News Communication Fine Reading. Communication Volume

Author: Liu Hugui (General Editor) / Dong Guang'an (Volume Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: 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 practical and meaningful major initiatives. Looking back at the history of news communication in China and even 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 era background at the time. At the turn of the century, as the world was entering a new era and China was deepening its reform and opening-up, new phenomena, contradictions, and problems were emerging every day, innumerable in quantity. Under the market economy, news, as a special commodity, was inevitably involved in market competition. With the maturation of the news market, it can be said that the news market has also shifted from a seller's market to a buyer's market. The market demands high-quality news works. Any news media that does not wish to be passive must demonstrate its talents in fierce competition to secure space for survival and development. Therefore, the proposal and implementation of the News Excellence Strategy naturally became a priority on the agenda. This is an inevitable trend, not subject to individual will. The audience is the lifeblood of the media, and everything the media does is for the audience. The vast Chinese audience had previously been exposed to a great deal of false, grandiose, empty, and vague news reports. They longed 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 broad audience, and an urgent and significant issue faced by the Chinese news industry in the new era and new circumstances. The Party Central Committee, having carefully assessed the situation, proposed the famous four sentences in the historic 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 was a requirement for the entire ideological and cultural front, including news, and can also be seen as the clarion call for implementing the News Excellence Strategy. The term "excellence" is originally a commercial term, referring to high-quality goods. News excellence refers to high-quality, high-standard news works, that is, what is 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 first consideration. We must firmly regard political nature as the primary value standard for news excellence, which is also the clear distinction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in terms of news values. News excellence must possess the quality of moving people's hearts and having a significant impact to a certain extent and on a larger scale. It must be able to guide the formation of correct public opinion, help people overcome difficulties and solve problems, and set a precedent. This is because news work itself is a highly political endeavor, as a seasoned news professional once said: "News workers are not just 'writers'; they should approach things with the perspective and attitude of a political figure, extracting '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 be truly 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、、, causing news to deviate from objective reality; or carelessly handling sensitive issues that affect social psychological stability and issues in the exploratory stage, blindly chasing so-called "sensational effects," all of these may become constraints on news excellence, and we must be vigilant.
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 have distinctive and extraordinary qualities. Characters and events should avoid being commonplace, highlighting their distinct personalities and characteristics, and striving to make them stand out from others. As the name implies, excellence emphasizes the "excellent" aspect, and this "excellent" is primarily reflected in the meticulous selection of news figures and events. Over the years, Chinese news media have introduced figures such as 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 the audience, factors such as readability and accessibility are often mentioned. These are indeed important guarantees of news quality and a key component of current news competition, but they are only general requirements for news reports. News excellence requires far more than these factors. News professionals should elevate the pursuit of readability and accessibility to necessity to read, meaning that once the audience encounters the news, they cannot help but read or listen. 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 wishes, it resonates with them emotionally, stirring their hearts, making them feel compelled to read and listen. 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 our editorial policy from the outset: not only should university students and news enthusiasts like it, but also frontline news professionals, striving to make it a good model for them to report news or elevate their news reporting to a new level in terms of both philosophy and practice. This is because the figures and works we selected are representative of different eras and fields, and our analyses are thorough and focus on theoretical organization. Our formats and models are novel and distinctive. The volume editors of this series are all deans, department directors, or professors from 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 Editor-in-Chief of Fudan University Press, and Professor He Shengsui, 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 has a deep insight, fully recognizing the value and broad readership of this series based on decades of editing experience, and has devoted his heart and soul to its planning, organization, and successful publication. On behalf of all the authors, I extend our sincere gratitude to the experts of the publishing house.