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为什么《大中报》要求谭耕议员澄清是否有婚外情

Why “tabloid journalism” has turned into mainstream news
来源: 大中报 南茜(Nancy Jin)



《大中报》在两周前发表了一篇文章,要求谭耕议员为其广泛传播的婚外情传言做出回答。华人社区对此也反应强烈,要求谭议员回应的呼声高涨。但与此同时,这篇涉及国会议员道德性操守的文章也让某些人从党派角度出发进行解读,一些自由党人及支持者攻击此文为哗众取宠而制造的八卦。他们质问称,“为什么享有高质量新闻报道的《大中报》会如此低俗不堪,为追求桃色新闻乐此不疲?”
 
Chinese News published an article two weeks ago seeking MP Geng Tan’s response over his alleged extramarital affair. The community reacts to the article with a soaring demand for the MP to answer. However, the story concerning an MP’s ethics behavior has also sparked partisan outcry, with some attacking it as over-the-top sensationalism and degrading it as tabloid reports. They’ve asked: “why, Chinese News, the paper enjoys a reputation of quality reporting engaged in tabloid journalism?”



在北美,一名政客的婚外情与私生活品行从未曾被漠视,并引发广泛争议的事件。一些人认为,政客不是以“道德典范”而是以“立法权威”被当选,因此其个人问题不应在公众考核的范围之内,选民也不应因其道德水准低下而放弃一名候选人。的确在历史上,新闻界及记者们曾经对政客的性丑闻不屑一顾,认为是个人私事,并从不将其纳入新闻报道所涵盖的内容。
 
In North America, a politicians’ extramarital affair has been highly controversial. Some believe that the personal struggles should not break or make a candidate – because they are not elected to be a moral authority but a legislative one. Indeed, journalists in America looked away from the sexual scandal of politicians historically, regarding such things as off-limits in their reporting.



然而今天,随着公众道德水准的提高,政客的人格品行再也不是可有可无,他们对政客道德品性的关心程度不亚于他们所推行的党领政纲。他们期望政客具有高尚的人品和道德规范。他们认为政客的私生活脱离不了政治范畴,也是政客道德品质的如实写照。对婚姻不忠的政客往往在获得公众信任方面大打折扣。一名背叛对配偶所做出的终身承诺的政客,一名欺骗伴侣,愧对子女的政客难道会兑现对选民们所做出的保证?!因此,政客们的人格,道德和诚信越来越受到公众的密切关注。         
 
However, today, most of the public care as much about politicians’ characters as their political platforms and expect them to hold a higher ethic standard. They believe that politicians’ private life is an issue in politics, giving insight into his moral qualities. Politicians’ act of infidelity undermines public trust. A violation of a lifetime commitment to their spouse erodes our confidence that they will fulfill their promise to their constituency. As such, the characters, ethics, and integrity of public officials have increasingly been under the public radar.



但公众对政客品行不端的不宽容态度并非从来就有,一蹴而就,而臭名昭著的水门事件是这一观念转变的节点。水门事件将尼克松总统见不得人的不端品行展现于世人面前,事件举世震惊,也让世人梦醒。他们最终意识到政治领袖的人格品行竟在政坛中影响如此重大。与此同时,妇女解放运动和平权运动也导致了对个人私生活特别是婚外情容忍与否的社会观念的改变。
 
But the public intolerance over politicians’ immorality has not happened overnight, with the Watergate scandal being the turning point of that transformation. The scandal that exposed a president’s petty and dishonest character had shocked the nation, raising public awareness over the impact of political leaders’ private life on politics. Meanwhile, women’s liberation and the equal rights movement had led to the changing social attitudes about an individual’s private behavior, particularly in adultery.



随着时代的进步,今天西方媒体的关注焦点也发生了巨大变化,对政客的个人行为和人品的审视逐渐成为政治新闻的重要组成部分。如果几十年前,媒体的新闻报道远离政客个人私生活的话,那么今天,他们的婚外情轶事难逃过主流和严肃媒体镁光灯的追踪。而所谓的“花边新闻”其实已经演变成严肃的主流新闻。
 
At the same time, profound changes have taken place in the Western media, with the examination of public officials’ private conduct and character becoming part of political journalism. If politicians’ private matters were left out of bounds decades earlier, they have now become the focus the media reports, and “tabloid journalism” was turned into mainstream and serious news reporting.



美国《迈阿密先驱报》的汤姆•费德勒的一则报道在媒体关注转变中起了举足轻重的作用。作为一名优秀的政治新闻记者,费德勒以其著名报道曝光了1988年民主党首选总统候选人、已婚的加里•哈特的性丑闻。这篇报道出台之时,正值哈特竞选势头强劲,势必获得下届美国总统宝座之际。但费德勒有关他与一位名为唐娜•莱斯的年轻女性的性丑闻却即刻引起新闻界的轰动和媒体的狂热追踪,最终导致哈特的竞选陷入僵局,并因此葬送了他的政治前程。
 
It was the story by Tom Fiedler of the Miami Herald that played a significant role in this transformation. As a great political reporter, he exposed Gary Hart sexual scandal in 1988 that destroyed the political ambition of Hart, a husband and the leading contender for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. The story came out at the time when Hart’s political campaign was gaining traction, and he was poised to become the next US president. However, the exposure of his extramarital affair with a young woman named Donna Rice had led to a media frenzy that eventually sunk his campaign. 
 


《迈阿密先驱报》的记者们为了揭露哈特的婚姻不忠而埋伏于其在华盛顿住宅之外,并对他在巴哈马的游船进行监测跟踪。他们的长焦镜头捕捉到莱斯坐在哈里大腿上的照片。虽然费德勒的报道在全国内引发了公众人物的私生活是否应是媒体竞相报道的对象之争论,费德勒认为他做的对,其报道符合公众利益,且美国大众也相信如此。
 
To track Hart’s infidelity, a group of Herald reporters staked out of Hart townhouse residence in Washington and followed him on the deck of a boat in the Bahamas. Their camera captured the image of Hart with Rice on his lap. While Fiedler’s story spurred a national debate about whether the sex lives of public figures were fair game for the press, Fiedler believes he was doing the right thing, and so do most of the American public.



费德勒表示:“除了媒体,还有谁能(就政客的性丑闻)提出质询?”选民需要考察政治领袖的能力和人品……,我不认为对哈特婚外情的报道是在关注他的性生活,而实际上是对哈里真实品行的揭露和考验。哈里到底是个什么样的人?这才是他能否赢得公众信任的核心问题。”
 
“If the press didn’t ask these kinds of questions (concerning politicians’ sex sandal), who would?” said Fiedler. “The voters needed a way to test the abilities and the character of the candidates... I don’t think the Herald’s story was about his sex life but was really a test of Gary Hart’s authenticity. It went to the heart of his credibility: Who was he?”



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