第 13 节
作者:
冬儿 更新:2022-04-05 13:37 字数:9321
centuries。
VI。The British and the American Press
THE only paper from which a man can really get the news of the world in a shape that he can understand is the newspaper of his own 〃home town。〃 For me; unless I can have the Montreal Gazette at my breakfast; and the Montreal Star at my dinner; I don't really know what is happening。 In the same way I have seen a man from the south of Scotland settle down to read the Dumfries Chronicle with a deep sigh of satisfaction: and a man from Burlington; Vermont; pick up the Burlington Eagle and study the foreign news in it as the only way of getting at what was really happening in France and Germany。
The reason is; I suppose; that there are different ways of serving up the news and we each get used to our own。 Some people like the news fed to them gently: others like it thrown at them in a bombshell: some prefer it to be made as little of as possible; they want it minimised: others want the maximum。
This is where the greatest difference lies between the British newspapers and those of the United States and Canada。 With us in America the great thing is to get the news and shout it at the reader; in England they get the news and then break it to him as gently as possible。 Hence the big headings; the bold type; and the double columns of the American paper; and the small headings and the general air of quiet and respectability of the English Press。
It is quite beside the question to ask which is the better。 Neither is。 They are different things: that's all。 The English newspaper is designed to be read quietly; propped up against the sugar bowl of a man eating a slow breakfast in a quiet corner of a club; or by a retired banker seated in a leather chair nearly asleep; or by a country vicar sitting in a wicker chair under a pergola。 The American paper is for reading by a man hanging on the straps of a clattering subway express; by a man eating at a lunch counter; by a man standing on one leg; by a man getting a two…minute shave; or by a man about to have his teeth drawn by a dentist。
In other words; there is a difference of atmosphere。 It is not merely in the type and the lettering; it is a difference in the way the news is treated and the kind of words that are used。 In America we love such words as 〃gun…men〃 and 〃joy…ride〃 and 〃death…cell〃: in England they prefer 〃person of doubtful character〃 and 〃motor travelling at excessive speed〃 and 〃corridor No。 6。〃 If a milk…waggon collides in the street with a coal…cart; we write that a 〃life…waggon〃 has struck a 〃death…cart。〃 We call a murderer a 〃thug〃 or a 〃gun…man〃 or a 〃yeg…man。〃 In England they simply call him 〃the accused who is a grocer's assistant in Houndsditch。〃 That designation would knock any decent murder story to pieces。
Hence comes the great difference between the American 〃lead〃 or opening sentence of the article; and the English method of commencement。 In the American paper the idea is that the reader is so busy that he must first be offered the news in one gulp。 After that if he likes it he can go on and eat some more of it。 So the opening sentence must give the whole thing。 Thus; suppose that a leading member of the United States Congress has committed suicide。 This is the way in which the American reporter deals with it。
〃Seated in his room at the Grand Hotel with his carpet slippers on his feet and his body wrapped in a blue dressing…gown with pink insertions; after writing a letter of farewell to his wife and emptying a bottle of Scotch whisky in which he exonerated her from all culpability in his death; Congressman Ahasuerus P。 Tigg was found by night…watchman; Henry T。 Smith; while making his rounds as usual with four bullets in his stomach。〃
Now let us suppose that a leading member of the House of Commons in England had done the same thing。 Here is the way it would be written up in a first…class London newspaper。
The heading would be HOME AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE。 That is inserted so as to keep the reader soothed and quiet and is no doubt thought better than the American heading BUGHOUSE CONGRESSMAN BLOWS OUT BRAINS IN HOTEL。 After the heading HOME AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE the English paper runs the subheading INCIDENT AT THE GRAND HOTEL。 The reader still doesn't know what happened; he isn't meant to。 Then the article begins like this:
〃The Grand Hotel; which is situated at the corner of Millbank and Victoria Streets; was the scene last night of a distressing incident。〃
〃What is it?〃 thinks the reader。 〃The hotel itself; which is an old Georgian structure dating probably from about 1750; is a quiet establishment; its clientele mainly drawn from business men in the cattle…droving and distillery business from South Wales。〃
〃What happened?〃 thinks the reader。
〃Its cuisine has long been famous for the excellence of its boiled shrimps。〃
〃What happened?〃
〃While the hotel itself is also known as the meeting place of the Surbiton Harmonic Society and other associations。〃
〃What happened?〃
〃Among the more prominent of the guests of the hotel has been numbered during the present Parliamentary session Mr。 Llewylln Ap。 Jones; M。P。; for South Llanfydd。 Mr。 Jones apparently came to his room last night at about ten P。M。; and put on his carpet slippers and his blue dressing gown。 He then seems to have gone to the cupboard and taken from it a whisky bottle which however proved to be empty。 The unhappy gentleman then apparently went to bed 。 。 。〃
At that point the American reader probably stops reading; thinking that he has heard it all。 The unhappy man found that the bottle was empty and went to bed: very natural: and the affair very properly called a 〃distressing incident〃: quite right。 But the trained English reader would know that there was more to come and that the air of quiet was only assumed; and he would read on and on until at last the tragic interest heightened; the four shots were fired; with a good long pause after each for discussion of the path of the bullet through Mr。 Ap。 Jones。
I am not saying that either the American way or the British way is the better。 They are just two different ways; that's all。 But the result is that anybody from the United States or Canada reading the English papers gets the impression that nothing is happening: and an English reader of our newspapers with us gets the idea that the whole place is in a tumult。
When I was in London I used always; in glancing at the morning papers; to get a first impression that the whole world was almost asleep。 There was; for example; a heading called INDIAN INTELLIGENCE that showed; on close examination; that two thousand Parsees had died of the blue plague; that a powder boat had blown up at Bombay; that some one had thrown a couple of bombs at one of the provincial governors; and that four thousand agitators had been sentenced to twenty years hard labour each。 But the whole thing was just called 〃Indian Intelligence。〃 Similarly; there was a little item called; 〃Our Chinese Correspondent。〃 That one explained ten lines down; in very small type; that a hundred thousand Chinese had been drowned in a flood。 And there was another little item labelled 〃Foreign Gossip;〃 under which was mentioned that the Pope was dead; and that the President of Paraguay had been assassinated。
In short; I got the impression that I was living in an easy drowsy world; as no doubt the editor meant me to。 It was only when the Montreal Star arrived by post that I felt that the world was still revolving pretty rapidly on its axis and that there was still something doing。
As with the world news so it is with the minor events of ordinary life;birth; death; marriage; accidents; crime。 Let me give an illustration。 Suppose that in a suburb of London a housemaid has endeavoured to poison her employer's family by putting a drug in the coffee。 Now on our side of the water we should write that little incident up in a way to give it life; and put headings over it that would capture the reader's attention in a minute。 We should begin it thus:
PRETTY PARLOR MAID DEALS DEATH…DRINK TO CLUBMAN'S FAMILY
The English reader would ask at once; how do we know that the parlor maid is pretty? We don't。 But our artistic sense tells us that she ought to be。 Pretty parlor maids are the only ones we take any interest in: if an ugly parlor maid poisoned her employer's family we should hang her。 Then again; the English reader would say; how do we know that the man is a clubman? Have we ascertained this fact definitely; and if so; of what club or clubs is he a member? Well; we don't know; except in so far as the thing is self…evident。 Any man who has romance enough in his life to be poisoned by a pretty housemaid ought to be in a club。 That's the place for him。 In fact; with us the word club man doesn't necessarily mean a man who belongs to a club: it is defined as a man who is arrested in a gambling den; or fined for speeding a motor or who shoots another person in a hotel corridor。 Therefore this man must be a club man。 Having settled the heading; we go on with the text:
〃Brooding over love troubles which she has hitherto refused to divulge under the most grilling fusillade of rapid…fire questions shot at her by the best brains of