湖南大学生物医学工程-考试没考好检讨书
Unit
3
What Is News?
Neil Postman and Steve Powers
Structure of the Text
Part I
(Para. 1)
In this
beginning paragraph, the authors state the purpose
of the essay.
Part II
(Para. 2)
Some
people
might
define
the
news
as
what
television
directors
and
journalists
say
it
is.
The
authors, however, think that
this definition is too simplistic.
Part III (Paras.
3
–
5)
In
these
para
graphs,
the
authors
explain
why
the
news
cannot
be
simply
defined
as
“what
happened that day” or
“what happened that
day that was important and interesting”.
Part IV (Paras.
6
–
11)
In these paragraphs, the authors tell
readers that the news is more often made rather
than gathered,
and it is made on the
basis of what the journalist thinks important or
what the journalist thinks the
audience
thinks is important. Therefore, every news story
is a reflection of the reporter who tells
the story.
Part V (Paras.
12
–
15)
In these paragraphs, the
authors point out that to make sense of the news,
the viewer has to know
somet
hing
about
the
journalist’s
political
beliefs
as
well
as
his
prejudices,
interests,
and
quirks
which are, in turn,
influenced by his financial status, the companies
he has worked for, the schools
he went
to, the books he has read, etc.
Part VI (Paras.
16
–
17)
In these paragraphs, the authors point
out that the journalist cannot always impose
his/her views
on the general public
because the television channel or newspaper cannot
survive unless the news
they provide
satisfies the needs of the general public. On the
other hand, the viewer/reader must
also
take
into
account
his
or
her
relationship
to
a
larger
audience
because
television
and
newspapers are mass media and their
news is not intended for an audience of one.
Part VII (Paras.
18
–
20)
In
these
paragraphs,
the
authors
discuss
some
other
possible
definitions
of
news:
news
as
something to give people pleasure; news
as something instructive that reveals the mores,
values,
and ideals of a society; news
as living history; news as a source of literature;
news as a reflection
of human pain,
suffering, tragedies and confusion; news as
something to inspire people and make
them optimistic; news as something to
frighten people and make them aware of the seamy
side of
the reality; last but not
least, news as a filler between commercials.
Part VIII (Para. 21)
In this paragraph, the authors
conclude the essay by reiterating their purpose in
raising the issue
“What
is
n
ews?”
It
is
to
arouse
our
interest
and
help
us
understand
the
problems,
limitations,
traditions, motivations, and even the
delusions of the television news industry.
Detailed Study of the Text
1
.
We turn to this question because unless a television viewer has considered it, he or she is
in
danger
of
too
easily
accepting
someone
else’s
definition—
for
example,
a
definition
supplied by
the news director of a television station; or even
worse, a definition imposed by
important advertisers.
(Para. 1)
news
director:
(
电视台
)
新闻节目负责人
advertisers:
In many countries in the West, television stations largely depend on selling air time
to advertisers for
their revenue. Therefore, important advertisers
can often impose their views and
interests on the news supplied by
television stations.
viewer
：
Someone who is watching a movie, a television program, or an exhibition
Compare:
audience:
a group of people who watch, read, or listen to something
spectator:
a person who watches an event, show, game, or activity
2
.
A
simplistic
definition
of news can be
drawn
by
paraphrasing
Justice
Oliver Wendell
Holmes’ famous definition of the law.
The law, Holmes said, is what the courts say it
is… we
might say that the news is what
television directors and journalists say it
is.
(Para. 2)
Americ
ans
generally
accept
Holmes’
famous
definition
of
the
law
because
they
agree
that
laws
must allow for
the new interpretations necessary to meet the
challenges of a changing nation and a
changing world. But to propose a
definition of the news by paraphrasin
g Holmes’ definition of the
law probably
commits the logical error of false analogy. For
example, it would not make much
sense
if we were to say politics is what politicians say
it is, or education is what teachers say it is.
simplistic
:
disapproving
too simple; not complete or sufficiently thorough
Nothing more. Nothing less. :
As simple as that; no more, no less.
in similar fashion:
in the similar way; likewise; by the similar token
3
.
But if we were to take that approach, on what basis would we say tha
t we haven’t been
told
enough? Or that a story that should have been
covered wasn’t? Or that too many stories
of a certain type were included? Or
that a reporter gave a flagrantly biased account?
(Para.
2)
The fact
that people are often unsatisfied with news
reporting implies that people have different
ideas about what news should be.
flagrantly biased:
obviously and unquestionably biased
4
.
In
modifying
their
answer,
most
will
add
that
the
news
is
―important
and
interesting
things that happened
that day.‖
This helps a little but leaves open the question of what is
―important
and interesting‖ and how that is decided.
(Para. 3)
It
is
all
right
to
say
that
news
consists
of
the
important
things
that
happened
that
day.
But
important to
whom? In what sense? For what reason?
but leaves open the question:
but does not give an answer to the question
5.
Of course, some people will say that the question of what is important and interesting is
not
in
the
least
problematic.
What
the
President
says
or
does
is
important;
wars
are
important,
rebellions,
employment
figures,
elections,
appointments
to
the
Supreme
Court.
(Para. 4)
This is an
interesting example of hasty generalization. It is
true that what important people say or
do is often important, but we can’t
jump to t
he conclusion that everything they say or do is always
important. On the
other hand, sometimes even what happens to someone
completely unknown can
escalate to a
serious crisis. People call that “the Butterfly
Effect
.
”
problematic:
causing a problem; questionable; uncertain
6
.
Now, there is a great deal to be said for Saran Wrap. (Para. 4)
Now, it’s true that Saran Wrap is very
useful.
7.
Saran Wrap is not news. The color of Liz Taylor’s wrap is. Or so some people believe.
(Para. 4)
Note that
the author
s are making a word play on the word “wrap
,
” which has different meanings.
8
.
We shall never learn about these people either, however instructive or interesting their
stories may have been.
(Para. 5)
We
will
never
hear
anything
about
these
people
either,
no
matter
how
instructive
or
interesting
their stories may have been.
instructive
: providing knowledge or information; educational
9.
Of
course,
there
are
some
events
—
the
assassination
of
a
president,
an
earthquake,
etc.
—
that have near universal interest and consequences. But most news does not inhere in
the event.
(Para. 6)
to inhere in
sth.:
formal
to be a natural part of sth.; to be inherent in sth.
10
.
In fact, the news is more often
made
rather than gathered
.
(Para. 6)
In
fact,
often
the
news
is not
something
out
there
for you
to
pick
up;
you
have
to
decide
what
information is newsworthy and make it
into news.
11
．
I
s a story about a killing in Northern Ireland more important than one about a killing
in
Morocco?
(Para. 6)
For Americans of Irish background, the
answer will most likely be yes. It is said that
the relative
importance of an event is
often determined by the relative distance of its
occurrence to the person
involved.
12
．
…
every
news
story
is
a
reflection
of
the
reporter
who
tells
the
stor
y.
The
reporter’s
previous assumptions about what is ―out
there‖ edit what he or she thinks is there. (Para.
6)
If
news
stories
were
just
facts,
and
facts
speak
for
themselves,
then
all
news
stories,
though
written by different people, would be
the same. But news stories are actually all
different because
every news story is a
reflection of the reporter who tells the story,
and every reporter has previous
assumptions (beliefs, points of view,
and biases) which affect what he/she thinks is
there.
to
edit:
to
decide
what
will
be
included
or
left
out,
as
editors
do
in
preparing,
printing,
broadcasting, etc.
13
．
The
answers
to
all
of
these
questions,
as
well
as
to
other
questions
about
the
event,
depend entirely on the point of view of
the journalist. You might think this is an
exaggeration,
that reporters,
irrespective of their assumptions, can at least
get the facts straight. (Para. 7)
irrespective of:
regardless of; without thinking about or considering
All government officials, irrespective
of their rank, must disclose their property.
We pursue the diplomatic policy of the
five principles of peaceful coexistence in our
relationship
with all countries
irrespective of their size or political
s
ystem.
to get the
facts straight:
to find out what the facts are without making mistakes
now-
defunct:
now-dead; now no longer existing or functioning
to
feature a story:
to give a story a prominent place in a newspaper or television news show
14
．
…
who thus earn their 35 rubles a month in lieu of ―relief‖…
(Para. 8)
Instead
of
receiving
government
relief,
they
are
given
jobs
by
the
government
so
that
they
can
earn their
money. (
这是以工代赈的政策
)
in
lieu of:
instead of
(government) relief
：
money that is given to poor people by the government (
政府
)
救济
15
．
…
it was the policy of the
Journal
to highlight the contrast between the primitive Russian
economy and the sophisticated
American economy
.
(Para. 11)
the
Journal
: This refers to the newspaper
The Wall Street Journal
, mentioned above.
to
highlight:
to make people notice or be aware of something
sophisticated
: (the opposite of primitive) highly developed and complex
高级的，复杂的
16
．
Each of our senses is a remarkably astute censor. We see what we expect to see; often, we
focus on what we are
paid to see. And those who pay us to see usually
expect us to accept
their notions not
only of what is important but of what are
important details. (Para. 11)
We
have five sense organs, and they are all extremely
sharp censors.
censor:
a person who examines books, movies, newspapers, etc. and removes things considered
by
the authorities to be offensive, immoral, or
harmful to society (Note the personification of
the
word) .
We do not see or
hear everything. We only see or hear what we
expect to see or hear because we
have
been trained that way. We have been paid by our
bosses to see or hear what they expect us to
see or hear. We have be
en made to accept our bosses’ notion of what is interesting and important.
17
．
―We’d have complete dossiers on the interests, policies, and idiosyncrasies of the owners.
Then
we’d
have
a
dossier
on
every
journalist
in
the
world.
The
interests,
prejudices,
and
quirks
of
the
owner
would
equal
Z.
The
prejudices,
quirks,
and
private
interests
of
the
journalist Y. Z
times Y would give you X, the probable amount of
truth in the story.
‖ (Para.
12)
Here the French
writer Albert Camus, quoted by A. J. Liebling, is
using a mathematic formula to
express
the relationship between the interests, prejudices
and quirks of a newspaper owner, and
those of the journalists, and the
probable amount of truth in a news story.
Z x Y = X
Here, Z = the interests, prejudices,
and quirks of the owner
Y = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the journalists
X = the truth probability of the news
Dossiers
(on): files (of); records (of)
18
．
The host might say something like this: ―To begin with, this station is owned by Gary
Farnsworth, who is
also the president of Bontel Limited, the
principal stockholder of which
is the
Sultan of Bahrain. Bontel Limited owns three
Japanese electronic companies, two oil
companies, the entire country of Upper
Volta, and the western part of Romani
a. …‖ (Para.
13)
The
implied
suggestion
is
that
this
television
station
is
quite
likely
to
be
biased
in
its
news
reporting, reflecting the interests of
those who control its finances.
19
．
―The
anchorman
on
the
television
show
earns
$$800,000
a
year;
his
portfolio
includes
holdings
in
a
major
computer
firm.
He
has
a
bachelor’s
degree
in
journalism
from
the
University of
Arkansas but was a C+ student, has never taken a
course in political science,
and speaks
no language other than English. Last year, he read
only two books
—
a biography
of Cary Grant and a book of popular
psychology called
Why Am I So Wonderful? …
(Para.
13)
The
implication
here
is
that
the
opinions
of
the
anchorman
on
a
television
show
are
strongly
influenced
by
his
financial
status,
his
source
of
income,
the
education
he
has
received,
and
the
books he has read.
anchorman
(anchorwoman):
(chiefly in the US) a man or woman who presents and coordinates
a
television news program
(
电视和广播电台
)
新闻节目主持人
Compare:
broadcaster:
播音员
host
：
（游戏，访谈节目）主持人
portfolio
：
a range of investments held by a person or organization
全部投资；投资组合
holdings
：
financial assets; land, property, or shares in a company
拥有的财产
20
.
―The reporter who covered the story on Y
ugoslavia speaks Serbo-Croatian, has a degree
in
international relations, and has had a Neiman
Fellowship at Harvard University.‖(Para.
13)
A
reporter
who
speaks
the
language,
has
a
degree
in
a
related
field,
and
has
done
research
on
journalism at a distinguished
university can naturally be expected to be more
competent to cover
the story on
Yugoslavia than one without these qualifications.