HAZEL: Tom, could I ask you for some advice, please?

黑兹尔：汤姆，请问我能向你征求一些意见吗？

TOM: Yes of course, if you think I can help. What’s it about?

汤姆：当然可以了，只要你觉得我能帮得上忙。关于什么的？

HAZEL: It’s my first media studies assignment, and I’m not sure how to go about it.

黑兹尔：是我的第一份关于媒体研究的作业，我不确定要怎么做。

You must have done it last year.

你去年一定做过这个。

TOM: Is that the one comparing the coverage of a particular story in a range of newspapers?

汤姆：是比较不同报刊中的对特定故事报道的那个吗？

HAZEL: That’s right.

黑兹尔：就是那个。

TOM: Oh yes, I really enjoyed writing it.

汤姆：对，我写过。我当时还写得很开心。

HAZEL: So what sort of things do I need to compare?

黑兹尔：所以我需要比较哪些事情呢？

TOM: Well, there are several things.

汤姆：有很多可比的。

For example, there’s the question of which page of the newspaper the item appears on.

比如，关于报道出现在报纸的哪一版面。

HAZEL: You mean, because there’s a big difference between having it on the front page and the bottom of page ten, for instance?

黑兹尔：你的意思是，比方说，把它放在报纸头版和在第十页的底部是有很大差别的？

TOM: Exactly. And that shows how important the editor thinks the story is.

汤姆：你说对了。 这还显示出编辑对报道的重视程度。

Then there’s the size - how many column inches the story is given, how many columns it spreads over.

然后还可以讨论篇幅。报道的列长是多少，占了几列。

HAZEL: And I suppose that includes the headline.

黑兹尔：我觉得还应该包括标题。

TOM: It certainly does. It’s all part of attracting the reader’s attention.

汤姆：当然了。就是这部分吸引读者的注意力。

HAZEL: What about graphics - whether there’s anything visual in addition to the text?

黑兹尔：配图呢？文本旁边有没有加上任何可视化信息？

TOM: 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.

汤姆：可以。你也需要考虑那些，因为它们会很大程度上影响读者对报道的理解，有的时候比文章本身的影响还要大。

Then you’ll need to look at how the item is put together: what structure is it given?

接着，你需要看看整个故事是怎么编排的：报道的结构是什么？

Bear in mind that not many people read beyond the first paragraph, so what has the journalist put at the beginning?

你要记住很多人都只读第一段，所以记者在文章开头写了什么？

And if, say, there are conflicting opinions about something, does one appear near the end, where people probably won’t read it?

还有，比如，假设有冲突的观点，如果它出现在报道结尾的话，大家是不是可能不会读到？

HAZEL: And newspapers sometimes give wrong or misleading information, don’t they?

黑兹尔：另外，新闻有时候会呈现错误或者有误导性的消息，对吗？

Either deliberately or by accident.

不管是故意的还是不小心的。

Should I be looking at that, too?

我要不要也说一下这个？

TOM: 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.

汤姆：如果你能完成，可以。比较不同的版本，尽可能地区分开真实的和错误的信息。

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.

那么这就牵扯出一个非常重要的问题：作者的写作目的是什么。如果有好几个，至少找到最重要的那一个。

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.

看起来可能是为了向公众传递信息，但是他们经常想要制造恐慌或争议，或是想要让某些人出丑。

HAZEL: Gosh, I see what you mean.

黑兹尔：天哪，我懂你的意思。

And I suppose the writer may make assumptions about the reader.

我认为作者可能做出关于读者的假设。

TOM: 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.

汤姆：是的，关于他们对这一题材的了解、态度和教育水平。这就意味着作者需要写出让读者理解的文章，而不是居高临下。

All of that will make a difference to how the story is presented.

所有这些都会影响报道的呈现。