My first work assignment "unforgettable",says new journalist


Never will Zhou Yang forget his firs assignment at the office of a popular English newspaper.His discussion with his new boss,Hu Xin,was to strongly influence his life as a journalist.
Welcome.We're delighted you're coming to work with us.Your first job here will be an assistant journalist.Do you have any questions?
Can I go out on a story immediately?
That's admirable,but I'm afraid it would be unusual!Wait till you're more experienced.First we'll put you as an assistant to an experienced journalist.Later you can cover a story and submit the article yourself.
Wonderful.What do I need to take with me?I already have a notebook and camera.
No need for a camera.You'll have a professional photographer with you to take photographs.You'll find your colleagues very eager to assist you,so you may be able to concentrate on photography later if you're interested.
Thank you.not only am I interested in photo graphy,but I took an amateur course at university to update my skills.
Good.
What do I need to remember when I go out to cover a story?
You need to be curious.Only if you ask many different questions will you acquire all the information you need to know.We say a good journalist must have a good "nose"for a story.That means you must be able to assess when people are not telling the whole truth and then try to discover it.They must use research to inform themselves of the missing parts of the story.
What should I keep in mind?
Here comes my list of dos and don'ts:don't miss your deadline,don't be rude,don't talk too much,but make sure you listen to the interviewee carefully.
Why is listening so important?
Well,you have to listen for detailed facts.Meanwhile you have to prepare the next question depending on what the person says.
But how can I listen carefully while taking notes?
This is a trick of the trade.If the interviewee agrees,you can use a recorder to get the facts straight.It's also useful if a person wants to challenge you.You have the evidence to support your story.
I see!Have you ever had a case where someone accused your journalists of getting the wrong end of the stick?
Yes,but it was a long time ago.This is how the story goes.A footballer was accused of taking money for deliberately not scoring goals so as to let the other team win. We went to interview him.He denied taking money but we were sceptical.So we arranged an interview between the footballer and the man supposed to bribe him.When we saw them together we guessed from the footballer's body language that he was not telling the truth.So we wrote an article suggesting he was guilty.It was a dilemma because the footballer could have demanded damages if we were wrong.He tried to stop us publishing it but later we were proved right.
Wow!That was a real "scoop".I'm looking forward to my first assignment now.Perhaps I'll get a scoop too!
Perhaps you will.You never know.

新来的记者说“我永远也忘不了第一个任务”

周洋永远也忘不了他在那家很受欢迎的英文报社的第一个任务，他和他的新老板－胡欣，的对话，对他的记者生涯产生了巨大的影响。

胡：　欢迎你，非常高兴你能和我们一起工作，你的第一个工作将会是做为一名助理记者，有什么问题吗？

周：　我能马上就出去做一个访问吗？.
胡：　你的态度非常好，但是我觉得现在还不是时候，等你有了更多的经验的时候再说吧，首先我会安排你做一位经验非常丰富的记者的助手，过些时候，你自己负责一个专题再自己发表文章吧。

周：　太棒了，我需要带什么呢？我有个笔记本和相机。
胡：　不用带相机，会有个专业摄影师和你一起去拍照片的，你会发现你的拍档会和你配合得非常好的，要是你感兴趣的话，你可以研究一下摄影。

周：　谢谢，我不仅是爱好摄影，在上大学的时候，我还上过摄影课来提高一下自己的技术呢。
胡：　不错

周：　我出去采访的时候需要注意些什么呢？
胡：　好奇心得强，只有你问了各种不同的问题你才能得到尽可能多的信息。一个好记者一定有一个好鼻子。这就是说当别人没有告诉你整个真相的时候，你一定得寻根问底才行。对于访问的漏掉的那部分，得自己研究出来是什么。

周：　那我怎么才能记住呢？
胡：　这是我的一个清单，什么该做，什么不该做。不要超出你的底线，不要没礼貌，不要说得太多，但是一定要确保采访时听得认认真真。

周：　为什么听这样重要呢？
胡：　呃，你得听到事实的细节，同时你得根据这个人现在说的话来准备下一个问题。

周：　那我在做记录的时候怎么才能听得那么认真呢。
胡：　这就是个诀窍了，当采访安排好了，你可以用个录音机来保证全都记录下来。当有人想要为难你的时候也有用，你有证据来支持你写的东西。

周：　我知道了，您有没有遇到过类似的情况，就是有些人投诉，说记者把事情弄错了
胡：　有，但是很久以前的事了。事情是这样的，一个足球运动员被控告说收钱然后故意不进球而让其它的队赢，我们去采访他，他否认曾收钱，但是我们还是怀疑的。所以我们安排了一个采访，在这个球员和那个可能是贿赂他的人。当我们看到他们的时候，我们看出来那个球员的行为表明了他没有说出真相，所以我们写了篇文章认为他是有罪的。这个决定可不容易，因为如果我们错了的话，那个球员可能会因此受到伤害，他尽力想阻止我们发表，但是最后，我们被证明是正确的。

周：　哇！这可真是猛料啊，我好期待我的第一次采访。可能我也会有一个猛料的。
胡：　也许你会有吧，你不会知道的。