News Communication Fine Reading (Radio and Television Volume)

Author: Liu Hugui, Chief Editor; Yan Sanjiu, Volume Editor
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: A Guide to News Communication Masterpieces. 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 back at the history of news communication in China and the world, any transformation or development in news communication, or the proposal and formation of any news communication concept, was closely related to the social development and historical context of the time. At the turn of the century, as 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 market has shifted from a seller's market to a buyer's market, and the market calls for high-quality news works. Any news media that wishes to avoid stagnation must demonstrate its talents in fierce competition to secure a 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. The audience is the lifeblood of the media; everything the media does is for the audience. The broad audience in China had previously been exposed to a significant amount of superficial, exaggerated, and vague news reports and longed for authentic and excellent news works. Thus, we can confidently 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, taking the pulse of the times, 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 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" originally referred to high-quality commercial products. News excellence, therefore, means high-quality, high-standard news works—commonly known as "good news," including good reports, good commentaries, good editorials, good layouts, good columns, good special features, 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 fully serve 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 qualifies as 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 a clear distinction between the working class and the bourgeoisie in terms of news values. News excellence must possess the ability to move people and have a significant impact to a certain extent and scope, guiding the formation of correct public opinion and helping people overcome difficulties and find direction. This is because news work itself is inherently a politically oriented profession, as a seasoned news professional once said: "News workers are not mere 'writers'; they should approach things with the perspective and attitude of a statesman, 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 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 obsessively high, grand, and all-encompassing ideals, can make news detached from objective reality. Similarly, mishandling sensitive issues that affect social psychological stability or issues in the exploratory stages, in a futile pursuit of "shocking effects," may all become constraints on news excellence, and we must be vigilant against them.
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. The people and events should avoid being commonplace, highlighting their individuality and characteristics, and striving to make them stand out from others. As the name suggests, 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 like Kong Fansen, Xu Hu, Zhong Nanshan, and Yang Liwei, as well as reports on the 1998 flood relief efforts and the heroic deeds of firefighters in 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 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 only represent general requirements for news reports. News excellence requires far more than these elements; news professionals should elevate the pursuit of readability and accessibility to a necessity to read—meaning that once the audience encounters the news, they cannot help but engage with it, unable to disengage. This requires news reports to reflect matters closely related to the work and lives of ordinary people. When you report on something they care about and reflect their concerns, it resonates with them emotionally, stirring their hearts, making them feel compelled to read and listen.
When planning this series of books with Gu Qian, a senior editor from Fudan University Press specializing in news communication, we set the editorial principle from the outset: not only should university students and news enthusiasts enjoy it, but frontline news professionals should also find it valuable, striving to make it a good reference for news reporting or elevating their news reporting skills to a new level in terms of both philosophy and practice. This is because the figures and works selected in this series are representative of different eras and fields, and our analyses are thorough and theory-driven, with innovative and distinctive formats. The volume editors of this series are all deans, department heads, or professors from news 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 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, with his deep insight and decades of editing experience, fully recognized the value and broad readership of this series, dedicating his efforts 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.