A Thousand-Day Journey: Editor-in-Chief's Reflections

Author: Yin Minghua / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Our silk newspaper has returned from space! It flew so far and the flight was so spectacular. After sending it to "Shenzhou 6," we developed a deep affection and longing for it, just as we did for the spacecraft. Today, it has returned. The Guinness World Records headquarters will accept an application to evaluate the value of its "Space Silk Newspaper" globally. The National Museum and the Shanghai Historical Museum have already sent letters or dispatched personnel, competing to "wed" this beautiful "bride" as a historical treasure. We feel lucky about this. At the same time, we are still a bit reluctant to let go. Truly, attending the opening ceremony of the Shenzhou 6 re-entry capsule and touching the fresh space atmosphere on the People's Daily commemorative special issue, I felt a kind of intoxication I had never experienced before. Due to the commemorative issue, I have never been so strongly and urgently attached to the successful return of Shenzhou 6, feeling as if every second counts in capturing our attention. A small idea has now shone brilliantly. Imagination has become reality, and our five months of effort have not been in vain. News has always been about recording history; today, we discovered that we can create history. At this moment, I think we should seriously praise ourselves. In an era where creativity leads, we face many challenges and opportunities in creativity. Zhang Heng, the head of the CCTV program "Children of the East," repeatedly asked me: "What's important is the idea—how did you come up with such an idea?" I told him there was no deep wisdom behind it; it mainly stemmed from our love for the People's Daily, and we were willing to pour that love to its fullest. All slogans and actions must ultimately be proven by results. The influence of the commemorative issue is just an extension of our own strength. However, Hu Jinjun, the leader of our peer media group, told me: "I selfishly believe this is a pride of our journalistic field!" Zhao Lianhong, the executive secretary of the China News Association, said: "This is the honor of Chinese journalism!" These words moved me.
Online and some media outlets have made speculations and comments about this. I am not interested in saying how important our ideas and actions are. However, the basic characteristics of a good idea are that it always evokes doubt, questioning, or even envy. Another characteristic of a successful idea is that it will eventually bravely overcome all obstacles, including envy, letting the facts prove the difference between right and wrong. The word "tradition" is often equated with conservatism in the current stage because deeply rooted culture makes it hard for people to change. But as Einstein said: "If we don't change ourselves, we will eventually fail to change the existing state." Sending the commemorative issue into space was an attempt to change our way of thinking. In fact, there is still much we can do. Tradition can only be reborn through continuous self-transformation.