“Never let the facts get in the way of a good story”.

2016/03/24 10:11:21 網誌分類: 生活

24 Mar

         When I became a reporter my expatriate editors joked:“Never let the facts get in the way of a good story”. This expression means if you have a good story to tell, do not let the truth make it less interesting. The expression came from the famous American author Mark Twain. He said it as a joke because he was also a humorist. A humorist is a person who writes things to make people laugh. Cartoonists and clowns are also humorists. My editors were joking when they said I should never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

         Facts are most important in a news story. But nowadays, many in the Hong Kong media have either not been taught this rule or choose to ignore it. I thought about the expression“never let the facts get in the way of a good story”last week after media coverage of DAB chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king’s resignation from the Executive Council. Many journalists reported Democratic Party member James To Kun-sun’s claim that she resigned from Exco because the DAB party no longer supported Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. A good reporter would have asked To Kun-sun to prove his claim because Leung Chun-ying had immediately appointed another DAB member, Ip Kwok-him, to replace Lee Wai-king. That showed the DAB still supported Leung Chun-ying.

         Not a single reporter asked To Kun-sun because they did not want to let the facts get in the way of a good story. It was a good story to say the DAB no longer supported the government even though it was not factual. The media also reported that Lee Wai-king resigned because she wanted to run in next year’s chief executive election. The fact is she said a year ago she would leave Exco after becoming DAB chairwoman, and she has said many times she will not run for chief executive. But those facts are not interesting. Lee Wai-king running for chief executive and the DAB not supporting Leung Chun-ying are interesting. That’s why the reporters did not want to let the facts get in the way of a good story.

        ***

        當我初任記者時，我的外籍編輯們笑說：“Never let the facts get in the way of a good story”. 這個習語的意思是：若你有個好故事要說，不要讓事實使它變得沒趣。這個習語來自美國著名作者馬克．吐溫。他將之當笑話說，因為他也是個幽默作家（humorist）。Humorist 就是寫東西引人發笑的人，漫畫家和小丑也是humorists。我的編輯們說我不應讓事實妨礙了好的故事（never let the facts get in the way of a good story）時，他們其實在開玩笑。

         在新聞故事中，事實就是最重要的。可到了今時今日，香港許多傳媒要不從未學過這個準則，就是選擇性地忽略它。上星期當傳媒報道民建聯主席李慧琼辭任行政會議後，我就想到“never let the facts get in the way of a good story”這個習語。許多記者也報道，民主黨成員涂謹申斷言她辭任行會，是因為民建聯不再支持特首梁振英。一個好記者應該要求涂謹申去證明他所宣稱的，因為梁振英已即時委任另一位民建聯成員葉國謙去接替李慧琼。這就反映民建聯仍然支持梁振英。

         然而，沒有一個記者問涂謹申，因為他們不想讓事實妨礙了好故事（did not want to let the facts get in the way of a good story）。說民建聯不再支持政府，就是一個好故事，即使那並非事實。傳媒亦報道指，李慧琼辭職是因為她想競逐下年的特首選舉。事實是，她在一年前已經說了，她當上民建聯主席後便會辭任行會；她也說過許多遍，她不會競選特首。然而，這些事實都很沒趣。李慧琼競逐特首之位，而民建聯又不再支持梁振英，這才夠有趣。也因此，在好故事面前，記者們都不想讓事實擋着去路（did not want to let the facts get in the way of a good story）。

        ＊許多讀者提議我在專欄中包含讀音，我的編輯終於找到法子了。由今日開始，我的專欄會加上 QR code，你只須用手機掃描 QR code，就可以聆聽我朗讀專欄的錄音。希望這能幫助大家改善英文字詞的發音。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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“Never let the facts get in the way of a good story”.

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