英语国家社会文化入门第9单元 英国的新闻媒介

第9单元英国的新闻媒介

对于大多数英国人来说几乎每一天都是以看晨报开始的。平均每天90%15岁以上的英国人要读一份国内或当地的报纸。到了晚上，大部分英国人要安下心来看电视了。全国有96%的人口一星期至少要看一次电视，这已成为英国最流行的休闲活动。除了看电视、报纸以外，另一种非常受人欢迎的消遣就是听广播。每周有73%的英国人要参与到这项娱乐活动中。因此，新闻媒介已成为英国休闲文化的中心，这一点是显而易见的。

新闻媒介不仅能为英国人提供消遣娱乐，而且还有其它功能。比如：报纸、收音机及电视节目能为人们提供政治、社会方面的信息，天气预报，广告信息及教育性节目。此外，还能为人们进行交流提供一个平台，人们可通过写信或打电话的方式各抒己见或寻求帮助。英国的新闻媒介对其政治制度是至关重要的，它的存在使人们了解到国家所面临的问题及政府如何解决这些问题。

新闻媒体在国家文化形成方面也起到了非常重要的作用。无论是苏格兰海上石油工人还是贝尔法斯特的退休教授，无论是伦敦的秘书还是威尔士的牙医，只要打开收音机和电视机选择喜欢的节目，或拿起当天的报纸，他们所收看到的和听到的都是一样的。即使他们的生活环境不同，如果他们有机会见面的话，他们就能谈论一些在电视、报纸上看到的一些消息。同时，这也能提醒英国人只要他们生活在英国，他们就从属于一种特殊文化。

英国的报纸

英国是世界上最早拥有报纸工业的国家之一。早在18世纪晚期和19世纪早期，随着英国经济开始出现工业化，民主选举权已扩大到大部分人口，大众教育使得人们的文化水平有所提高，越来越多的报纸开始发行。《观察家报》1791年首版发行，随后每个星期天发行一次，成为世界上最早的全国性报纸。与此同时，《泰晤士报》1785年首版发行，成为英国最早的日报。

随着议会民主制的引入，候选者们必须向其选民提供个人信息。一开始这项工作是由候选人做长时间演讲或是发放宣传册来完成，后来报纸承担了这一任务，使选民更加了解政治。《泰晤士报》《观察家报》和《卫报》这些英国报纸名字的本身就意味着报纸的功能是为全体选民提供国内事件的客观报道。人们认为新闻自由对议会民主极为重要，其原因就在于它对政府的监督作用然而，新闻的这种监督作用经常会遭到一些人的批评。许多分析家认为新闻篡夺了议会的地位。当时的政治家喜欢直接对准媒体说话，却不喜欢在议会发言。当然，那些令人喜欢而友好的记者们会做些有利于这些政治家们的新闻报道。当今的新闻报道不是客观地反映事实，而是提高编写故事来传递一种观点。

与政治家们相比，更多的商业人员很快认识到新闻媒介的力量，他们利用这一点向那些有消费潜力的客户宣传他们的产品和服务，于是广告业就应运而生了。尽管人们对新闻自由和新闻对西方民主的重要性讲了很多，但是一定要牢记，报纸首先是一种商业，是为出版商赚钱而存在的，而不是为人们提供信息的公共事业。在英国，大多数广告都是靠报纸来宣传。1995年，英国在广告上共花费四亿六千五百万英镑。新闻媒介应用的确很广泛，不仅公司们利用它来推销产品和服务，而且人们利用它找工作、买房子，甚至保姆都会求助于分类广告和免费报纸，这类报纸里几乎包括各式各样的广告。

英国的新闻媒体都必须遵守广告法规，它保证了广告的合法性、健康性、诚实和真实性；对社会和消费者有一种责任感；遵循公平竞争原则。广告的意义是使产品引起公众的注意，有时广告商故意开展有争议的广告活动，从而引起人们

的注意。欧洲服装生产商Benetton利用令人作呕的图片如一个死于爱滋病的人和一名穿着血淋淋制服的士兵在卖服装，及在时尚市场被认为是很俗气的形象来引起更多的争议。多数情况下，争议由女人而起，尤其是如果她们没有穿很多衣服，争议会更多。如果有足够多的人向广告标准委员会投诉，那么该公司就要把该广告取消。

英国的报纸文化极不寻常，从选读的报纸种类中即可反映人们所处的不同阶层和文化层次。在其它发达国家，如日本、美国，看报主要是中产阶级的习惯，而在英国，即使是较低阶层的人们也习惯看报。在发达国家中，英国是人均报纸销量最多的国家之一，共有报纸1400多种，涉及政治观点、兴趣爱好、教育水平等各种各样的内容。虽然大部分报纸在财政上是独立于政党而存在的，但他们经常表达一些独特的政治观点，而且大部分人是根据自己的喜好选择阅读的报纸。

因此，如果星期一的早晨你坐在伦敦市的地铁里，周围的人都在看报，你就可以根据他们所看的报纸来了解你周围的乘客。在英国有10种不同的全国性发行的日报，这种报纸覆盖国内重要新闻事件。其中大约有一半属于“重质量的报纸”或“大幅纸张的报纸”。“重质量的报纸”刊登较为严肃并有深度的文章，这些文章反映了某种具有重大政治和社会意义的问题；同时也刊登一些评论文章和有关高雅文化的描写。这种报纸的读者一般都是受到过良好教育的中产阶级。在这些报纸中最左派是《卫报》，你会经常在电视或日常生活中听到人们提到“《卫报》读者”这是那些对社会问题感兴趣的左派和自由派的简称。例如，《卫报》读者们坚持从轻处罚罪犯，他们是典型的女权主义者，对绿色（环保）政治感兴趣。与之相反，《电讯报》的读者认为应从重处罚罪犯，他们对单身母亲没有同情心，对社会事务没什么进取心。

另一种全国性报纸是一些故事多、图片多的小报。这种报纸虽然版式不大，但包括彩色照片和引人注目的标题，常被称为“迎合低级趣味的报纸”，因为它通常涉及一些名人的丑闻和谣言。无论在政治、体育还是娱乐方面，它都刊登一些关于犯罪、体育和轰动一时的人们感兴趣的故事。这些故事短小精悍，易于阅读，经常依赖于人们的主观看法，而不是客观事实。已成为全国知名小报的特点之一就是有第三版女郎——每天在第三版刊登一副漂亮而着装性感的姑娘的照片。在这类小报上首次刊登了近来发生的许多皇室丑闻。一次，一家小报贿赂了戴安娜王妃健身房的一名工作人员，让他拍几张王妃锻炼时的照片。照片展示了威尔士王妃举重和大汗淋漓的情景。这些缺乏魅力的照片引起了轰动。另外，还包括查尔斯王子没穿裤子的照片及安德鲁斯王子的夫人裸胸的故事。

这些以骇人听闻的故事闻名的小报和内容严肃的报纸一样销售不错。1843年，《世界新闻》开始出版发行，其中刊登的主要是关于犯罪、体育和性方面的文章。到20世纪30年代，它已成为英国最流行的星期日报，每星期销售340

万份，目前已达到每周470万份，成为英国最畅销的报纸。

直到20世纪80年代，几乎所有的全国性报纸在伦敦的“Fleet Street”或其附近设立了总部。有时，你会听见人们把报纸文化称为”Fleet Street”，甚至“羞耻街”，因为它是许多丑闻的发源地。现在，这种报纸工业仍以伦敦为中心，但并不只集中在一条街上，有些报纸已经发往世界各地。比如，《金融时报》已在法兰克福、法国、香港、新泽西州、洛杉矶、东京、马德里印刷出版。

虽然从官方上讲，英国报纸不受政府控制及新闻检查，它可以刊登自己喜欢的文章，但在日报中刊登的文章仍受限制。1990年前KGB主席曾说：

在英国报纸中你绝对找不到“谁碰了谁”美国的报纸信息量大，涉及范围广，我们总能从中找到许多信息。而在英国报纸中找不到什么信息。我一直教给我的人民“要像英国人一样行事”

虽然并没有特殊的州级新闻检查，许多英国法律限制报纸出版的自由。蔑视法庭法不允许报纸刊登任何与正在受审的人有关的各种犯罪情况，因为这样会影响司法部门做出正确判决。其它诽谤法、毁谤法不允许报纸刊登非真实的故事。

新闻媒介同样也受官方秘密法令的影响。这是一则合法法令，它规定所有有关政府的消息都应保密，除非政府允许发布。有时，调查政府错误行为的记者们的稿件是禁止发表的。否则他们就会被罚款甚至被送入监狱，因为他们揭示了政府不想让公众知道的消息。例如，1984年一个名叫Sarah Tisdall的年轻外国办公室职员在工作中了解到政府在公众不知情的情况下，秘密制定了一个允许美国进行核导弹部署的计划，之所以不公开是因为政府怕公众反对。这位职员感到政府在滥用职权，因此把这个信息透露给《卫报》，随后《卫报》刊登出了这件事，紧接着，Tisdall以泄露信息的罪名被判刑6个月。

广播媒体

一位著名的评论家评论英国媒体时写到：在英国，即使你不想看电视，也逃避不掉。广播媒体，即电视和收音机，在英国人的日常生活中是非常重要的。国内97%的家庭都有一台电视机，实际上每个人都有一台收音机。信息通过微波传到人们家里、车里和工作地点，即传到每个人身上。

英国人平均每天要用4个小时的时间看电视，在看报纸的过程中，最常看的一部分是电视节目目录。报纸中还刊登一些对已播出的节目的回顾。在工作中、家庭中或和朋友的谈话中经常是关于前天晚上电视节目的某些内容。在英国不看电视实际上就是把自己与英国文化和社会隔绝开来。英国人都看什么电视节目呢？新闻、娱乐和体育是他们的最爱，而喜剧、戏剧急各种比赛在人们的选择范围内大起大落。英国有两部上演时间较长的肥皂剧，其中上演时间最早、最受欢迎的肥皂剧是“加冕街道（Coronation Street）”。此剧于20世纪60年代在曼彻斯特北部城市公开上演。最近，它的竞争对手是“东部边际（East Enders）”这是一个虚构的在伦敦东部工人阶级所在的居民区发生的故事。这两部肥皂剧发生的地点是当地的一家酒馆，在那里剧中人聚在一起闲聊，为某件事进行庆祝或施以同情，坠入爱河又被爱情抛弃，经历了战斗及大哭大笑等一系列感情波折。与美国的肥皂剧相反，英国的肥皂剧并不是由富有的、令人兴奋的名演员们来担任其中的角色，而且剧情是对英国人日常生活的大胆真实的再现。剧中经常会涉及当时的一些社会问题，如：种族歧视、爱滋病(AIDS)、同性恋、离婚、吸毒、家庭暴力等等。这些肥皂剧质量很高，在国外很受欢迎：无论在新西兰还是在加拿大，你都能看到你所喜爱的角色。在曼彻斯特一个非常流行的旅游景点是“加冕街道”当时录制的布景，许多影迷纷纷在那个叫“The Rover?s Return”酒馆门前摄影留念。每日新闻和天气预报也是很受欢迎的栏目。英国的新闻广播以它的质量著称。最近最受欢迎的节目是每周一次购买国家彩票的现场直播。在直播中，人们能看到每周大奖的幸运数字。

在北美有许多不同的频道供大家观看，从家庭购物频道到24小时新闻频道，还有一些专门播放古老喜剧的频道。与之相对，英国的电视文化仍相当保守，它只有4个电视频道（第5个频道正在创建中），而且卫星电视还不如美国那样普及。这就大大限制了频道数量，同时对这些频道所有权的控制有助于整个国家的统一。广播法令的制定来保证广播媒体所有权的广泛传播，因此，广播权并不是

集中在几个人手中，同时严令禁止外国人（即欧盟以外的人）享有此权。这部法令也包含了维护电视节目的健康、品位、准确和客观的要求。有限的电视频道不仅使每个英国人都看电视，而且看的内容都是一样的。每年处在排行榜前十位的电视节目将会吸引1600—2300万观众。实际上，在受欢迎的电视节目播放期间，插播广告时，国家公用事业公司必须做好特殊的准备来应付急剧猛增的用电量。因为在这期间，成千上万的英国电视观众都要冲出客厅去泡茶。（在英国许多人都用电炉）英国广播公司（即”BBC”或”Beeb”）是英国主要的为公众服务的广播公司。它以公共广播站的形式成立于1927年，后来开始播放电视，目前已有两个电视频道。BBC1台主要播放很有吸引力的节目，如：体育、娱乐、时事、戏剧及儿童节目。BBC2台迎合一些有特殊兴趣爱好的电视观众的要求，播放的节目主要针对；老人、残疾人、同性恋等特殊人群。

BBC的基金主要来自执照费用，每年电视观众必须为他们的电视购买执照。1997年，一台彩电的执照费是89.5英镑（一台黑白电视的费用要少得多）穷人们感到这一费用对他们来说太昂贵了，于是他们只看电视，不买执照。为此，装有电视信号探测器，可以测出未注册的电视机信号的汽车。在街上巡查作弊者，而作弊者很少被投入监狱。由于BBC是受电视观众注册费资助的，因此，虽然在节目之间会穿插一些即将上演的节目预告和与BBC电视台有关的产品促销广告，但不会有商业广告。

BBC不再只是播放电视节目，目前它已发展成为集出版、教育于一身的多媒体商业形式。你不仅能在BBC节目中了解到与汽车、流行音乐、烹调、假日及园艺相关的内容，而且能购买到一些杂志来弥补节目中的不足，这些杂志提供了更多信息、食谱及竞争的环境。 BBC的国际机构称为BBC世界服务网，它以英语及其它43种语言向全世界广播，每周全球听众至少达到一亿四千万。

另两个电视频道由独立电视台委员会负责，由广告资助。

考虑到电视为英国的各个家庭带来了大量新闻报道，因此，它像报纸一样对于英国政治是非常重要的。过去，政治家们在公众会议上发表长篇演说。最成功的政治家如丘吉尔被认为是最伟大的演说家。电视对政治家们的要求各不相同，因此政治的整体风格已经改变了。随着电视的出现，政治家们确确实实“进入了我们的起居室”，所以他们必须更放松、更友好，如同他们正在亲身与我们讲话，冗长的演说已不再受欢迎；如今的政治家们必须在观众们的注意力转移而改换频道之前仅用2—3分钟的时间做完他们的演讲。因此，他们必须使用短小精悍和口号式的语言。于是，他们请职业作家为他们写演讲稿，请形象设计顾问为他们上电视设计讲演形象，请广告代理机构为他们做广告宣传。保守党尤其把电视广告作为深入人心的最好方法，更重要的是利用它能得到大众选票。用于政府广告的费用从1997年的3500万增加到1989年的2亿英镑，现在英国政府已成为国内十大刊登广告的部门之一。

1990年，英国下议院最后勉强同意在电视上公开会议进程。虽然在下议院的辩论一直是公诸于众的，但议员们仍担心电视镜头会很容易地播放出一些小的细节——比如，一名政府官员在一场重要的辩论中打哈欠——这些会损伤下议院严肃的气氛和尊严。起初，播放议会开会的电视镜头是受到严格限制的，而现在议员们对上电视已不再感到紧张。（过去议员们怕在电视上出丑，影响自己的形象，故而不愿意上电视。）

各个政党的政治家们要花许多时间来塑造各自的电视形象。撒切尔夫人从一名教练那儿学会用适合国家领导人身份的严肃而深沉的声音讲话，同时改变了头发

的颜色、着装和化妆风格，为的是使她的形象更加有尊严。最近的工党领导人布莱尔改变了发型为的是显得更加英俊潇洒以获得更多女性的选票。

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