为什么华人社区需要强大纸媒

Postmedia最近宣布合并四个城市的新闻制作, 并在阿省裁员90人。这一消息令加国媒体领域深感震惊，亦显示出媒体行业所深陷的财务困境。虽然裁员以几乎成为媒体行业的家长便饭，但Postmedia的决定仍引发加国人士的强烈关注，担心对媒体独立性的削减将令新闻报道日益失去其影响力。

 

Postmedia’s recent announcement of merging newsrooms in four cities and cutting 90 staff in Alberta has sent shock waves across Canadian media landscape, signalling the deep financial trouble of media industry. While media layoffs have almost become a new norm, Postmedia’s decision has sparked widespread concerns among Canadians over losing distinct voices and the reduced power of journalism.

 

但是上述消息似乎并没有在华裔社区掀起波澜。在华文媒体网站报道相关新闻后评论者寥寥可数。此外，在最受华裔社区用户青睐的社交媒体平台——微信上也没有出现相关的讨论话题。

But the news seems to have met with little reactions in the Chinese community. The story on Chinese media website has elicited little comments. And there is no discussion thread about it on WeChat – the most vibrant social media platform in the community.

 

随着互联网和社交媒体不断兴起，纸媒似乎越发失去其影响力。记者工作也已经被持有手机和社交媒体账户的普通市民取而代之。最近微信上最引人注目的话题莫过于加国持续飙涨的食品价格。随着一张标价为$21.21 /Kg的韭黄标价签照片在微信朋友圈迅速传播，大量愤怒的评论和如潮的咒骂不断涌现。

Amid rising power of internet and social media, print media seems to have lost its steam.  Journalist job has been taken over by ordinary citizens who hold a cellphone and social media account. The most appealing and catchy stories on WeChat recently are about the skyrocketing food prices in Canada. As the picture of sticker price of hotbed chives -- $21.21 /Kg has spread across WeChat groups, furious comments and waves of expletives have flooded in.

 

一名华裔社区成员称：“微信为我们提供了发泄愤怒和失望情绪的平台。发表评论后我竟感到如此释然和满足……而它向读者提供最新资讯的能力也超过其他新闻媒体平台。”

“WeChat provides a platform for us to relieve anger and frustrations,” a community member says. “I feel more relieved and satisfied after posting comments here… It also provides readers with more updated news than any other news media platform.”

 

但实际上，在高价韭黄事件的背后还有许多值得深思的问题。是什么原因导致韭黄价格暴涨？持续贬值的加币是否是唯一罪魁祸首？联邦政府为何没有采取预防措施，比如实施国家食品政策以促进地方农业发展，以避免出现食品价格如此不堪加币贬值冲击的窘境？

In fact there are a lot more than the sticker price in hotbed chives story. What has caused the price to soar? Is the falling Canadian dollar the only culprit to bear the blame? Why did the federal government fail to take preventive measures – such as providing a national food policy to strengthen a local agriculture -- so that the food prices would not be so vulnerable to the fall of Canadian dollar?

 

如果没有强有力的新闻媒体和强大的纸媒，消费者可能永远都得不到这些问题的答案。此外他们也无从了解穿越其市镇社区的危险物品运输火车所造成的安全威胁，并且也不会知道为什么士巴丹拿街突然会出现这么多无家可归的青少年。

Without a powerful journalism and strong print media, consumers can never get these questions answered. Neither would they be able to find out what risks they are facing when cargo trains carrying dangerous materials are transporting across their community. Or why, all of sudden, there are so many homeless youths appear on Spadina Street.

 

在新闻媒体遭受巨大冲击时，所有人都难逃其影响。在Postmedia宣布裁员后，加拿大记者协会主席Nick Taylor-Vaisey称，由于没有足够的新闻报道资源，许多当地社区感兴趣的话题都将无法见诸报端。

When news media is struck with a blow, everyone suffers. After Postmedia announcement, Nick Taylor-Vaisey, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, said that thousands of stories of interest to the local communities would be lost because there are not enough resources to cover them.

 

Taylor-Vaisey同时指出，新闻的多面性正在加国不断消失， 而这种不同声音正是 使新闻媒体保持活力，并有助于促进健全的民主政治的重要因素。

He also points out that Canada is losing the diverse voices that have kept the media landscape interesting and helped bolster a healthy democracy.

 

他向CBC News表示：“无论新闻室里是谁被炒鱿鱼，你都在向媒体行业传递坏消息。”

"No matter who you lose in a newsroom, you are sending a bad message to journalists," he told CBC News.

 

华裔社区对Postmedia的裁员消息反应冷淡不足为奇。新闻报道对于许多华裔移民来说是一个新概念，因为在中国几乎从未有过独立的新闻报道。在西方国家里，媒体扮演着强有力的角色，其肩负监督政府的职责，并会大胆揭露当权者的不法行为，而中国媒体基本是政府的御用工具。在中国不同的声音或政治观点往往被扼杀殆尽，难见天日。

The Chinese community’s callous reaction to Postmedia announcement is hardly surprising. For many Chinese immigrants, journalism is new concept that had hardly ever existed in their home country.  Unlike the strong and powerful role the media has played in the Western countries – from acting as government watchdogs to exposing wrongdoings of those in power, Chinese media  is largely controlled by the government. Different voices or political opinions are destroyed before they are allowed to see the light of the day.

 

对于在加国努力追求健康富足生活的华裔移民来说，只了解韭黄价格信息是远远不够的。如果没有强有力的新闻报道，他们就无法得享比中国公民更多的民主和政治自由。

But Chinese immigrants who strive to live a healthy and rich life in Canada need much more information than the sticker price of hotbed chives. Without a strong and powerful journalism, they cannot enjoy much more democracy and political freedom than their counterpart in the home country.