美国国家公共电台 NPR Amid Trump Attacks And Snubs, Zucker's CNN Reclaims Newsy Mission

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Trump¹ likes to attack the mainstream² media whenever he sees an opportunity. And his favorite punching bag is CNN. The network was recently shut out of a White House press briefing, and is often labeled by the president as, quote, "fake news." In normal times, a media executive might be uncomfortable, to say the least. But NPR's David Folkenflik says CNN chief Jeff Zucker is relishing³ the fight.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE⁴: It should not be a surprise that Jeff Zucker has a spring in his step. The network has performed strongly, riding public interest in Trump to relatively⁵ high ratings, huge digital audiences and record profits.

JEFF ZUCKER: The job of media is the accountability of government. And I think it's never been more important than it is today.

FOLKENFLIK: CNN has also stepped up to break big stories on Trump officials, especially those involving possible ties that people in Trump's circle and administration have to Russian figures. Yet, those scoops⁶ have led to primetime moments like this...

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It is fake. I mean, I watch CNN. It's so much anger and hatred⁷, and just the hatred. I don't watch it anymore because...

ZUCKER: A lot of this is red meat for his base.

FOLKENFLIK: Again, Jeff Zucker.

ZUCKER: He claims that CNN is unwatchable. But the only way he knows that is because he's watching obsessively⁸. We know that he spends his days and nights watching CNN.

FOLKENFLIK: CNN's media correspondent Brian Stelter often tracks the close correlation⁹ between Trump's tweets and what's just been shown on television news programs minutes before. It's uncanny.

I spoke¹⁰ with Zucker at his barebones office off CNN's newsroom here in New York the same day Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer, shut out CNN, The New York Times and some other news outlets¹¹ from an off-camera press briefing. Spicer was unapologetic.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SEAN SPICER: We're going to aggressively push back. We're just not going to sit back and let, you know, false narratives¹², false stories, inaccurate¹³ facts get out there.

FOLKENFLIK: As Zucker and I spoke, he received a call from CNN's Jake Tapper. Tapper's tough interviews and intensive fact checking have been joined by brief television essays. He gave Zucker a friendly heads-up about this rebuke¹⁴ the anchor was about to make on the air.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAKE TAPPER: A White House that has had some difficulty telling the truth, and that has seemed to have trouble getting up to speed on the basic competent functioning of government, and a president who seems particularly averse¹⁵ to any criticism.

FOLKENFLIK: Once more, Jeff Zucker.

ZUCKER: These are moves that governments around the world make when they're less sophisticated and want to block the press from doing its job.

FOLKENFLIK: Zucker says he has a clear message for his staff.

ZUCKER: Do not be intimidated¹⁶. Go where the story goes. Report the facts. Make sure you've got it right. And don't let things that the president says or that the White House does throw you off your game.

FOLKENFLIK: It may seem ironic¹⁷ that Zucker is rallying people around the idea of holding Trump accountable. When he was head of NBC, he helped to greenlight Trump's "Apprentice¹⁸" franchise¹⁹ that brought the real estate developer into millions of people's homes.

Zucker was also criticized during the campaign for directing CNN to carry so many Trump speeches live and to have so many interviews with him, giving other candidates far less time.

ZUCKER: I don't believe that the networks influenced the Republican primary election by the amount of coverage²⁰ that Trump rallies got. I do think that if we could go back, we probably wouldn't cover as many Trump rallies live as we did.

FOLKENFLIK: Trump has not given a formal interview to CNN since last June, which Zucker says has not influenced his network's coverage at all. Yesterday, as Vice²¹ President Pence made the rounds to talk on TV about Trump's addressed Congress, there was one notable exception - CNN, a network that is reveling, for the moment anyway, in its slightly outsider status. David Folkenflik, NPR News, New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTUS' "FROZEN TIDES")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

3 relishing   

v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• He ate quietly, relishing his meal. 他安静地吃着，细细品味着食物。 来自辞典例句
• Yes, an iron rampart," he repeated, relishing his phrase. 是的，就是铜墙铁壁，"他很欣赏自己用的这个字眼，又重复了一遍。 来自飘（部分）

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 scoops   

n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

8 obsessively   

ad.着迷般地，过分地

参考例句：

• Peter was obsessively jealous and his behaviour was driving his wife away. 彼得过分嫉妒的举止令他的妻子想离他而去。
• He's rude to his friends and obsessively jealous. 他对他的朋友很无礼而且嫉妒心重。

9 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

13 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

14 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

15 averse   

adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的

参考例句：

• I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
• We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

16 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

18 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

19 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

20 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

21 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。