The news center of the School of Civil Engineering (SCE) held a virtual meeting on how to write quality news on May 5th. Upon the conclusion of the lecture, students were expected to better organize the information and write more readable news. These days, traditional news interviews and writing have been greatly challenged by the emerging integrated media, which is a combination of various media formats. To adapt to the circumstance with ease, the lecturer Ms. ZHANG Yun shared several cases.
She is a journalist for China Media Group (CMG) and has reported on the front line for two decades. She has won top news awards including the First Prize of the China News Awards, China Radio and Television Awards, and the Second Prize of China Charity Press Award and other prizes.
In the beginning, she warmed up the class by asking students if they have worked in Chinese central state-owned enterprises or television media groups and then shared her own working experience. She gave the example of the employment issue of university graduates to discuss how to approach the report. First, be timely. That is to say, a journalist should research the number of graduates and the national policies related to them. Second, be focused. It means a journalist should decide whether to cover a specific aspect or a big event that asks for a long-time investigation. She shared her report on two students of SWJTU who are representatives of two types of university graduates, one type being passionate about entrepreneurship and the other valuing perseverance. Besides, she also stressed the importance of shifting perspectives and standing in the readers’ shoes so that valuable information beyond the news can get across.
In addition to the topics closely related to students like examinations or new semesters, Ms. ZHANG Yun also introduced reports on topics of public concern. Usually this kind of news is firstly carried out by undercover interviews and then a follow-up report is needed to seek additional detailed information. She gave examples of news on “lean meat powder” and “poisonous capsule”, showing that there should be follow-up reports with no bias so that truth can be unfolded eventually. At the same time, she also advised students to further their studies in one specific field. They can review their manuscripts regularly, be more familiar with relevant policies and industry regulations, and expand their social circles.
In the face of refusal while doing research on reports, journalists should not push on too hard; instead, they can leverage their supervision roles. News reports should be socially and morally acceptable. In terms of special news reports such as the recent crash of China Eastern Airlines, she stressed the importance of showing respect to victim families and protecting their privacy.
After the lecture, associate professor LI Jianyuan from the Communication Department of the School of Humanities hosted the Q&A session. Then the lecture was wrapped up. To sum up, Mr. ZHANG Yun shared her experience in news reporting as a veteran journalist, analyzed how to plan and approach a news topic more effectively, and gave advice to students on how to adapt to the multi-media environment of the new era. The students have learned the hands-on practice and the guiding principles of reporting news which would help pave the way for their professional development in journalism.
