錢儀雯
2016年10月底11月初,我參加了上海外國語大學(xué)新聞學(xué)院舉辦的研究項目,在資深媒體人曹景行老師的帶領(lǐng)下,前往美國東部各地進行了為期半個多月的新聞報道學(xué)習(xí)。走訪了許多地方,采訪了形形色色的人,還探訪了聯(lián)合國新聞發(fā)布室。
美國街頭即景:白宮門前排長隊
剛到美國不久就遇上了熱鬧的萬圣節(jié),家家戶戶門口都擺出了南瓜燈、鬼怪玩偶等裝飾,頗有節(jié)日氣氛。我們報道團自然也要湊一湊熱鬧,在傍晚興致勃勃地趕到了白宮附近的大街上。
通往白宮的人行道上,早已排起了幾十米的長隊。從推著搖籃的爸爸媽媽,到帶著學(xué)生們的老師,還有一臉興奮的年輕情侶們,個個身穿精致的戲服拿著逼真的道具,扮演超級英雄、卡通人物,還出現(xiàn)了龍蝦、披薩、蘋果樹等令人有些摸不著頭腦的裝扮。也有不少孩子穿上消防員、警察的制服,那就是他們心目中真正的英雄。
身旁一個特殊的三口之家吸引了我的視線。兩位爸爸穿著筆挺的制服,戴著對講耳機和大墨鏡,懷里抱著的寶寶藍(lán)眼睛撲閃撲閃,胸前的大號白色珍珠項鏈格外搶眼?!澳銈儼缪莸氖恰蔽矣行┮苫蟮貑?。“我們兩個大人是保鏢裝束,”高個子爸爸有些自豪地指了指懷中的寶寶,“她是小小希拉里?!痹瓉砣绱耍∵@么一說,身著迷你藍(lán)西裝的寶寶還真有點希拉里的范兒。
參觀央視北美分臺與SMG美國新聞中心:中國新聞人的風(fēng)采
秋日的華盛頓街頭在陽光下優(yōu)美如畫,央視北美分臺所在的玻璃寫字樓也顯得格外通透。在相關(guān)工作人員帶領(lǐng)下,我們走進了央視工作區(qū)。
以藍(lán)色為主色調(diào)的新聞演播室大氣而有質(zhì)感,央視LOGO看上去格外親切,而大屏上的世界地圖則彰顯了一個權(quán)威媒體所特有的廣闊視野。
身處彼時的美國,名為“總統(tǒng)選舉”的風(fēng)云大戲到哪兒都是熱點話題。在簡要概述央視北美分臺的日常運作后,王冠老師介紹了央視對于本次大選的三大報道角度:金錢政治、中國話題,以及兩大候選人之間的交鋒。而談到媒體在這出大戲中所扮演的角色,王冠老師列舉了一系列思考角度,宋魯鄭教授也從自己的研究出發(fā)進行補充,表達了報道選題在廣度與深度方面的進一步可能。
當(dāng)日第二站,我們來到了上海東方傳媒集團(SMG)的華盛頓新辦公室。位于賓夕法尼亞大街上的SMG新辦公室,可謂占據(jù)了黃金地理位置,不只與白宮共處一條大街,更面朝世界銀行與國際貨幣基金組織兩座大樓。據(jù)說在附近閑逛,與世界頂尖數(shù)據(jù)分析師撞個滿懷的幾率相當(dāng)高。
在明亮嶄新的辦公室內(nèi),我們與曹景行、SMG記者坐成一圈,聊了起來。圍繞“十年后的媒體會是什么樣”這一話題,每個人都談了談自己的想法:從未來媒體的可能形式到內(nèi)容,再到媒體的生存與經(jīng)營之道。席間,恍然意識到自己正在媒體權(quán)威們面前毫不保留地敘述自己的故事,正在自如應(yīng)對來自專家老師們的提問與挑戰(zhàn),深感不可思議的同時也有一絲成長的自豪。
記得在討論的最后,曹景行對我們說:“昨天是有規(guī)則的,而明天沒有規(guī)則。打開思想,未來是屬于你們的。”
走進聯(lián)合國新聞發(fā)布室:秘書長發(fā)言人是怎么工作的
人人都可以進入紐約聯(lián)合國總部內(nèi)參觀一圈,但要想進入聯(lián)合國大樓內(nèi)的工作區(qū),并且親臨每日例行的新聞發(fā)布現(xiàn)場,那可就值得一書了。
多虧校方與SMG媒體聯(lián)系,我們有幸走進了只有聯(lián)合國專門記者才準(zhǔn)進入的新聞發(fā)布室,安靜地等待聯(lián)合國秘書長發(fā)言人斯特凡·杜加里克(Stéphane Dujarric)帶來每日簡報新聞發(fā)布會。到場記者大約10位,據(jù)說列席記者可以來自聯(lián)合國任何成員國,其中也包括受到國際制裁的國家派出的記者。杜加里克先生首先播報了一系列聯(lián)合國人道主義救助工作的相關(guān)進展情況。其后,杜加里克先生也表達了聯(lián)合國對印度兒童所面臨的空氣污染問題、布隆迪共和國的饑荒、全球糧食價格調(diào)整等問題的關(guān)切。
簡報后是答記者問時間。記者們就各自關(guān)心的問題向發(fā)言人提問,如果認(rèn)為發(fā)言人的回答有些閃爍其詞,還會毫不留情地繼續(xù)追問。發(fā)布會結(jié)束后,杜加里克先生親切地與我們聊了起來。作為聯(lián)合國秘書長的新聞發(fā)言人,想必在媒體面前的每一句話、每一個詞匯都要經(jīng)過深思熟慮,否則說不好會演變成怎樣的國際爭端。
隨后,中國維和部隊駐聯(lián)合國軍官戴祁林帶著我們參觀了聯(lián)合國安理會和維和部隊照片墻,并介紹了維和部隊的工作和基本情況。“作為聯(lián)合國五大常任理事國之一,中國一直致力于成為一個負(fù)責(zé)任的大國,”戴祁林說著向我們指指墻上一張中國維和士兵正在鏟土的照片,“這是中國維和人員在非洲剛果(金)執(zhí)行建設(shè)任務(wù)。這是實實在在的付出?!?/p>
探訪中國駐美大使館:他鄉(xiāng)的故土情懷
位于華盛頓的中國駐美大使館氣派莊嚴(yán),集國內(nèi)建筑師、書畫藝術(shù)家與現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)家等的杰作于一館,低調(diào)沉穩(wěn)又不失大國氣派。使館的新聞參贊方虹女士以及諸位外交官笑盈盈地迎接我們,邀請我們參加一場關(guān)于“公共外交”的討論。公共外交,即指一國政府或經(jīng)政府授權(quán)的社會組織,通過傳播、公關(guān)、媒體等手段與國外公眾進行雙向交流,旨在提升本國形象和聲譽、增進國家利益的活動。方虹參贊說,世界形勢復(fù)雜、國際政治變化不斷,這些都使公共外交提升到了新的戰(zhàn)略高度。而公共外交也是傳播中國聲音、樹立中國“和平崛起”良好形象的重要手段。近年來,中國駐美大使館通過各種政策宣傳和解釋,通過“中國立場”的“國際表達”,增進美國各界對于中美關(guān)系的了解。外交官劉宇清等還表示,當(dāng)前公共外交面臨的最大挑戰(zhàn)是跨越中美兩國存在的文化差異,找準(zhǔn)受眾的需求與關(guān)注點,力爭在諸多議題上達成一致。
我深切地感受到使館在如何順應(yīng)時代、積極展現(xiàn)真實的中國形象這一問題上,的確作出了巨大的努力。最后,方虹參贊親切說道:“你們新聞報道團此行正是公共外交的一種體現(xiàn)啊。”
A Journalistic
Rehearsal in USA
By Qian Yiwen
In the fall of 2016, I took part in a two-week program hosted by the School of Journalism of the Shanghai International Studies University. Led by famous commentator Cao Jingxing, the delegation visited many places in eastern US and interviewed people from all walks of life. The program provided me with a great opportunity for a first-hand experience of an interesting chapter of the American history.
The night we landed there, Washington DC was sizzling with heaps of Halloween atmosphere, with everyone busy carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns and lighting bonfires and children waiting anxiously for trick-or-treating. The street beside the White House was packed with people attending Halloween costume parties. Two men dressed up like body guards caught my eye. “She is Hilary Clinton,” the taller guy pointed at the baby he was holding in his arms. The baby, with big flashing eyes, was also dressed up in a sapphire blue suit.
The next day we walked into the chic office building where the North America Branch of CCTV (now rebranded as China Global Television Network or CGTN as of December 31, 2016) was headquartered. In the television studio decked out with a refreshing blue color motif, everyone in the delegation enjoyed the insightful comment from Mr. Wang Guan and Professor Song Luzheng about the CCTV coverage on the ongoing USA presidential election.
The second leg of the day was the new office of Shanghai Media Group (SMG) located on Pennsylvania Avenue, where the White House is also sited and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund headquarters are just around the corner. In the sun-drenched meeting room, the delegation and SMG representatives brainstormed about the future of media.
“There were rules to follow in the past, but there wont be rules tomorrow. Open your mind and the future is yours,” Cao Jingxing concluded at the end of the discussion.
Thanks to the liaison effort from the school and SMG, we were granted a once-in-a-life chance to walk into the newsroom of the General Headquarters of the United Nations for an eye-opening experience of its daily briefing hosted by Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the then United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The daily ritual is open to journalists from member countries of the United Nations. That day, there were about ten journalists. Stéphane Dujarric opened the briefing of that day with a conclusion of the progresses made recently by the UN in its humanitarian relief endeavors. He then commented on the famine in the Republic of Burundi and expressed his concern on the rising global grain prices. The briefing is routinely followed by a question and answer session in which Stéphane Dujarric would be challenged by all kinds of questions from everyone in the audience.
That day, the delegation also took part in a guided tour led by Dai Qilin, the Chinese ambassador to the UN Peace-keeping Force.
At the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC, press counselor Ms Fang Hong and diplomatic officials welcomed us into the solemn building and invited us to take part in a discussion about “public diplomacy”. In international relations, public diplomacy or peoples diplomacy, broadly speaking, is the communication with and dissemination of propaganda to foreign public to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence.
“The complexity of the international political situation is bringing the importance of public diplomacy to a new, strategic high,” Ms Fang pointed out, adding that “public diplomacy has proved to be a vital method for China to make its voice heard and express its wish of ‘peaceful rise on the global stage as well as in its diplomatic communication with the US.”
“The biggest challenge facing the public diplomacy between China and America is the cultural difference between the two countries; therefore the key to reaching consensus in many issues is to pinpoint the demands of the audience,” clarified Liu Yuqing, one of the diplomats participating in the discussion.
“What you are doing here now serves as an example of what ‘public diplomacy is.” Ms Fang Hong concluded nearing the end of the discussion.