10 讀者來稿美國新聞失敗(doc)
10. The Failures of the American Press When November 8 dawned and the world froze waiting for America to straighten out1 that messy election result, I began saving my newspapers, the International Herald2 Tribune3. I stacked them chronologically4 and when the Supreme Court made the appointment, I placed the stack in a clear plastic bag and put them in storage. I wanted my grandchildren to have them, knowing that this election was going to be one of America's historical bookmarks. 　　A few weeks later I began saving again. Was I becoming an eccentric5 hoarder? Not at all. The biggest part of the story had just begun. The newspapers had fallen into a stunning silence. A blackout6 on news began. Instead of diving into the fraud and corruption of the Florida election, ferreting out the Deep Throats, and combing through the biographies of the five treasonous7 Supreme Court justices who put the bullet through the heart of democracy in America, they shut up and behaved as if nothing was happening. 　　In five years, in ten years when the Election 2000 is added to our little pile of historical horrors--i.e. slavery, the Civil War, Watergate, encouraging the world to smoke, allowing health insurance companies to regulate health care--this failure of the press to act is going to be a significant part of the pile. 　　We know the problem. The media is now run by corporations who want to make money, entertain, not cause any ruckuses8, be as bland9 and inoffensive10 as possible, avoid costly investigations and possible litigations11. Ignore, hide, deflect12, cower, and fawn have to be the action verbs in the job descriptions of American journalists today. Make money and then make some more money. And then figure out how to be more mainstream to make even more money. They cling to the unprincipled13 safe middle of every issue. 　　We are a country that thrives on14 ideas and information. We are a country that cherishes15 our right to know the truth. If one is born with a curious mind that hasn't been fed by responsible journalism, this is a serious psychological and intellectual betrayal16. I use to feel very aligned17 to journalists. I love words and I love the way truth stands with confident and elegant integrity18. People who love words and seek the truth would not be part of an organization flaunting19 the nonsense that our media now flaunts. Cognitive20 slaps and insults happen every time I open the floppy pages. I am standing for truth. I am standing for democracy. I am standing with the American people and we deserve a better press. 美國新聞媒體的失敗 當(dāng)11月8日來臨的時候，整個世界靜靜等待美國把一團(tuán)糟的大選結(jié)果弄清楚，我開始 收集我的報紙《國際先驅(qū)論壇報》。我把它們按時間順序放好，當(dāng)最高法庭作出任命后， 我把這堆報紙放進(jìn)一個透明塑料袋存放起來。我希望我的孫輩們能夠看到這些報紙。我 知道這次大選將會成為美國歷史上的一個重大事件。 　　幾個星期以后我又開始收集報紙。是我變成了一個古怪的收藏者嗎？根本不是。好 戲才剛剛開始。報界陷入令人吃驚的沉默。對新聞的管制開始了。媒體沒有對佛羅里達(dá) 州大選的欺詐和腐敗行為進(jìn)行調(diào)查；找出匿名揭發(fā)此事的內(nèi)情提供者；弄清楚最高法院 五位背信法官的歷史背景——這些人對美國民主造成了致命傷害；相反，它沉默不語,就好 像什么事也沒有發(fā)生。 　　再過五到十年，當(dāng)2000年大選同農(nóng)奴制、美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)、水門事件、鼓勵世人抽煙、允 許醫(yī)療保險公司制定醫(yī)療保障制度一起成為歷史丑聞的時候，這次媒體沒能履行職責(zé)也 將成為這些丑聞的重要組成部分。 　　我們知道問題所在。媒體是由公司運作的，公司要的是賺錢、娛樂，而不是惹麻煩 ，要盡可能地溫和，不去冒犯別人，避免代價高昂的調(diào)查和可能的官司?！安焕聿徊牵瑬| 躲西藏，轉(zhuǎn)移視線，畏縮不前，趨炎附勢”不得不成為今日美國記者工作中的行為動詞。 賺錢，然后再多賺點錢。接著盤算如何隨大流賺更多的錢。他們對任何事情都嚴(yán)守不講 道德以求保險的折中立場。 　　我們的國家因思想開通、信息暢達(dá)而興盛。我們的國家珍惜知情權(quán)。如果一個生來 就有好奇心的人，總是看不到負(fù)責(zé)任的新聞報道，這是一個非常嚴(yán)重的心理和智力的背 叛。我過去常常和新聞記者看法一致。我喜歡新聞，喜歡真相以一種自信而優(yōu)雅的誠實 方式表現(xiàn)出來。熱愛新聞和尋求真理的人們不會像我們現(xiàn)在的新聞媒體那樣，成為炫耀 失實報道的組織的一員。每次我翻開報紙，都能感受到打擊和侮辱。 　　我維護(hù)事實真相。我維護(hù)民主。我和美國人民站在一起，我們應(yīng)該有一個更好的新 聞媒體。 1.straighten[5στρειτν]vi.[美口]改正(與out搭配) 2.herald[5ηερΕλδ]n.先驅(qū)者，預(yù)報者 3.Tribune[5τριβφυ:ν]n.(常用于報刊名)論壇，講壇 4.chronologically[((((((((((((((((]adv.按年月順序排列地 5.eccentric[ ικ5σεντρικ ]adj.(人、行為等)古怪的 6.blackout[5βλ“καυτ]n.(新聞等的)封鎖 7.treasonous[5τρετΦΕρΕσ]adj.叛逆的，奸詐的 8.ruckus[5ρΘκΕσ]n.[美口]吵鬧，騷動 9.bland[βλ“νδ]adj.無刺激性的，溫和的 10.inoffensive[7ινΕ5φενσιπ]adj.不觸犯人的 11.litigation[7λιτι5⊥ειΦΕν]n.訴訟 12.deflect[δι5φλεκτ]vt.轉(zhuǎn)移，引開 13.unprincipled[Θν5πρινσΕπλδ]adj.不講道德的 14.thrive[Ωραιπ]vi.(常與on搭配)繁榮，旺盛 15.cherish[5τΦεριΦ]vt.珍視，抱有 16.betrayal[βι5τρει]n.背叛，出賣 17.align[Ε5λαιν]vt.使成一直線 18.integrity[ιν5τε⊥ριτι]n.誠實 19.flaunt[φλΧ:ντ]vt.夸耀，夸示 20.cognitive[5κΧ⊥νιτιπ]adj.認(rèn)識的，以實際經(jīng)驗為根據(jù)的
10 讀者來稿美國新聞失敗(doc)