美國新聞業最近的經歷可以用兩個詞來信形容:恥辱和傷心。

The recent story of American journalism is a tale of sorrow and shame.

去年，《紐約時報》(New York Times)丟了一回面子，被迫登報承認一個年輕記者杰森•布萊爾(Jayson Blair)剽竊和捏造新聞。這次丑聞導致兩名主編引咎辭職。

Last year, The New York Times suffered the humiliation of having to acknowledge in print that one of its young reporters, Jayson Blair, had plagiarised and fabricated stories. The scandal led to the resignation of its two top editors.

現在，美國發行量最大的日報《今日美國》（USA Today）又在遭受煎熬。其著名駐外記者杰克•凱利（Jack Kelley）因被指控在過去十幾年里捏造新聞故事，而于今年一月被迫辭職。凱利寫過一些被認為十分出色的新聞，曾有五篇文章獲得了普利策新聞獎(Pulitzer Prize)提名（但是從未獲獎）。

Now, USA Today, America's largest circulation daily, is in the line of fire. Its star foreign correspondent, Jack Kelley, quit in January after accusations that over a decade he, too, had concocted stories. Some were considered so outstanding that five articles had been nominated for Pulitzer Prize consideration (he never won the prize).

針對指控，《今日美國》指派了一個調查組，由三名經驗豐富的老記者組成，對麻煩的凱利事件展開調查。不日將提交調查報告。

In response to the charges, USA Today appointed a panel of three veteran journalists to investigate the mess. Their report is expected soon.

在目前這股熱潮中，對那些不道德的記者指指戳戳是多么的容易。畢竟，他們違背了新聞業“揭示真理、無私無畏”的基本原則，難道不該受到編輯、發行人、制作人和公眾的斥責嗎？

How easy it has been in this febrile atmosphere to point the finger at miscreant journalists. After all, did they not deserve the opprobrium of editors, publishers, producers and the public for violating a basic journalistic tenet: truth-telling without fear or favour?

但是，讓公眾覺得好象錯誤在于少數記者的話，那么美國媒體管理部門就把一個更加令人不安的問題簡單化了，或者是故意地低估了。事實是，新聞業的文化修養與職業道德近年來逐漸退化，又因為對獎項和贏利的追求而更加惡化，以致歪曲價值觀，并鼓勵了嘮叨不停的全天候脫口秀節目。

Yet, by making it seem as if the fault lies mainly with a few reporters, the management of US media oversimplifies or deliberately downplays a more disturbing problem. The fact is, the culture and the business of journalism have been degraded in recent years - and corrupted by a pursuit of prizes and profit that distorts values and inspires non-stop chatter on round-the-clock talk shows.

《華盛頓郵報》（Washington Post）的編輯倫納德•唐尼（Leonard Downie）譴責“新聞明星” （celebrification）做法(編者注：“新聞明星”指的是因報道重大新聞而成為公眾名人的新聞從業人員。)，這種趨勢甚至促使最優秀的新聞從業人員夸大新聞、捕風捉影、虛張聲勢，有時甚至越過底線，干脆“創造”一個事實、一段引言，甚至整個故事。有些記者渴求更高的薪酬、編輯的稱贊，或者一封參加流行脫口秀的邀請函，他們不惜出賣自己的專業操守。當然，他們自己對這些情況認識得更清楚；但是他們也知道，在這種競爭的大氣候下，迎合當前的風氣有好處。

Leonard Downie, editor of The Washington Post, decries the "celebrification of journalism", which drives even the best in the business to hype a story, to exaggerate "just a bit", to sensationalise the ordinary and, on occasion, to go over the top and simply "create" a fact, a quote or a whole story. So hungry are some journalists for a bigger pay cheque, an editor's praise or an invitation to appear on a popular talk show that they are seduced into selling their professional souls. They know better, of course, but they also know that in this competitive climate it helps to play to the mores of the moment.

“我撒謊了，我撒謊了，我還撒了一些謊，”布萊爾先生在他的新書中承認道。在電視鏡頭前，他也這樣承認。他的故事可能還會拍成電影。

"I lied, I lied, and I lied some more," admits Mr Blair, as he shamelessly rides the joys of a new book, a likely film deal and multiple television appearances.

令人心痛的是，新聞業明顯為此付出了代價。《今日美國》最近報道，只有36%的美國人相信他們從媒體上讀到、看到和聽到的東西。那么他們從哪里獲得可以信任的信息呢？年輕人越來越多地求助于互聯網，年長者則要么根本不看新聞，要么轉向有線電視或廣播脫口秀節目，收視預先包裝的“新聞”。保守派掌控著許多脫口秀節目的意識形態，自由派則剛剛在為自己中意的節目開辦廣播網。當我們需要嚴肅而真實的信息的時候，電視廣播卻是充斥著廢話的噪聲。

There is a price; that is painfully clear. USA Today reported recently that only 36 per cent of Americans believe what they read, see or hear in the media. Where, then, are they to get information they can trust? Young people are increasingly turning to the internet. Older people either bypass news completely or turn to cable or radio talk shows for prepackaged "news". Conservatives have an ideological lock on many talk shows; liberals are only now starting a radio network for their kind of show. The airwaves are noisy with nonsense at a time when we need serious, substantive information.

最近，“優秀新聞計劃（Project for Excellence in Journalism）”研究小組制作了一份長達500頁的研究報告，報告強調了美國新聞業的長期衰退。1990年以來，報紙發行量下滑了不止11個百分點，2200名報人隨之失業。報紙在全國的市場占有率由75%下降到50%，隨著互聯網使用的激增和少數族裔報紙的流行，這一趨勢很可能將持續下去。

A recent 500-page study by the research group Project for Excellence in Journalism highlights a long-term decline in US journalism. Since 1990, 2,200 newspaper jobs have been lost, as circulation has slipped more than 11 per cent. National penetration of newspapers has dropped from 75 per cent to 50 per cent and, as internet usage soars and ethnic newspapers spread, this trend is likely to continue.

1993年以來，電視晚間新聞的觀眾猛跌了28%，由每個工作日平均4000多萬觀眾下降到不足2800萬。隨著有線電視的發展，電視廣播網的觀眾有所下降。去年，觀看有線電視的美國人首次超過了電視廣播網。一個具有諷刺意味的結果是，有線電視已經取代了電視廣播網，成為觀眾獲取嚴肅新聞事件報道（如有關戰爭和選舉的報道）的途徑。

Since 1993, audience figures for evening TV newscasts has plunged 28 per cent, from more than 40m viewers on an average weekday to fewer than 28m; and as cable TV grows, network audiences decline. Last year, for the first time, more Americans watched cable TV than network TV. One ironic consequence is that cable TV has replaced the networks as the place viewers go for coverage of serious news events, such as wars and elections.

新聞曾經是一種可貴的商品，傳達意識形態沖突的兩種意見。當今的新聞往往過分簡單地區分善與惡，傳統而可靠的新聞便成了稀缺商品。那些能夠防范錯誤、防范報紙含沙射影和捏造事實的“看門人”、編輯和新聞管理人員到哪里去了？難道他們現在已經認同了虛假的新聞業，以求促進發行量和幫忙贏得普利策獎？

Once news was a treasured commodity that helped smooth the edges of clashing ideologies; now news, old-fashioned and solid, is a rare commodity in a world of simplistic generalisations about good and evil. Where are the gatekeepers, the editors and news managers who guarded against mistakes, editorial insinuation and fabrication? Have they now sanctioned hyped journalism to boost circulation and help win a Pulitzer?

據預測，《今日美國》的調查將斥責凱利先生、對新聞來源提出更嚴格的要求，并痛陳當代新聞業的現狀。然后呢？會有主編或發行人受到公開譴責嗎？早就有人警告說，凱利先生是一個需要幫助的麻煩明星，這些人卻始終未察覺，或者忽視這種警告。

Advance word has it that USA Today's investigation will scold Mr Kelley, recommend stricter sourcing requirements and lament the state of modern journalism. Then what? Will any of the top editors or publishers be publicly blamed (or fired) for consistently missing or ignoring warnings that Mr Kelley was a troubled star who needed help?

本文作者是美國哥倫比亞廣播公司（CBS）和美國國家廣播公司（NBC）前記者和主播，哈佛大學修倫斯坦新聞政治與國家政策研究中心（the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University）創始董事。

The writer, a former correspondent and anchor at CBS and NBC, is founding director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University

譯者/嚴瀟瀟