本教材聚焦英語特寫采訪與寫作這一專業(yè)領域,系統(tǒng)性涵蓋英語特寫采訪與寫作的基本要點,并著重探索如何應對在中文環(huán)境下針對國際受眾進行特寫報道的挑戰(zhàn)。本教材結(jié)合大量特寫報道采寫實例,在中國對外傳播的框架下就該領域的基本知識點和技能點展開詳細討論,以期解決學習者和從業(yè)者在英語特寫采訪與寫作中遇到的常見問題。本教材語言為英語,旨在幫助新聞學本科高年級學生和研究生進行系統(tǒng)學習,也可為英語新聞從業(yè)者提供專業(yè)參考。
The first question that came to mind before I set out to prepare for writing this textbook was why it was needed. Long a staple of newspaper and magazine writing, feature writing is far from a novel genre and many textbooks have been written on the subject. I myself have used and referred to several wellwritten textbooks in the course of my teaching. These textbooks approach feature writing from different perspectives, but they all cover the topic comprehensively and each provides a unique and effective roadmap for learning. Hence the question arises: why a new one is needed?
The answer lies in the fact that while there are many textbooks around, few have been written from a Chinese perspective and for Chinese students learning the craft. Writing Englishlanguage feature stories for an international audience is quite different from reporting for the domestic market. In this sense, feature writing falls within international reporting and international communication. Therefore, in addition to discussing the basics of the genre, I intend the book to examine the specific requirements concerning Chinese international reporting. These requirements affect all important editorial decisions throughout the process of reporting and writing feature articles, from finding the right story idea to writing the final draft. The socalled sense of news, i.e., the judgement of what is important and what is not, also shifts when the target audience changes from at home to abroad. International reporting is supposed to be across borders not just physical but also cultural. From a technical perspective, the inevitable translation between Chinese and English and all the problems that may arise during the process have to be taken into account and handled with principled care. Moreover, on many occasions a feature writer aiming for the international audience has to consider how to reconcile her needs with those of her audience. The fine line is between the need of effectively telling Chinas stories to the world and that of meeting the often capricious interest of an obscure international readership. This challenge must be met with both tact and tactics, as there is an important distinction between pandering to the interests of readers and serving their needs. Another major concern of feature writers is how to make reading their stories a rewarding experience for readers, as it is impractical and unrealistic to force any audience to accept ones message amid the digital information overloading, not to mention an audience that is ambiguous and foreign. This concern requires feature writers to master and hone their craft every way they can; to compete in the sea of information, the very least they can do is to work hard to be good storytellers. This book will therefore explore the reporting and writing of feature articles within the framework of Chinese international reporting, dissect the thought that goes into customizing the feature stories for a culturally different audience, and offer possible solutions to problems in this crucial communication we call telling Chinas story to the world.
This book contains ten chapters that track and outline both the reporting and writing process. The first chapter introduces the definition and characteristics of feature writing and discusses the genre in the context of international communication in the digital age. The next three chapters discuss the reporting process in its natural order: how to find and form an idea for a feature story, how to research that idea and how to conduct an interview. For chapter five and six, the book turns to the writing process, with chapter five focusing on leads and chapter six on story organization at length. Then, three more chapters (seven, eight and nine) move from a general discussion of how to cover and write feature stories (mainly news features) to an analysis of three specific types of feature stories: profiles, travel stories and reviews. The final chapter (the tenth one) presents a reporting and writing experiment involving my own class at the School of Journalism and Communication of Shanghai International Studies University and the Songjiang Convergence Media Center.This experiment involved writing features on suburban Shanghai for international audiences; many of the lessons my students and I learned in the process coincide with the key points raised in the first few chapters of the book. A careful examination of the knowledge and experience we gained seems to be a proper ending to conclude this book.
Special thanks to Shanghai Daily, The Sixth Tone, ShanghaiEye, and China Daily. All of the feature articles cited and analyzed in the book come from the Englishlanguage media in China, including China Daily, Shanghai Daily, Sixth Tone, and ShanghaiEye, where journalists and editors work diligently day in and day out to make Chinas voice heard around the world. ……
林巖,女,上海外國語大學新聞傳播學院講師,國際關系博士,擔任新聞專業(yè)主任。教授英語特寫采訪與寫作課程20年,主要研究領域包括國際新聞報道實務、新聞法、新聞倫理。
1.1Defining feature writing00
1.2Writing for the international market0
1.3The Englishspeaking reader0
1.4Longform articles in digital age0
Chapter 2Story Ideas0
2.1What makes a good story idea0
2.2Where to find story ideas0
2.3Giving shape to story ideas0
Chapter 3Researching For Feature Stories0
3.1Research shows0
3.2Starting with a plan0
3.3The first place to look0
3.4Survey, study findings, and press conferences0
3.5Libraries and reference books0
3.6The Internet0
3.7Observation0
3.8Keeping a beat memo0
Chapter 4Interviewing For Feature Stories0
4.1Preparing for the interview0
4.2Conducting the personal interview0
4.3After the interview0
Chapter 5Writing the Feature Lead0
5.1Opening with an example0
5.2Providing facts
5.3Continuing to build
5.4Keeping it simple
5.5Capturing the readers attention
Chapter 6Organizing The Feature Story
6.1Sorting out the materials
6.2Writing the headline
6.3The leadnut grafcontext paragraph opening
6.4Story structures
6.5Essential ingredients
Chapter 7Profiles
7.1The newsmaker approach
7.2The microcosm approach
7.3The personality approach
7.4The celebrity approach
Chapter 8Travel Stories
8.1Destination story
8.2The industry story
8.3The listing story
8.4Summary
Chapter 9Reviews
9.1Movie reviews
9.2Art reviews
9.3Food reviews
Chapter 10Writing Feature Stories on Suburban Shanghai
10.1The sowhat question revisited
10.2A new rural reality
10.3The last note