VOA慢速英语--专家:疫情期间报道可信新闻的重要性

Experts: Pandemic Shows Importance of Believable News

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large effect on worldwide media.

There is some increased censorship and harassment¹ of reporters in several countries. But there is also a growing belief in the importance of truthful² reporting, media experts say.

In early December, the World Press Freedom Conference met online to discuss problems facing reporters. It said some small news organizations were forced out of business and reporters in some countries have faced threats.

But the group said the main problem for the news industry was an "avalanche³" of disinformation.

"Now more than ever we need news we can trust," said Jesper Hojberg. He is executive director of the Denmark-based nonprofit International Media Support (IMS). He spoke⁴ in a video to the members. He also said that the need for truthful information has shown the public the "importance of critical, reliable information."

Some emergency measures taken because of the spread of COVID-19 have been used to restrict the media this year. The group IMS assists media in countries affected⁵ by conflict or insecurity. It contacted its partners to get an understanding of what is happening to press freedom in their countries.

"We've been very conscious of the importance of fully⁶ understanding how COVID-19 has affected...the reality of our partners," Hojberg told VOA.

The IMS findings showed both good and bad effects on the media, including an increase in readers and listeners.

Hojberg said his organization has seen officials "blocking webpages that are trying to provide a different information reality."

But the IMS also saw a slow, but steady increase of trust in media and civil society as citizens looked for information they were unable to get from government officials.

Media survival

The media has experienced job losses and closures during the pandemic. Support for the media industry is part of a separate project by UNESCO and World Association of News Publishers.

Those organizations said in a joint⁷ statement that the "decimation" of solid, truthful reporting in many areas of the world is "a growing threat."

Guy Berger is director of freedom of expression and media development at UNESCO. He told VOA the project is a way to help local media during the digital age, but also to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on local economies.

The project covers many different news providers, including broadcast, community radio and news websites. The aim is to mainly deal with countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, Berger said.

"We will be looking at the markets, audiences, regulations, as well as the business and journalistic practices of individual media," Berger said. He added that they plan to have the research completed by the first half of 2021.

The research will lead to policy recommendations to help develop a strong and independent media environment, Berger explained.

UNESCO will also partner with a working group under the Forum⁸ on Information & Democracy. Several other organizations were working on the same issue so it made sense to cooperate, Berger said.

"The two groups will inform each other about their work, as well as other stakeholders in the media development community. UNESCO will be an observer at the working group," he added.

The pandemic has revealed the importance of ensuring that local media survives.

"I think some of the media that we work with also have gained a completely new sense of purpose," said Hojberg, of the IMS, adding that having independent media during such a crisis is "extremely important."

Words In This Story

censorship – n. a system of removing from books, movies, letter and other media unapproved material

harassment – n. repeatedly bothering or causing problems for someone

avalanche – n. a sudden amount of something; a large amount of snow or ice

reliable – adj. able to be trusted or believed in

decimation – n. to damage or destroy a large number of things or a large part of something

journalism⁹ – n. the job of collecting, writing and editing new stories for newspapers, magazines, television and radio

stakeholder – n. a person or business that has invested money in something, such as a company

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

2 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

3 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

4 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。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。