Television News Coverage -- Spiro Theodore Agnew
delivered 13 November 1969, Des Moines, Iowa
1969 年 11 月 13 日交付于爱荷华州得梅因
[ AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]
[ 真实性认证:以下文本版本直接从音频转录]
Thank you very much, Governor Ray , Governor Ogilvie , Governor Tiemann , Mr. Boyd, Miss Peterson, the many distinguished officials of the Republican Party gathered for this Midwest regional meeting.
非常感谢雷州长、奥格尔维州长、蒂曼州长、博伊德先生、彼得森小姐,共和党的众多杰出官员齐聚一堂,参加这次中西部地区会议。
It's indeed a pleasure for me to be here tonight.
今晚我真的很高兴来到这里。
I had intended to make all three of the regional meetings that have been scheduled thus far, but unfortunately I had to scrub the Western one -- Hawaii was a little far at the moment, that time.
我原本打算参加迄今为止已安排的所有三场区域会议,但不幸的是,我不得不取消西方的会议——夏威夷当时有点远。
But I'm glad to be here tonight and I look forward to attending the others.
但我很高兴今晚能来到这里,并期待着参加其他活动。
I think it's obvious from the cameras here that I didn't come to discuss the ban on cyclamates or DDT .
我认为从这里的摄像机可以明显看出我不是来讨论甜蜜素或滴滴涕的禁令的。
I have a subject I think is of great interest to the American people.
我有一个我认为美国人民非常感兴趣的主题。
Tonight I want to discuss the importance of the television medium to the American people.
今晚我想讨论电视媒体对美国人民的重要性。
No nation depends more on the intelligent judgment of its citizens.
没有哪个国家比其公民更依赖于明智的判断。
And no medium has a more profound influence over public opinion.
没有任何媒体对公众舆论的影响力比这更深远。
Nowhere in our system are there fewer checks on such vast power.
在我们的系统中,对如此巨大的权力的检查是最少的。
So nowhere should there be more conscientious responsibility exercised than by the news media.
因此,没有什么地方比新闻媒体更应该负起责任了。
The question is, "Are we demanding enough of our television news presentations?" "And are the men of this medium demanding enough of themselves?"
问题是,“我们对电视新闻报道的要求是否足够?” “从事这种媒介的人对自己的要求够高吗?”
Monday night, a week ago, President Nixon delivered the most important address of his Administration , one of the most important of our decade.
一周前的星期一晚上,尼克松总统发表了他的政府中最重要的讲话,这是我们十年来最重要的讲话之一。
His subject was Vietnam.
他的主题是越南。
My hope, as his at that time, was to rally the American people to see the conflict through to a lasting and just peace in the Pacific.
和他当时一样,我的希望是团结美国人民,共同解决这场冲突,以实现太平洋地区的持久、公正的和平。
For 32 minutes, he reasoned with a nation that has suffered almost a third of a million casualties in the longest war in its history.
他用了 32 分钟的时间为一个在历史上最长的战争中遭受了近百万伤亡的国家进行了推理。
When the President completed his address -- an address, incidentally, that he spent weeks in the preparation of -- his words and policies were subjected to instant analysis and querulous criticism.
当总统完成他的演讲时——顺便说一句,他花了数周时间准备演讲——他的言论和政策立刻遭到了分析和尖酸刻薄的批评。
The audience of 70 million Americans gathered to hear the President of the United States was inherited by a small band of network commentators and self-appointed analysts, the majority of whom expressed in one way or another their hostility to what he had to say.
聚集在一起聆听美国总统讲话的 7000 万美国人的听众被一小群网络评论员和自封的分析师所继承,他们中的大多数人都以这样或那样的方式表达了对他所说内容的敌意。
It was obvious that their minds were made up in advance.
显然,他们早已经做好了决定。
Those who recall the fumbling and groping that followed President Johnson's dramatic disclosure of his intention not to seek another term have seen these men in a genuine state of non-preparedness.
那些还记得约翰逊总统戏剧性地透露他不再寻求连任的意图后的摸索和摸索的人都看到这些人真正处于毫无准备的状态。
This was not it.
不是这样的。
One commentator -- One commentator twice contradicted the President's statement about the exchange of correspondence with Ho Chi Minh .
一名评论员 - 一名评论员两次反驳主席关于与胡志明通信往来的声明。
Another challenged the President's abilities as a politician.
另一位则质疑总统作为政治家的能力。
A third asserted that the President was following a Pentagon line.
第三个人声称总统正在遵循五角大楼的路线。
Others, by the expressions on their faces, the tone of their questions, and the sarcasm of their responses, made clear their sharp disapproval.
其他人则从他们脸上的表情、他们提问的语气以及他们回答中的讽刺程度,清楚地表明了他们的强烈反对。
To guarantee in advance that the President's plea for national unity would be challenged, one network [A.B.C.] trotted out Averell Harriman for the occasion.
为了提前保证总统对民族团结的呼吁会受到挑战,一个电视网 [ABC] 特意邀请了艾夫里尔·哈里曼 (Averell Harriman)。
Throughout the President's address, he waited in the wings.
在总统讲话的整个过程中,他一直在幕后等待。
When the President concluded, Mr. Harriman recited perfectly.
总统结束时,哈里曼先生完美地背诵了一遍。
He attacked the Thieu Government as unrepresentative.
他攻击阮绍政府不具有代表性。
He criticized the President's speech for various deficiencies.
他批评总统讲话中存在各种缺陷。
He twice issued a call to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to debate Vietnam once again.
他两次向参议院外交关系委员会发出呼吁,再次讨论越南问题。
He stated his belief that the Vietcong or North Vietnamese did not really want a military takeover of South Vietnam.
他表示,他相信越共或北越并不真正希望军事接管南越。
And he told a little anecdote about a "very, very responsible" fellow he had met in the North Vietnamese delegation.
他还讲述了他在北越代表团中遇到的一个“非常非常负责任”的小伙子的轶事。
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All in all, Mr. Harriman offered a broad range of gratuitous advice challenging and contradicting the policies outlined by the President of the United States.
总而言之,哈里曼先生提出了一系列无端的建议,挑战并违背了美国总统概述的政策。
Where the President had issued a call for unity, Mr. Harriman was encouraging the country not to listen to him.
当总统呼吁团结时,哈里曼先生却鼓励全国不要听他的。
A word about Mr. Harriman.
关于哈里曼先生的一句话。
For 10 months he was America's chief negotiator at the Paris peace talks -- a period in which the United States swapped some of the greatest military concessions in the history of warfare for an enemy agreement on the shape of the bargaining table.
十个月来,他在巴黎和谈中担任美国的首席谈判代表,在此期间,美国用战争史上一些最大的军事让步换取了敌方在谈判桌上达成的协议。
Like Coleridge's Ancient Mariner , Mr. Harriman seems to be under some heavy compulsion to justify his failures to anyone who will listen.
就像柯勒律治的《古代水手》一样,哈里曼先生似乎有一种强烈的冲动,要向任何愿意倾听的人证明他的失败是合理的。
And the networks have shown themselves willing to give him all the air time he desires.
各电视网也表明愿意为他提供他想要的所有播出时间。
Now every American has a right to disagree with the President of the United States and to express publicly that disagreement.
现在,每个美国人都有权不同意美国总统的观点并公开表达这种不同意见。
But the President of the United States has a right to communicate directly with the people who elected him, and the -- and the people of this country have the right to make up their own minds and form their own opinions about a Presidential address without having the President's words and thoughts characterized through the prejudices of hostile critics before they can even be digested.
但美国总统有权与选举他的人民直接沟通,而且这个国家的人民也有权对总统讲话做出自己的决定并形成自己的观点,而总统的言论和思想在被敌对批评者的偏见所影响之前甚至无法被消化。
When Winston Churchill rallied public opinion to stay the course against Hitler's Germany, he didn't have to contend with a gaggle of commentators raising doubts about whether he was reading public opinion right, or whether Britain had the stamina to see the world -- the war through.
当温斯顿·丘吉尔号召公众舆论继续反对希特勒德国时,他不必面对一群质疑他是否正确解读公众舆论,或者英国是否有耐力看到世界——战争结束的评论员。
When President Kennedy rallied a nation in the Cuban missile crisis, his address to the people was not chewed over by a roundtable of critics who disparaged the course of action he'd asked America to follow.
当肯尼迪总统在古巴导弹危机中团结全国人民时,他对人民的讲话并没有受到圆桌会议上批评者的反复咀嚼,他们贬低了他要求美国遵循的行动方针。
The purpose of my remarks tonight is to focus your attention on this little group of men who not only enjoy a right of instant rebuttal to every Presidential address, but, more importantly, wield a free hand in selecting, presenting, and interpreting the great issues in our nation.
我今晚讲话的目的是让你们把注意力集中在这一小群人身上,他们不仅享有对每一次总统讲话立即反驳的权利,而且更重要的是,他们能够自由地选择、提出和解释我们国家的重大问题。
At least 40 million Americans every night, it's estimated, watch the network news.
据估计,至少有 4000 万美国人每晚都会观看网络新闻。
Seven million of them view A.B.C., the remainder being divided between N.B.C.
其中 700 万人观看 ABC,其余的则分配给 NBC 和 NBC。
and C.B.S.
和哥伦比亚广播公司。
According to Harris polls and other studies, for millions of Americans the networks are the sole source of national and world news.
根据哈里斯民意调查和其他研究,对于数百万美国人来说,网络是国家和世界新闻的唯一来源。
In Will Rogers ' observation, what you knew was what you read in the newspaper.
根据威尔·罗杰斯的观察,你所知道的就是你在报纸上读到的。
Today for growing millions of Americans, it's what they see and hear on their television sets.
如今,对于数以百万计的美国人来说,这就是他们在电视机上看到和听到的内容。
Now how is this network news determined?
那么这个网络新闻是如何确定的呢?
A small group of men, numbering perhaps no more than a dozen anchormen, commentators, and executive producers, settle upon the 20 minutes or so of film and commentary that's to reach the public.
一小群人(可能不超过十名主持人、评论员和执行制片人)决定向公众播放 20 分钟左右的电影和评论。
This selection is made from the 90 to 180 minutes that may be available.
此选择是从可用的 90 到 180 分钟中进行的。
Their powers of choice are broad.
他们的选择权很广泛。
They decide what 40 to 50 million Americans will learn of the day's events in the nation and in the world.
他们决定 40 至 5000 万美国人将了解当天发生在国家和世界上的事件。
We cannot measure this power and influence by the traditional democratic standards, for these men can create national issues overnight.
我们不能用传统的民主标准来衡量这种权力和影响力,因为这些人可以在一夜之间制造出国家问题。
They can make or break by their coverage and commentary a moratorium on the war.
他们的报道和评论可以决定是否暂停战争。
They can elevate men from obscurity to national prominence within a week.
他们可以在一周内将男性从默默无闻提升到全国知名。
They can reward some politicians with national exposure and ignore others.
他们可以奖励一些在全国范围内曝光的政客,而忽视其他政客。
For millions of Americans the network reporter who covers a continuing issue -- like the ABM or civil rights -- becomes, in effect, the presiding judge in a national trial by jury.
对于数百万美国人来说,报道持续性问题(例如 ABM 或公民权利)的网络记者实际上成为陪审团进行的全国审判中的主审法官。
It must be recognized that the networks have made important contributions to the national knowledge -- through news, documentaries, and specials.
必须认识到,网络通过新闻、纪录片和特别节目为国家知识做出了重要贡献。
They have often used their power constructively and creatively to awaken the public conscience to critical problems.
他们经常建设性地、创造性地利用自己的权力来唤醒公众对关键问题的良知。
The networks made hunger and black lung disease national issues overnight.
这些网络一夜之间让饥饿和黑肺病成为全国性问题。
The TV networks have done what no other medium could have done in terms of dramatizing the horrors of war.
在戏剧化战争的恐怖方面,电视网络做了其他媒体无法做到的事情。
The networks have tackled our most difficult social problems with a directness and an immediacy that's the gift of their medium.
这些网络以直接和即时的方式解决了我们最困难的社会问题,这是其媒介的天赋。
They focus the nation's attention on its environmental abuses -- on pollution in the Great Lakes and the threatened ecology of the Everglades.
他们将全国的注意力集中在环境破坏上——五大湖的污染和大沼泽地受到威胁的生态。
But it was also the networks that elevated Stokely Carmichael and George Lincoln Rockwell from obscurity to national prominence.
但也正是这些网络将斯托克利·卡迈克尔和乔治·林肯·洛克威尔从默默无闻提升到全国知名。
Nor is their power confined to the substantive.
他们的权力也不限于实质性。
A raised eyebrow, an inflection of the voice, a caustic remark dropped in the middle of a broadcast can raise doubts in a million minds about the veracity of a public official or the wisdom of a Government policy.
广播中扬起的眉毛、语气的变化、尖酸刻薄的言论都会引起数百万人对公职人员的真实性或政府政策是否明智的怀疑。
One Federal Communications Commissioner considers the powers of the networks equal to that of local, state, and Federal Governments all combined.
一位联邦通信专员认为网络的权力相当于地方、州和联邦政府的权力总和。
Certainly it represents a concentration of -- of power over American public opinion unknown in history.
当然,它代表了历史上前所未有的对美国舆论的权力集中。
Now what do Americans know of the men who wield this power?
现在美国人对行使这一权力的人了解多少?
Of the men who produce and direct the network news, the nation knows practically nothing.
对于制作和指导网络新闻的人来说,整个国家几乎一无所知。
Of the commentators, most Americans know little other than that they reflect an urbane and assured presence, seemingly well-informed on every important matter.
大多数美国人对评论员知之甚少,只知道他们表现出彬彬有礼、自信的风度,似乎对每一个重要问题都了如指掌。
We do know that to a man these commentators and producers live and work in the geographical and intellectual confines of Washington, D.C., or New York City, the latter of which James Reston terms "the most unrepresentative community in the entire United States."
我们确实知道,对于一个人来说,这些评论员和制片人在华盛顿特区或纽约市的地理和知识范围内生活和工作,后者被詹姆斯·雷斯顿称为“整个美国最不具有代表性的社区”。
Both communities bask in their own provincialism, their own parochialism.
这两个社区都沉浸在自己的地方主义、狭隘主义之中。
We can deduce that these men read the same newspapers.
我们可以推断这些人读同样的报纸。
They draw their political and social views from the same sources.
他们的政治和社会观点来自相同的来源。
Worse, they talk constantly to one another, thereby providing artificial reinforcement to their shared viewpoints.
更糟糕的是,他们不断地互相交谈,从而人为地强化了他们的共同观点。
Do they allow their biases to influence the selection and presentation of the news?
他们是否允许自己的偏见影响新闻的选择和呈现?
David Brinkley states, "objectivity is impossible" to normal human behavior.
大卫·布林克利 (David Brinkley) 指出,对于正常的人类行为来说,“客观性是不可能的”。
Rather, he says, we should strive for "fairness" (p.
相反,他说,我们应该努力争取“公平”(第 17 页)。
219).
219)。
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Another anchorman on a network news show contends, and I quote:
另一位网络新闻节目主持人争辩道,我引用如下:
You can't expunge all your private convictions just because you sit in a seat like this and a camera starts to stare at you.
你不能仅仅因为你坐在这样的座位上并且摄像机开始盯着你,就消除你所有的私人信念。
I think your program has to reflect what your basic feelings are.
我认为你的计划必须反映你的基本感受。
I'll plead guilty to that.
我会为此认罪。
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Less than a week before the 1968 election, this same commentator charged that President Nixon's campaign commitments were no more durable than campaign balloons.
距离 1968 年大选不到一周,这位评论员指责尼克松总统的竞选承诺并不比竞选气球更持久。
He claimed that, were it not for the fear of the hostile reaction, Richard Nixon would be giving into, and I quote him exactly, "his natural instinct to smash the enemy with a club or go after him with a meat axe." 4
他声称,如果不是因为害怕敌对反应,理查德·尼克松就会屈服于——我准确地引用他的话——“他用棍棒粉碎敌人或用肉斧追击敌人的本能”。 4
Had this slander been made by one political candidate about another, it would have been dismissed by most commentators as a partisan attack.
如果这种诽谤是由一位政治候选人对另一位政治候选人做出的,那么大多数评论员都会将其斥为党派攻击。
But this attack emanated from the privileged sanctuary of a network studio and therefore had the apparent dignity of an objective statement.
但这次攻击来自网络工作室的特权庇护所,因此具有客观声明的明显尊严。
The American people would rightly not tolerate this concentration of power in Government.
美国人民理所当然地不会容忍政府权力的这种集中。
Is it not fair and relevant to question its concentration in the hands of a tiny, enclosed fraternity of privileged men elected by no one and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by Government?
质疑它集中在一小群封闭的、由无人选举的特权人士组成的兄弟会手中,并享有政府批准和许可的垄断权,这不是公平和相关的吗?
The views of a -- the majority of this fraternity do not -- and I repeat, not -- represent the views of America.
这个兄弟会的大多数人的观点并不代表美国的观点,我再说一遍,不代表美国的观点。
And that is why such a great gulf existed between how the nation received the President's address and how the networks reviewed it.
这就是为什么国家如何接收总统的讲话和网络如何审查它之间存在如此巨大的鸿沟。
Not only did the country receive the President's address warmer -- more warmly than the networks, but so also did the Congress of the United States.
不仅这个国家比电视网络更热情地接收总统的讲话,而且美国国会也是如此。
Yesterday, the President was notified that 300 individual Congressmen and 50 Senators of both parties had endorsed his efforts for peace.
昨天,总统获悉两党 300 名国会议员和 50 名参议员支持他为和平所做的努力。
As with other American institutions, perhaps it is time that the networks were made more responsive to the views of the nation and more responsible to the people they serve.
与其他美国机构一样,也许现在是时候让这些网络更加积极地响应国家的观点,并对它们所服务的人民更加负责。
Now I want to make myself perfectly clear: I'm not asking for Government censorship or any other kind of censorship.
现在我想完全清楚地表明自己:我并不是要求政府审查或任何其他类型的审查。
I am asking whether a form of censorship already exists when the news that 40 million Americans -- when the news that 40 million Americans receive each night is determined by a handful of men responsible only to their corporate employers and is filtered through a handful of commentators who admit to their own set of biases.
我问的是,当 4000 万美国人每天晚上收到的新闻是由少数只对其公司雇主负责的人决定的,并且经过少数承认自己偏见的评论员过滤时,是否已经存在某种形式的审查制度。
The questions I'm raising here tonight should have been raised by others long ago.
我今晚在这里提出的问题早就应该被其他人提出了。
They should have been raised by those Americans who have traditionally considered the preservation of freedom of speech and freedom of the press their special provinces of responsibility.
它们应该是由那些传统上认为维护言论自由和新闻自由是其特殊责任范围的美国人提出的。
They -- They should have been raised by those Americans who share the view of the late Justice Learned Hand that "right conclusions are more likely to be gathered out of a multitude of tongues than through any kind of authoritative selection." 5
它们——它们应该是由那些赞同已故大法官勒尼德·汉德的观点的美国人提出的,即“正确的结论更有可能从多种语言中收集而来,而不是通过任何形式的权威选择”。 5
Advocates for the networks have claimed a First Amendment right to the same unlimited freedoms held by the great newspapers of America.
这些网络的拥护者声称,第一修正案赋予美国各大报纸同样的无限自由权利。
But the situations are not identical.
但情况并不完全相同。
Where The New York Times reaches 800,000 people, N.B.C.
《纽约时报》的受众达到 80 万人,而 NBC 则
reaches 20 times that number on its evening news.
其晚间新闻报道的人数达到了该数字的 20 倍。
Nor can the tremendous impact of seeing television film and hearing commentary be compared with reading the printed page.
看电视电影和听评论所产生的巨大影响也无法与阅读印刷品相比。
A decade ago, before the network news acquired such dominance over public opinion, Walter Lippman spoke to the issue.
十年前,在网络新闻对公众舆论产生如此主导地位之前,沃尔特·李普曼就谈到了这个问题。
He said,
他说,
There [is] is an essential and radical difference between television and printing...The three or four competing television stations control virtually all that can be received over the air by ordinary television sets.
电视和印刷之间存在着根本性的根本区别……三四个相互竞争的电视台几乎控制着普通电视机可以通过无线方式接收的所有内容。
But besides the mass circulation dailies, there are [the] weeklies, [the] monthlies, [the] out-of-town newspapers and books.
但除了大众发行的日报外,还有周刊、月刊、外地报纸和书籍。
If a man does [not] like his newspaper, he can read another from out of town, or wait for a weekly news magazine.
如果一个人不喜欢他的报纸,他可以阅读外地的另一份报纸,或者等待每周的新闻杂志。
It [is] not ideal, but it [is] infinitely better than the situation in television.
这并不理想,但比电视中的情况要好得多。
There, if a man does [not] like what the networks [offer him], all he can do is [to] turn them off, and listen to a phonograph (p.414).
在那里,如果一个人不喜欢网络[为他提供的]东西,他所能做的就是关掉它们,然后听留声机(第414页)。
6
6
which are few in number, have a virtual monopoly of a whole medium of communication.
它们的数量很少,却几乎垄断了整个通信媒介。
The newspapers of mass circulation have no monopoly [of] the medium of print (p.414).
大众发行的报纸并不垄断印刷媒体(第414页)。
7
7
Now a virtual monopoly of a whole medium of communication is not something that democratic people should blithely ignore.
现在,民主人民不应轻视对整个传播媒介的实际垄断。
And we are not going to cut off our television sets and listen to the phonograph just because the airways belong to the networks.
我们不会仅仅因为航空公司属于网络就关掉电视机并听留声机。
They don't.
他们不这样做。
They belong to the people.
他们属于人民。
As Justice Byron...White wrote in his landmark opinion six months ago, "It [is] the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount." 8
正如拜伦·怀特法官六个月前在其具有里程碑意义的意见中所写的那样,“这是观众和听众的权利,而不是广播公司的权利,这是最重要的。” 8
Now it's argued that this power presents no danger in the hands of those who have used it responsibly.
现在有人认为,这种权力在那些负责任地使用它的人手中不会带来任何危险。
But as to whether or not the networks have abused the power they enjoy, let us call as our first witness, former Vice President Humphrey and the city of Chicago.
但至于网络是否滥用了他们所享有的权力,让我们请前副总统汉弗莱和芝加哥市作为我们的第一个证人。
According to Theodore White , television's intercutting of the film from the streets of Chicago with the "current proceedings on the floor of the convention created the most striking and false political picture of 1968 -- the nomination of a man for the American Presidency by the brutality and violence of merciless police." 9
据西奥多·怀特 (Theodore White) 称,电视将芝加哥街头的影片与“大会现场的当前进程进行了交叉剪辑,创造了 1968 年最引人注目、最虚假的政治画面——通过无情的警察的残暴和暴力提名一名男子为美国总统”。 9
If we are to believe a recent report of the House of Representatives Commerce Committee, then television's presentation of the violence in the streets worked an injustice on the reputation of the Chicago police.
如果我们相信众议院商务委员会最近的一份报告,那么电视对街头暴力的报道对芝加哥警察的声誉造成了不公正的影响。
According to the committee findings, one network in particular presented, and I quote, "a one-sided picture which in large measure exonerates the demonstrators and protestors." 10 Film of provocations of police that was available never saw the light of day, while the film of a police response which the protestors provoked was shown to millions.
根据委员会的调查结果,我引用了一个网络特别提出的“一张片面的图片,在很大程度上为示威者和抗议者开脱”。 10 有关警察挑衅的影片从未问世,而有关抗议者挑衅的警察回应的影片则向数百万人放映。
Another network showed virtually the same scene of violence from three separate angles without making clear it was the same scene.
另一个网络从三个不同的角度展示了几乎相同的暴力场景,但没有明确说明这是同一场景。
And while the full report is reticent in drawing conclusions, it is not a document to inspire confidence in the fairness of the network news.
尽管完整的报告没有得出结论,但这并不是一份激发人们对网络新闻公正性信心的文件。
Our knowledge of the impact of network news on the national mind is far from incomplete [sic] but some early returns are available.
我们对网络新闻对国民心理影响的了解还远未完成[原文如此],但我们已经获得了一些早期的回报。
Again, we have enough information to raise serious questions about its effect on a democratic society.
同样,我们有足够的信息来对其对民主社会的影响提出严肃的问题。
Several years ago Fred Friendly , one of the pioneers of network news, wrote that its "missing ingredients" were "conviction, controversy, and a point of view" (p.153).
几年前,网络新闻的先驱之一弗莱德·弗兰德利写道,其“缺失的成分”是“信念、争议和观点”(第 153 页)。
11 The networks have compensated with a vengeance.
11 电视网做出了报复性的补偿。
And in the networks' endless pursuit of controversy, we should ask: "What is the end value -- to enlighten or to profit?" "What is the end result -- to inform or to confuse?" "How does the ongoing exploration for more action, more excitement, more drama serve our national search for internal peace and stability?"
在网络无休止地追求争议的过程中,我们应该问:“最终价值是什么——启发还是盈利?” “最终结果是什么——告知还是混淆?” “不断探索更多的行动、更多的刺激、更多的戏剧性如何服务于我们国家寻求内部和平与稳定?”
Gresham's Law seems to be operating in the network news.
格雷欣定律似乎正在网络新闻中发挥作用。
Bad news drives out good news.
坏消息赶走好消息。
The irrational is more controversial than the rational.
非理性比理性更具争议性。
Concurrence can no longer compete with dissent.
同意不再能与异议竞争。
One minute of Eldridge Cleaver is worth 10 minutes of Roy Wilkins .
埃尔德里奇·克利弗的一分钟抵得上罗伊·威尔金斯的 10 分钟。
The labor crisis settled at the negotiating table is nothing compared to the confrontation that results in a strike -- or better yet, violence along the picket lines.
与导致罢工——或者更好的是纠察线上的暴力——的对抗相比,在谈判桌上解决的劳工危机根本算不了什么。
Normality has become the nemesis of the network news.
常态已成为网络新闻的克星。
Now the upshot of all this controversy is that a narrow and distorted picture of America often emerges from the televised news.
现在,所有这些争议的结果是,电视新闻中经常出现对美国的狭隘和扭曲的描述。
A single, dramatic piece of the mosaic becomes in the minds of millions the entire picture.
马赛克中的一个戏剧性的片段在数百万人的脑海中变成了整个画面。
The -- The American who relies upon television for his news might conclude that the majority of American students are embittered radicals; that the majority of black Americans feel no regard for their country; that violence and lawlessness are the rule rather than the exception on the American campus.
依靠电视获取新闻的美国人可能会得出这样的结论:大多数美国学生都是怨恨的激进分子;大多数美国黑人不尊重他们的国家;暴力和无法无天是美国校园的常态,而不是例外。
We know that none of these conclusions is true.
我们知道这些结论都不正确。
Perhaps the place to start looking for a credibility gap is not in the offices of the Government in Washington but in the studios of the networks in New York.
也许开始寻找可信度差距的地方不是在华盛顿的政府办公室,而是在纽约的电视网工作室。
Television may have destroyed the old stereotypes, but has it not created new ones in their places?
电视也许摧毁了旧的刻板印象,但它是否没有创造出新的刻板印象来取代它们?
What has this "passionate" pursuit of controversy done to the politics of progress through local compromise essential to the functioning of a democratic society?
这种对争议的“热情”追求对通过地方妥协取得进步的政治产生了什么影响,这对民主社会的运作至关重要?
The members of Congress or the Senate who follow their principles and philosophy quietly in a spirit of compromise are unknown to many Americans, while the loudest and most extreme dissenters on every issue are known to every man in the street.
许多美国人不认识以妥协精神默默遵循其原则和理念的国会或参议院议员,而在每个问题上最响亮、最极端的反对者却是街上的每个人都知道的。
How many marches and demonstrations would we have if the marchers did not know that the ever-faithful TV cameras would be there to record their antics for the next news show?
如果游行者不知道永远忠实的电视摄像机会在那里记录下一次新闻节目的滑稽动作,我们会有多少次游行和示威?
We've heard demands that Senators and Congressmen and judges make known all their financial connections so that the public will know who and what influences their decisions and their votes.
我们听到有人要求参议员、国会议员和法官公开他们所有的财务关系,以便公众知道谁以及什么影响了他们的决定和投票。
Strong arguments can be made for that view.
这种观点是可以提出强有力的论据的。
But when a single commentator or producer, night after night, determines for millions of people how much of each side of a great issue they are going to see and hear, should he not first disclose his personal views on the issue as well?
但是,当一个评论员或制片人夜复一夜地为数百万人决定他们将看到和听到的一个重大问题的双方有多少时,他是否应该首先透露他对这个问题的个人观点?
In this search for excitement and controversy, has more than equal time gone to the minority of Americans who specialize in attacking the United States -- its institutions and its citizens?
在这种寻求刺激和争议的过程中,专门攻击美国及其机构和公民的少数美国人是否投入了更多的时间?
Tonight I've raised questions.
今晚我提出了问题。
I've made no attempt to suggest the answers.
我没有尝试提出答案。
The answers must come from the media men.
答案必须来自媒体人。
They are challenged to turn their critical powers on themselves, to direct their energy, their talent, and their conviction toward improving the quality and objectivity of news presentation.
他们面临的挑战是如何将自己的批判权力转向自己,将自己的精力、才能和信念用于提高新闻报道的质量和客观性。
They are challenged to structure their own civic ethics -- to relate their great feeling with the great responsibilities they hold.
他们面临着构建自己的公民道德的挑战——将他们的伟大感受与他们所承担的重大责任联系起来。
And the people of America are challenged, too -- challenged to press for responsible news presentations.
美国人民也面临着挑战——要求负责任的新闻报道。
The people can let the networks know that they want their news straight and objective.
人们可以让网络知道他们希望新闻直接、客观。
The people can register their complaints on bias through mail to the networks and phone calls to local stations.
人们可以通过向网络发送邮件和致电当地电视台来投诉偏见。
This is one case where the people must defend themselves, where the citizen, not the Government, must be the reformer; where the consumer can be the most effective crusader.
在这种情况下,人民必须保卫自己,改革者必须是公民,而不是政府;消费者可以成为最有效的斗士。
By way of conclusion, let me say that every elected leader in the United States depends on these men of the media.
作为结论,我要说的是,美国每一位民选领导人都依赖于这些媒体人。
Whether what I've said to you tonight will be heard and seen at all by the nation is not my decision; it's not your decision -- it's their decision.
我今晚对你们说的话是否会被全国听到和看到不是我的决定;这不是你的决定——这是他们的决定。
In tomorrow's edition of the Des Moines Register , you'll be able to read a news story detailing what I said tonight.
在明天的《得梅因纪事报》中,您将能够读到详细介绍我今晚所说内容的新闻报道。
Editorial comment will be reserved for the editorial page, where it belongs.
编辑评论将保留在其所属的编辑页面。
Should not the same wall of separation exist between news and comment on the nation's networks?
国家网络上的新闻和评论之间不应该存在同样的隔离墙吗?
Now my friends, we'd never trust such power, as I've described, over public opinion in the hands of an elected Government.
现在,我的朋友们,正如我所描述的,我们永远不会相信民选政府手中掌握着这种凌驾于公众舆论之上的权力。
It's time we questioned it in the hands of a small and unelected elite.
现在是我们在一小群未经选举产生的精英手中质疑它的时候了。
The great networks have dominated America's airwaves for decades.
几十年来,这些伟大的网络一直主导着美国的广播电视。
The people are entitled to a full accounting of their stewardship.
人民有权全面了解他们的管理职责。
Book/CDs by Michael E.
Michael E. 的书籍/CD
Eidenmuller, Published by McGraw-Hill (2008) 1 Citation unverified.
Eidenmuller,由 McGraw-Hill 出版 (2008) 1 引文未经验证。
2 Brinkley, D.
2 布林克利,D.
(1969) Newsweek.
(1969)新闻周刊。
Cited in George, J.
引自乔治,J.
H.
H.
(1994).
(1994)。
Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds .
保持理性:探究思想的精选引文。
Prometheus Books (via Google Books search).
普罗米修斯图书(通过 Google 图书搜索)。
5 Associated Press v United States 326 U.S. 1 (1945) , p.326, U.S. 28
5 美联社诉美国案 326 U.S. 1 (1945),第 326 页,U.S. 28
6 Lippmann, W.
6 李普曼,W.
(1982).
(1982)。
The Essential Lippmann: A Political Philosophy for Liberal Democracy , Harvard University Press (via Google Books search).
《李普曼的本质:自由民主的政治哲学》,哈佛大学出版社(通过谷歌图书搜索)。
8 Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v.
8 红狮广播公司诉。
FCC , 395 U.S. 367 (1969) p.395, U.S. 390
FCC,395 美国 367 (1969) 第 395 页,美国 390
11 Ehrlich, M.
11 埃利希,M.
C.
C.
(2011).
(2011)。
Radio Utopia: Postwar Audio Documentary in the Public Interest .
乌托邦广播电台:公共利益的战后音频纪录片。
University of Illinois Press (via Google Books search).
伊利诺伊大学出版社(通过 Google 图书搜索)。
Research Note : Transcript authenticated 23 November 2014 on the basis of a recently obtained public domain artifact of the entire address.
研究记录:根据最近获得的整个地址的公共领域工件,于 2014 年 11 月 23 日对文字记录进行了验证。
Audio Source : G.
音频来源:G.
Robert Vincent Voice Library
罗伯特·文森特语音库
U.S. Copyright Status : This text = Property of A merican R hetoric.com.
美国版权状态:本文 = American R hetoric.com 的财产。
Audio and Image = Public domain.
音频和图像 = 公共领域。
� Copyright 2001-Present.
� 版权所有 2001 年至今。
American Rhetoric.
美国修辞学。
HTML transcription by Christopher P.
HTML 转录由 Christopher P.
Cox & Michael E.
考克斯和迈克尔·E.
Eidenmuller.
艾登米勒。