News Commentary Tutorial

Author: Hu Wenlong / Edited by: Chen Ping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-01-01
Features: Excerpt: These discussions not only inspire and benefit employees in the service industry but also social members from other sectors. By analyzing and refining Li Suli's moving deeds, they advocate a moral philosophy that pursues truth, goodness, and beauty, striving for a better life through honest labor. They praise the profound love for the motherland, the people, and life; guide people to excel in ordinary jobs and achieve their ideals and life values. It is evident that the report primarily covers objective facts, using vivid and touching details to reveal greatness in the ordinary and sincerity in the subtle, showcasing Li Suli's spirit. This serves as a powerful motivation for people to learn from Li Suli. The commentary, on the other hand, builds on objective facts through analysis and reasoning, helping people deepen their understanding and guiding them to learn from Li Suli's "dedication to the post and sincerity for others."
News reports primarily disseminate information and provide factual news, emphasizing truthfulness and objectivity. The author's inclination, emotions, and opinions are embedded within the narrative of the facts. Commentary, however, analyzes and discusses news facts, directly stating the author's viewpoint. To "guide people with correct public opinion," media must present reasoning and express opinions. Opinions can be explicit or implicit. In other words, news reports convey implicit opinions, while news commentary expresses explicit ones. Therefore, news dissemination should include both reporting and commentary. Under a unified ideological guidance, news reports and commentary complement each other, enhancing their effectiveness. News commentary analyzes and discusses significant events or major issues reported in news, clarifying their ideological and political significance and deepening the theme of the report. This allows for a comprehensive and accurate promotion of the Party's policies and guidelines. Some commentary may also leverage facts from news reports to explore specific aspects or angles, raising thought-provoking questions and inspiring readers. Thus, compared to news reports, news commentary should be more comprehensive, broader in perspective, and more forward-looking, requiring higher standards for the authors in certain aspects.
### Section 2: Characteristics of News Commentary
I. Strong News Nature
Like other news genres, the primary feature of news commentary is its news nature, determined by the nature of news dissemination tools and a key distinction from general essays. The news nature of commentary is mainly reflected in its subject matter—current significant news events and issues needing resolution in real life. Its content is of urgent practical significance. Commentary can address a piece of news fact, an event, a trend, or a problem, but all must be of concern and interest to the majority of cadres and the public. This is the reason we must be targeted and purposeful when selecting topics and forming arguments. For a single piece of news commentary, it may respond to facts or issues reflected in news reports; it may provide facts while also expressing opinions; or it may address a current trend or issue without containing specific news facts or targeting a particular report. However, all these cases are inseparable from the characteristic of news nature.