Newsletter No. 363

12 No. 363, 19.9.2010 Prof. So York-kee Clement 蘇鑰機 下回〈十方吐露〉將訪問葛菲雪教授 Prof. Sian Griffiths will be featured in the next instalment of ‘TEN QUESTIONS FOR’. 預告 Coming 1 在中大唸書時有甚麼難忘回憶？ What do you recall most vividly from your undergraduate days at CUHK? 最難忘是那時中大建築物很少，地方很寬廣，校園很美 麗。我們會到火車站旁的海邊租舢舨，划到當時還是個小 村落的馬鞍山。崇基學院還有中秋泛舟賞月和爬馬鞍山 等活動。那些影響了我學術和個人發展的師友，包括金耀 基、李沛良、鄧龍威、陳海文、李金銓和朱立等教授，我也 銘記於心。 My fondest memory is of the beautiful campus which was more spacious and had fewer buildings. We could rent a small sampan at the seashore near the train station and ride it to Ma On Shan, then a small village. I remember Chung Chi College student activities like boat-rowing on Mid-Autumn Festival and climbing Ma On Shan. I also hold dear memories of schoolmates and professors who had helped shape my academic and personal development including Prof. Ambrose King, Prof. Rance Lee, Prof. Stephen Tang, Prof. Chan Hoi- man, Prof. Lee Chin-chuan and Prof. Leonard Chu. 2 在美國取得博士學位後，為何回到母校任教？ After completing doctoral studies in the US, what made you come back to Hong Kong and to your alma mater? 我一直想回中大任教，因為我覺得，比起在香港當個傳媒 經理，或在美國當個大學教授，返港教書會有更大貢獻。 我在中大取得學士和碩士學位，很感激母校栽培，希望能 有所報答。在美國唸書時，李沛良教授曾寄給我一張聖誕 卡，鼓勵我學成後回母校任教。 I always wanted to come back and teach at CUHK, because I thought I could do much more than becoming a media manager in Hong Kong or a professor in the US. I got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from CUHK, and I always felt deeply thankful to it and I hoped to be able to reciprocate. In fact, when I was studying in the US, Prof. Rance Lee once sent me a Christmas card encouraging me to come back to teach for my alma mater after graduation. 3 出任新聞與傳播學院院長，有何領悟？ What have you learned from your duties and experience as Director of the School of Journalism and Communication (SJC)? 領導一所學院必須全心全意、竭盡所能，並且虛心聽取同 事意見。重大事項應集思廣益，共同決定；還要懂得易地 而處，從不同角度觀照事物，切忌自以為是，抱殘守缺。另 外還須栽培年輕同事，讓他們逐步接班。 The head has to commit whole-heartedly to his duties and to try his best. He should never shy away from picking colleagues’ brains and making decisions collectively regarding important matters. He should be able to see things from different perspectives and not become dogmatic. It is also important to groom younger colleagues and prepare them to take up key positions. 4 在培養專業新聞工作者方面，學院有何貢獻？ How do you assess the role SJC plays in grooming media professionals? 本學院是亞太區最佳的新聞學院之一，也是香港同類學院 中歷史最悠久的。在過去四十五年，我們為新聞界培養了 眾多傑出從業員和研究者，行內許多資深高層和總編都是 我們的校友。舉個例子，開放給全港記者參加的中大新聞 獎，得獎的大部分是中大校友。 It is the oldest among such institutions in Hong Kong, and one of the best in the Asia-Pacific region. We have been nurturing media professionals and researchers for the past 45 years. Many senior media managers and chief editors are our alumni. To give an example, in the bi-annual CU Journalism Award, which is an open competition for journalists in Hong Kong, CUHK alumni make up a large portion of winners. 5 學院未來有何新發展？ What are the school’s latest initiatives? 四年制實行在即，我們計劃屆時推出兩門新課程，分別為 整合營銷傳播及全球媒體與傳播。我們也會擴大現有授課 範圍，從以往側重印刷新聞媒體，改為涵蓋在網絡上進行 的說服性傳播，如廣告、公關和創意媒體。我們也在為學 生物色更多海外交換機會，並與其他知名大學開拓研究合 作契機。 In the upcoming four-year curriculum, we plan to introduce a couple of new programmes in (1) integrated marketing communications and (2) global media and communication. We will also broaden our existing curriculum from primarily print-based journalism to web- based persuasive communication such as advertising, PR and creative media. We are in the process of expanding overseas exchange opportunities for our students, and will build more research links with other prestigious universities. 6 本地傳媒的未來發展，是趨向更好還是更壞？ Do you see any emerging trends in the local media? For better or worse? 顯然，新聞業正面臨翻天覆地的變化。印刷報章會否被淘 汰？網上媒體能否獲得足夠的廣告收入？禍兮福所倚，福 兮禍所伏。對傳媒行業來說，借用狄更斯的名句：「這是最 好的時代，也是最壞的時代。」這肯定是現有傳媒機構去 反省和再次邁出步伐的時候。 Obviously the news media are facing a sea change. Will print newspapers become obsolete? Can online media get its fair share of advertising revenue? Dangers and opportunities abound, and they go hand in hand. To quote Charles Dickens, ‘It is perhaps the best of times and the worst of times’. It is definitely the time for the existing media organizations to reflect and try to find their ways forward. 7 科技發展如何改變傳媒文化？ How have technological innovations affected or shaped our media culture? 網上媒體愈來愈受歡迎，我們愈來愈急不及待，專注的時 間愈來愈短，期望愈來愈大。我們習慣於免費媒體（網上 新聞和免費報），也有更多選擇。但是，我們對媒體又是 否有足夠的認識，好讓我們應付排山倒海而來的資訊？我 們又是否在意傳媒提供的產品的品質？我們是否能做些甚 麼，把傳媒工作的手法導入正軌，建立更好的 傳媒文化？我們全都牽涉其中，責無旁貸。 With the increasing popularity of online media, we have become more impatient, have shorter attention span and higher expectations. We are accustomed to free media (online news and free dailies). We have more choices. But are we media literate enough to handle the information overload? Do we care enough about the quality of media products? Can we do something to help shape better media practice and culture? We are all in it and we better do something about it. 8 怎麼會想到出版《一人 一故事》？ What prompted you to publish the book One Person, One Story ? 這是我和張宏艷校友的主意，是學院與新聞教育基金第 二次合作出版書籍，之前出版過一本關於四川地震和香港 記者的書。出這本書的念頭是受一些校友分享的故事所 啟發。我們想蒐集一些資深記者的經歷，把他們所得的寶 貴經驗和領會保存和流傳下去，希望香港人知道新聞業 的一些正面和光明的事跡。新聞業和社會是相輔相成的， 新聞業做得好，社會也會發展得更好。這本書出版不到兩 個月，首刷三千本已賣光。 It was an idea developed by our alumna Ms. Lavender Cheung and me. The project is another joint publication effort between our school and the Hong Kong Journalism Education Foundation after the earlier book on Sichuan earthquake and Hong Kong reporters. Inspired by some of our alumni’s sharing, we wanted to collect stories from veteran journalists so as to preserve and pass on their good experiences and lessons learned. We hoped that Hong Kong people can know more about the positive and uplifting side of journalism. We think that if journalism can become better, so will society. In less than two months since the book was launched, the first print of 3,000 copies sold out. 9 講故事的技巧對新聞有何重要？ How important is storytelling in journalism? 新聞的精髓就是說故事。傳播學者 George Gerbner 說 過，懂得講故事的人會獲得力量，能夠大大影響我們的社 會和文化。記者講的故事首先要真實準確，其次是迅速、 平衡、客觀和得體合度地把故事說出來。如能說得生動活 潑，那就好上加好了。 The essence of journalism is storytelling. Communication scholar George Gerbner once said that those who are able to tell stories will gain power and can greatly influence our society and culture. First, journalists have to tell factual and accurate stories. Then the stories should be told in a timely, balanced, objective and decent way. It would be even better if they can be told in an interesting and attractive manner. 10 你年輕時寫過小說，還會再寫嗎？ You wrote a novel when you were young. Will you write one again? 那其實是很短的一篇，是鬧着玩的。我文藝創作的天分有 限，但希望我的研究能夠做得有創意和有趣。可以的話， 我希望使用一些不同於傳統的表達手法，如短篇故事、謎 語、嘻笑怒罵式文章甚至笑話，來教授傳播理論和講解重 大新聞事件。我敢說，學生一定會喜歡的。 It was in fact a very short one that I did for fun. I have little talent in creative storytelling but I want my research work to be creative and interesting. If I can have my wish, I hope to talk about communication theories and major news events using alternative genres such as short stories, riddles, caricatures, and even jokes. I bet the students would love them.