

Page 1: Program Positioning.

"China's first completely original, real-life outdoor competitive reality show featuring celebrities."

His hand paused for a moment.

Turn to the second page, the project background.

The National Fitness Regulations, the inheritance of Olympic legacy, and the analysis of the gaps in the variety show market—each of these points addresses the critical issues of policy and the market, with impeccable logic.

Turn to page five, the core operating mode.

"A fixed team of 7 celebrities, filmed entirely outdoors on location, featuring individual/team competition, strategic gameplay, and physical challenges, with the core element being the name tag battle."

Sun Bin's back left the chair back.

He looked down.

"Unscripted filming, with all cameras simultaneously recording the celebrities' genuine reactions, and a script-centric narrative driving the pacing..."

Sun Bin closed the proposal.

It's not that he can't stand watching, it's that he needs to slow down.

He worked at CCTV for nearly twenty years, and he's worked on all kinds of shows, from studio variety shows to galas and outdoor tours.

But he had never heard of anything written in this proposal.

Unscripted filming? Celebrities doing parkour and chases in real city scenes? Name tag ripping game?

This isn't innovation; this is more like... utter madness!

But ironically, behind every crazy idea lies a complete execution plan, safety contingency plan, and budget breakdown.

Crazy, but not recklessly crazy.

It's madness that comes after every step has been meticulously planned.

"Old Zhou."

Sun Bin stood up, holding the proposal, and walked over to Zhou Wenbin.

Have you seen this one?

Zhou Wenbin was talking to someone when he was interrupted. He reluctantly took the book and flipped through it.

He frowned as he turned to the third page.

"Are celebrities everywhere?"

Zhou Wenbin slammed the proposal on the table, his voice low but his tone sharp.

"Sun Bin, who wrote this? Someone in your group?"

"Chen Yang, my executive assistant director."

"In your twenties?"

"Twenty-four."