Life in the global gutter
生活在环球小报中
AS AN example of bullying journalism, it takes some beating. Atabloid buys a surreptitiouslyfilmed sex-video of an actor in his 50s suffering from Parkinson s disease. It demands anexclusive. At first he collaborates, even writing the interview himself; later he sues forblackmail.
作为恐吓性资讯业的一个例子,它很难被超越。一家小报购买了一部秘密拍摄的性爱录像,主人公是一名患有帕金森综合征的50多岁的演员。这家小报要求独家报道。开始这名演员配合了,甚至亲自写访谈;后来,他以敲诈勒索为由,将这家小报告上了法庭。
This is not another story emanating from the now-shuttered newsroom of the News of theWorld, where journalistic shenanigans have deeply embarrassed News Corporation, its owner.The tabloid in question is Bild Zeitung, Germany s biggest paper. Last year a court ruled thatBild s reporter had coerced theactor, Ottfried Fischer. In May a higher court overturned theverdict. Afurther appeal is pending.
这并不是从已经关闭的世界资讯报的资讯编辑室里传出的另外一个故事。这家被谈及的小报是《图片报》,德国最大的报纸。去年,一家法庭判定《图片报》的记者胁迫了一名演员:奥德弗里德费舍尔。五月份更高一级法庭驳回了这一判决,更进一步的上诉正在进行中。
Mr Fischer s fate shows that Britainhas no monopoly on aggressive tabloidsa word initiallyused for compressed tablets in the late 19th century, but which then came to mean compact journalism. They are ubiquitous in developed countries and many developing ones, particularlyin Brazil, where they have grown rapidly in recent years. Britain,with half-a-dozen nationaltabloids, probably has the most. France boasts no tabloid newspapers, though it hasmagazines and the satirical weekly Canard Encha?n that doa similar job . In America papers are mostly broadsheets, buttabloid-style television was invented there. Italy, Spainand Japanhave tabloids focusing on sportwith huge readerships: each copy goes through many hands.
费舍尔的命运表明英国在侵犯性小报上没有形成垄断。Tabloid,这个单词在19世纪末起初用来表示压缩药片,但是后来又涉及到了紧凑的报纸的意思。小报在发达国家和许多发展中国家是普遍存在的,尤其是在巴西,小报在近年发展迅猛。英国拥有6家国家范围内的小报,或许是最多的。法国自诩没有小报类的报纸,然而其杂志和讽刺周刊《鸭鸣报》却做着相似的工作。在美国,大部分的报纸都是大报,但是小报风格的电视节目却是源于美国。意大利、西班牙和日本都有以体育为重点的小报,这些报纸具有庞大的读者群体每份报纸都会经手多人。
With circulation comes clout. British politicians maybe afraid of the tabloids, butthe papers themselvessee their role more as providing entertainment. TheGerman tabloid is more political than its Britishcounterpart, with three times more politicalcoverage, says Susanne H?ke, who has written abook comparing the Sun with Bild. In both countriestabloids help set the toneof political debate, butBild s stunts are more imaginative and upmarket.Early in the euro crisis, Bild sent a reporter to handout drachmas in Athens,allowing the paper to boastthat it was giving the bankrupt Greeks their drachmas back . It also mischievously suggestedthat the Greeks sell some islands and the Acropolis to pay their debt.
伴随发行量而来的便是报纸的影响力。英国政客们可能会害怕小报,但是这些报纸把更多的把自己定位为提供娱乐的报纸。德国小报与其英国同行相比显得更加的政治化,拥有超过其三倍的政治报道量,曾写过一本书来对比《太阳报》和《图片报》的苏珊娜胡克说道。在两国,小报帮助政治讨论奠定基调,但是《图片报》的技巧更加的富于想象力和高级。在早先的欧元区危机中,《图片报》派出一名记者去雅典散发德拉克马,然后这家报纸就吹嘘它正向破产的希腊归还他们的钱。它也戏谑地暗示:希腊卖出一些小岛和雅典卫城来还债。
The political coverage helps hacks at the German paper take themselves seriously. Many seetheir paper as a pillar of democracy in the midst of society , according to Kai Diekmann, itseditor. It also makes them more hypocritical. They know what they are doing, but don t admitit, says Ms H?ke. Regulation also plays a role. Germany spress watchdog is less toothless thanBritain s PressComplaints Commission. Better legal protection for journalists makes themlessreliant on tough investigative methods. British tabloids spend a lot more on reporting andresearch than Bild, which relies more on freelancers and agencies, notes Ms H?ke.
政治资讯报道使得这家德国报纸的从业者更加重视他们自己。《图片报》主编卡伊迪克曼指出,许多人将他们的报纸视为民主的一个支柱。同时,政治资讯报道也使得从业者更加的伪善。他们了解他们在做什么,但是却从不承认,胡克说道。规章管理也发挥着作用。德国的资讯监管机构比英国的资讯投诉委员会更有权势。更好的法律保护可以使资讯工作者们更少的依赖艰苦的调查方式。胡克指出,英国小报要比《图片报》花费更多的时间和精力在汇报和调查中,《图片报》则更多的依靠自由撰稿者和公众服务机构。
Scoops are one thing, skulduggery another. In the dark arts of journalismhacking intovoicemail, bribing the police for tips, or obtaining private financial and health informationBritishtabloids have stooped lower than anyone. Despite its treatment of Mr Fischer, Bild s behaviouris clearly lessdestructive , says Lukas Heinser, who writes for BILDblog, which chronicles thepaper s failings.
独家报道是一回事,作假欺诈又是另外一回事。在资讯业黑暗手腕使用中侵入他人语音信箱、收买警方消息或者获得私人财务和健康信息英国小报比其他任何同行都娴熟。尽管如此对待费舍尔,《图片报》的行为显然破坏力较低,卢卡斯海因斯说道,他为图片报博客撰文,这个博客记录了这家报纸的失败。
Farther east, the dirtiest tactics in the ex-communist world involve Kompromat embarrassinginformation from government files,particularly involving corruption or ties with the formercommunist secret police.But this is leaked, not bought or stolen. Politicians private livesarelargely taboo, even in countries with lively tabloids such as Poland.
再往东去,在前共产主义世界,最肮脏的手腕还包括Kompromat来自政府文件的令人尴尬的消息,特别是包括腐败或者与前共产主义秘密警察的关系。但这些消息是出去泄露的,不是购买或者偷的。政治家的私人生活在很大程度上是禁忌,即使是在拥有活跃小报的国家,比如波兰。
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