Thenewspapermustprovideforthereaderthefacts,pure,unprejudiced,objectivelyselectedfacts.Butinthesedaysofcomplexnewsitmustprovidemore;itmustsupplyinterpretation,themeaningofthefacts.ThisisthemostimportantassignmentconfrontingAmericanjournalism—tomakecleartothereadertheproblemsoftheday,tomakeinternationalnewsunderstandableascommunitynews,torecognizethatthereisnolongeranysuchthing(withthepossibleexceptionofsocietynews)as“local”news,becauseanyeventintheinternationalareahaslocalreactioninthefinancialmarket,politicalcircles,interms,indeed,ofourverywayoflife. Thereisinjournalismawidespreadviewthatwhenyouconsidergivinganinterpretation,youareenteringdangerouswaters,theswirlingtidesofopinion.Thisisnonsense. Theopponentsofinterpretationinsistthatthewriterandtheeditorshallconfinehimselftothe“facts”.Thisinsistenceraisestwoquestions.Whatarethefacts?And:Arethebarefactsenough? Asforthefirstquestion,considerhowaso-called“factual”storycomesabout.Thereportercollects,say,fiftyfacts;outthesefifty,hisspacebeingnecessarilyrestricted,heselectsthetenwhichheconsidersmostimportant.ThisisjudgmentNumberOne.Thenheorhiseditordecideswhichofthesetenfactsshallconstitutethebeginningofthearticle.(Thisisanimportantdecisionbecausemanyreadersdonotproceedbeyondthefirstparagraph.)ThisisJudgmentNumberTwo.Thenthenighteditordetermineswhetherthearticleshallbepresentedonpageone,whereithasalargeinfluence,oronpagetwenty-four,whereithaslittle.JudgmentNumberThree. Thusinthepresentationofaso-called“factual”or“objective”story,atleastthreejudgmentsareinvolved.Andtheyarejudgmentsnotatallunlikethoseinvolvedininterpretation,inwhich.reporterandeditor,callingupontheirresearchresources,theirgeneralbackground,andtheir“newsneutralism”,arriveataconclusionastolinesignificanceofthenews. Thetwoareasofjudgment,presentationofthenewsanditsinterpretation,arebothobjectiveratherthansubjectiveprocesses—asobjective,thatis,asanyhumanbeingcanbe.(Noteinpassing:eventhoughcompleteobjectivitycanneverbeachieved,neverthelesstheidealmustalwaysbethelightinthemurkynewschannels.)Ifaneditorisintentongivingaprejudicedviewofthenews,hecandoitinotherwaysandmoreeffectivelythanbyinterpretation.Hecandoitbytheselectionofthosefactsthatsupporthisparticularviewpoint.Orhecandoitbylineplayhegivesastory—promotingittopageoneorputtingitonpagethirty. Thebesttitleforthispassageis_____.
A.Function of the Night Editor B.Interpreting the News C.Subjective versus Objective Processes D.Choosing Facts正确答案B
