News Communication Quality Reading Guide: News (News) Volume: Paradigms and Examples: Paradigms and Examples

Author: Kong Xiangjun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The characters and works selected in this book are of typical significance in various periods and fields. The analyses are detailed and focus on theoretical organization, with innovative and distinctive formats. It is not only favored by college students, news enthusiasts, and frontline news communication professionals. Such a great book is worth reading. The proposal of the "News Excellence Strategy" was one of the most visionary slogans put forward by the Chinese news industry in the 1990s and also one of the most practically valuable and significant initiatives. Looking at the history of news in China and the world, any transformation and development in news communication, or the proposal and formation of any news communication concept, are closely related to the social development and historical context of the time. At the turn of the century, as the world stood at a crossroads and China was deepening its reform and opening-up, new phenomena, contradictions, and issues were emerging every day, innumerable. Under the market economy, news, as a special commodity, must also participate in market competition. With the maturation of the news market, it can be said that the news market has shifted from a seller's market to a buyer's market. The market calls for high-quality news works. Any news media that wishes to avoid stagnation must demonstrate its talent in fierce competition to secure space for survival and development. Therefore, the proposal and implementation of the News Excellence Strategy naturally took center stage. This is an inevitable trend, not subject to individual will.
Audiences are the "bread and butter" of the media. Everything the media does is for the audience. The broad Chinese audience, in the past, had frequently encountered news reports that were often exaggerated, empty, vague, and superficial. They long for authentic and excellent news works. Thus, we can fully say that implementing the News Excellence Strategy is a need of the times, a need of news competition, a call from the audience, and an urgent and significant issue facing the Chinese news industry in the new era and new circumstances.
The Party Central Committee, with a keen understanding of the situation, proposed the famous four sentences in the historically significant 14th Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee and its resolution: "Arming people with scientific theory, guiding people with correct public opinion, shaping people with noble spirit, and inspiring people with excellent works." This applies not only to the entire ideological and cultural front, including news, but can also be seen as a clarion call for implementing the News Excellence Strategy.
The term "excellence" originally comes from commerce, referring to high-quality goods. News excellence refers to high-quality, high-standard news works, commonly known as "good news," including good news reports, good commentaries, good editorials, good layouts, good columns, good special reports, good photographs, good advertising works, and good public relations cases. The famous four sentences proposed in the 14th Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee can be fully regarded as a criterion for evaluating news excellence.
In light of actual news practice, the specific criteria for judging news excellence mainly include—
Political nature. When determining whether a news work is of excellence, the political perspective should be the primary consideration. We must firmly regard political nature as the foremost value standard of news excellence, which is also the clear distinction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in terms of news values. News excellence must possess the ability to move people, have a significant impact to a certain extent and on a broader scale, and guide the formation of correct public opinion, helping people overcome difficulties and providing guidance. This is because news work itself is inherently a politically oriented profession. As one experienced news professional said, "News workers are not just 'writers'; they should approach things with the perspective and attitude of a statesman and extract 'treasures' that can resolve social contradictions and promote social progress." It can be said that if a news work contains weak or no political elements, it will lack strong appeal and, let alone impact and, and thus cannot truly be considered news excellence.
Of course, truth can sometimes become falsehood if taken to extremes. Blindly pursuing so-called political heights, arbitrarily adding or exaggerating, or solely chasing high, grand, and all-encompassing ideals, can cause news to deviate from objective reality. Alternatively, if sensitive issues affecting social psychological stability or issues in the exploratory stages are not handled with caution, blindly pursuing so-called "sensational effects" may also become constraints on news excellence, which we must be wary of.
Significance. Many experts and scholars have pointed out that news excellence must possess authority and persuasiveness, and I fully agree. The news figures and events involved in news excellence must be distinctive and extraordinary. Characters and events should avoid repetition, highlight their distinct personalities and characteristics, and strive to differentiate one from another. By definition, excellence emphasizes the "excellent" aspect, and this excellence is primarily reflected in the meticulous selection of news figures and events. Over the years, Chinese news media have introduced figures like Kong Fansen, Xu Hu, Zhong Nanshan, and Yang Liwei, as well as reports on the 1998 flood relief and the firefighters of the Hengyang fire, all of which have had a tremendous impact and persuasiveness. Their success primarily lies in the careful selection of people and events, all of which possess significance.
Necessity to read. When discussing how news reports can win audiences, factors like readability and accessibility are often mentioned. These are indeed important guarantees of news quality and a key aspect of current news competition, but they are only general requirements. News excellence requires far more than these elements. News professionals should elevate the pursuit of readability and accessibility to necessity, meaning that once audiences encounter a piece of news, they cannot help but read or listen—it is compelling and irresistible. This requires news reports to reflect matters closely related to the work and lives of the people. When you report on something they care about and reflect their desires, it resonates with them emotionally, stirring their hearts, making them feel compelled to engage with it.
When planning this series of books with Mr. Gu Qian, a senior editor from Fudan University Press specializing in news and communication studies, we set the editorial principle from the outset: to appeal not only to college students, news enthusiasts, and frontline news communication professionals but also to strive to become a good reference for them in news reporting or elevate their news reporting to a new level in terms of concept and practice. This is because the figures and works selected in this book are of typical significance in various periods and fields, our analyses are detailed and focus on theoretical organization, and our formats and paradigms are innovative and distinctive.
The chief editors of each volume in this series are deans, department directors, or professors from various news and communication departments, who, with their profound academic expertise and scholarly foundation, have meticulously crafted the series, achieving a high overall standard. Professor Gao Ruo-hai, the chief editor of Fudan University Press, and Professor He Sheng-sui, the president of the press, have given great attention and support to the editing and publication of this series. It is worth mentioning that Professor Gu Qian, with his deep insight and decades of editing experience, fully recognized the value and broad readership of this series and devoted his efforts to its planning, organization, and successful publication. On behalf of all the authors, I extend my sincere gratitude to the experts of the publishing house.