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Tom, could I ask you for some advice, please?
汤姆，我能请你给我提点建议吗？
Yes of course, if you think I can help. What’s it about?
当然可以，如果你认为我能帮上忙的话。是关于什么的？
It’s my first media studies assignment, and I’m not sure how to go about it. You must have done it last year.
这是我的第一个媒体研究作业，我不知道该怎么做。你去年肯定已经做过了。
Is that the one comparing the coverage of a particular story in a range of newspapers?
是对比一系列报纸对某一特定新闻的报道吗？
That’s right.
没错。
Oh yes, I really enjoyed writing it.
哦，是的，我很喜欢写这份作业。
So what sort of things do I need to compare?
那么我需要比较哪些东西呢？
Well, there are several things. For example, there’s the question of which page of the newspaper the item appears on.
有几样需要比较的东西。例如，新闻出现在报纸的哪一页的问题。
You mean, because there’s a big difference between having it on the front page and the bottom of page ten, for instance?
你的意思是，比如，新闻放在头版和放在第十页的底部有很大的不同？
Exactly. And that shows how important the editor thinks the story is.
一点儿没错。这表明了编辑认为这则新闻有多重要。
Then there’s the size – how many column inches the story is given, how many columns it spreads over.
然后是尺寸，新闻有多少栏英寸，新闻占多少栏。
And I suppose that includes the headline.
我想其中包括标题吧。
It certainly does. It’s all part of attracting the reader’s attention.
当然。这一切都是为了吸引读者的注意力。
What about graphics – whether there’s anything visual in addition to the text?
那图片呢，除了文字之外，是否还有视觉材料？
Yes, you need to consider those, too, because they can have a big effect on the reader’s understanding of the story – sometimes a bigger effect than the text itself.
是的，你也需要考虑这些，因为它们会对读者理解新闻产生很大影响，有时图片的影响比文本本身的影响更大。
Then you’ll need to look at how the item is put together: what structure is it given?
然后你需要考虑新闻是如何写的：它的结构是什么？
Bear in mind that not many people read beyond the first paragraph, so what has the journalist put at the beginning?
记住，没有多少人会阅读第一段以外的内容，那么记者在开头写了什么？
And if, say, there are conflicting opinions about something, does one appear near the end, where people probably won’t read it?
比方说，如果对某件事有不同的看法，那么观点会不会出现在人们可能不会读的结尾？
And newspapers sometimes give wrong or misleading information, don’t they? Either deliberately or by accident. Should I be looking at that, too?
报纸有时会给出错误或误导性的信息，不是吗？无论是故意的还是有意的。我也要考虑那个吗？
Yes, if you can. Compare what’s in different versions, and as far as possible, try and work out what’s true and what isn’t.
是的，如果可以的话。比较不同版本的内容，尽可能找出哪些是真的，哪些是假的。
And that relates to a very important point: what’s the writer’s purpose, or at least the most important one, if they have several.
这涉及到一个非常重要的问题：作者的目的是什么，或者至少是最重要的一个目的，如果他们有几个目的的话。
It may seem to be to inform the public, but often it’s that they want to create fear, or controversy, or to make somebody look ridiculous.
这看起来似乎是为了告知公众，但往往是他们想要制造恐惧，或引起争议，或者让某人看起来很可笑。
Gosh, I see what you mean. And I suppose the writer may make assumptions about the reader.
天哪，我明白你的意思了。我想作者可能会向读者表达一些假设。
That’s right – about their knowledge of the subject, their attitudes, and their level of education, which means writing so that the readers understand without feeling patronised.
没错，关于他们对主题的认识，他们的态度，以及他们的教育水平，这意味着写作是要让读者理解，而不是感觉被屈尊对待。
All of that will make a difference to how the story is presented.
所有这些都将会对新闻的呈现方式产生影响。
