必修5 Unit 4 Making the news-Reading
MY FIRST WORK ASSIGNMENT
"Unforgettable", says new journalist
Never will Zhou Yang (ZY) forget his first assignment at the office of a popular English newspaper. His discussion with his new boss, Hu Xin (HX), was to strongly influence his life as a journalist.
HX: Welcome. We're delighted you're coming to work with us. Your first job here will be an assistant journalist. Do you have any questions?
ZY: Can I go out on a story immediately?
HX: (laughing) That' s admirable, but I' m afraid it would be unusual ! Wait till you' re more experienced. First we'll put you as an assistant to an experienced journalist. Later you can cover a story and submit the article yourself.
ZY: Wonderful. What do I need to take with me? I already have a notebook and camera.
HX: No need for a camera. You'll have a professional photographer with you to take photographs. You'll find your colleagues very eager to assist you, so you may be able to concentrate on photography later if you' re interested.
ZY: Thank you. Not only am I interested in photography, but I took an amateur course at university to update my skills.
HX: Good.
ZY: What do I need to remember when I go out to cover a story?
HX: You need to be curious. Only if you ask many different questions will you acquire all the information you need to know. We say a good journalist must have a good "nose" for a story. That means you must be able to assess when people are not telling the whole troth and then try to discover it. They must use research to inform themselves of the missing parts of the story.
ZY: What should I keep in mind?
HX: Here comes my list of dos and don'ts: don't miss your deadline, don't be rode, don't talk too much, but make sure you listen to the interviewee carefully.
ZY: Why is listening so important?
HX: Well, you have to listen for detailed facts. Meanwhile you have to prepare the next question depending on what the person says.
ZY: But how can I listen carefully while taking notes?
HX: This is a trick of the trade, If the interviewee agrees, you can use a recorder to get the facts straight. It's also useful if a person wants to challenge you. You have the evidence to support your story.
ZY: I see! Have you ever had a case where someone accused your journalists of getting the wrong end of the stick?
HX: Yes, but it was a long time ago. This is how the story goes. A footballer was accused of taking money for deliberately not scoring goals so as to let the other team win. We went to interview him. He denied taking money but we were sceptical. So we arranged an interview between the footballer and the man supposed to bribe him. When we saw them together we guessed from the footballer's body language that he was not telling the truth. So we wrote an article suggesting he was guilty. It was a dilemma because the footballer could have demanded damages if we were wrong. He tried to stop us publishing it but later we were proved right.
ZY: Wow! That was a real "scoop". I'm looking forward to my first assignment now. Perhaps I'll get a scoop too!
HX: Perhaps you will. You never know.
GETTING THE "SCOOP"
"Quick," said the editor. "Get that story ready. We need it in this edition to be ahead of the other newspapers. This is a scoop." Zhou Yang had just come back into the office after an interview with a famous film star. "Did he really do that?" asked someone from the International News Department. "Yes, I' m afraid he did," Zhou Yang answered. He set to work.
His first task was to write his story, but he had to do it carefully. Although he realized the man had been lying, Zhou Yang knew he must not accuse him directly. He would have to be accurate. Concise too! He knew how to do that. Months of training had taught him to write with no wasted words or phrases. He sat down at his computer and began to work.
The first person who saw his article was a senior editor from his department. He checked the evidence, read the article and passed it on to the copy-editor. She began to edit the piece and design the main headline and smaller heading. “This will look very good on the page,” she said. "Where is a good picture of this man?" Then as the article was going to be written in English Zhou Yang also took a copy to the native speaker employed by the newspaper to polish the style. She was also very happy with Zhou Yang's story. "You are really able to write a good front page article," she said. Zhou Yang smiled with happiness. Last of all, the chief editor read it and approved it. "Well done," he said to Zhou Yang. "But please show me your evidence so we're sure we've got our facts straight.” “I’ll bring it to you immediately," said Zhou Yang excitedly.
The news desk editor took the story and began to work on all the stories and photos until all the pages were set. All the information was then ready to be processed into film negatives. This was the first stage of the printing process. They needed four negatives, as several colours were going to be used on the story. Each of the main colours had one negative sheet and when they were combined they made a coloured page for the newspaper. After one last check the page was ready to be printed. Zhou Yang waited excitedly for the first copies to be ready. "Wait 611 tonight," his friend whispered. "I expect there will be something about this on the television news. A real scoop!"