美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump's Win Changed The Game For Publishers On The Left And The Right

 

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For years, conservative publishers have thrived. Their readers have flocked to buy books aimed at taking down the party in power. Now that Republicans control Washington, these publishers are rethinking their strategy, and their counterparts on the left are positioning themselves to capitalize on the new political landscape. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

LYNN NEARY, BYLINE¹: Regnery books is the grand old dame² of conservative publishing. This year it celebrates its 70th anniversary. Regnery's authors have included Dinesh D'Souza, Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham. Marji Ross is Regnery's president and publisher.

MARJI ROSS: For many years, we would say that what was bad for the country was good for Regnery. And by that we meant that when the opposition³ was in power, that made our job a little bit easier and our books more successful.

NEARY: When Donald Trump⁴ was elected president last November, some conservative book publishers were caught off-guard. Ralph Zettersten is the head of Center Street Books, the conservative division of Hachette Publishing. He expected Hillary Clinton would win and was ready to publish several books critical of her presidency⁵.

ROLF ZETTERSTEN: We had to pivot⁶ and say, what are we going to do with these books that were going to be anti-Hillary? And instead, we developed new approaches to books that talked about the Trump agenda.

NEARY: But Trump's presidency has exposed some deep divisions on the right, and conservative publishers have to reflect those differences. Marji Ross.

ROSS: You know, you have social conservatives. You have economic conservatives. You have people who are more libertarian. It's probably brought into sharper focus, frankly⁷, when you do have a Republican in the White House because then all the different factions⁸ are lobbying for their version of what's right for the future.

NEARY: There is one almost surefire route to success in conservative publishing. Rolf Zettersten says books by well-known personalities⁹ on Fox TV or talk radio with a take-no-prisoners brand of politics often end up on the bestseller list.

ZETTERSTEN: If you are a polite voice in this market, you really don't get listened to. We've certainly published our share of polite conservative books, and they just don't sell as well.

NEARY: Center Street already has a new book on the New York Times best-seller list, "Trump's War" by conservative talk show host Michael Savage¹⁰, who is not known for politeness.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICHAEL SAVAGE: The propaganda ministry¹¹ called ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News and C-SPAN - the propaganda ministry has spun¹² a web of lies about this presidency destroying the nation itself. They would not care. If they burnt the nation to the ground, they wouldn't care.

NEARY: But provocateurs can go too far. Threshold Editions, the conservative wing of Simon & Schuster, canceled its contract with Milo Yiannopoulos after it decided¹³ remarks the right-wing commentator¹⁴ made about pedophilia were too controversial. Of course Yiannopoulos built his reputation on inflammatory rhetoric¹⁵.

ROSS: I love flame throwers.

NEARY: Marji Ross was offered the Yiannopoulos book but chose not to publish it. Now Yiannopoulos is shopping it around again, and it's been reported that Regnery might pick it up this time. Ross declined to confirm or deny that rumor¹⁶. She says she has no problem with provocative¹⁷ political books, but not everyone likes them.

ROSS: Some people gravitate to certain radio talk show hosts who are really bombastic¹⁸. And other people just can't deal with that, and they want more soft-spoken. And our job is to try to reach as broad of an audience as we can without watering down the essence of an author either in their message or in their style.

NEARY: While conservative publishers are getting used to a new political reality, those on the left are realizing they've got a new advantage. Andy Hsiao is an editor with Verso Books.

ANDY HSIAO: I feel a bit sheepish saying this. I am so deeply opposed to Trump. But let's face it. Opposition is often good for political publishers, and our sales have already taken off. People feel hungry for, you know, criticism, analysis, knowledge and inspiration.

NEARY: Verso books has a history of opposition to the status quo in both the Republican and Democratic Party. Hsiao says Verso comes out of the socialist¹⁹ tradition and publishes a wide range of progressive thinking. He sees their mission as twofold - to open people's minds to new ways of thinking and to support the resistance.

HSIAO: In a way, movements call up the literature that they need. And our fortunes in the last decade have exploded. And I think it's unquestionably because of a new movement, especially among young people, to look for more radical²⁰ alternatives, radical solutions to American problems.

NEARY: Hsiao says the country is engaged in an intense political throwdown which he thinks is better than complacency. And publishers on the right and the left are in the middle of the fray²¹. Lynn Neary, NPR News, Washington.

1 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。

2 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 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。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

9 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

10 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

15 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

16 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

17 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

18 bombastic   

adj.夸夸其谈的，言过其实的

参考例句：

• The candidate spoke in a bombastic way of all that he would do if elected.候选人大肆吹嘘，一旦他当选将要如何如何。
• The orator spoke in a bombastic manner.这位演说家的讲话言过其实。

19 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

20 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

21 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。