每日英語跟讀 Ep.K219: Fox-Style News Network Rides Wave of Discontent in France

It’s the news network that claims it tells viewers what the “woke” mainstream media won’t. It says it fights for endangered freedom of expression, even as it has been fined by the government’s broadcast regulator for inciting racial hatred.

這家新聞台聲稱，能告訴觀眾那些「警醒」的主流媒體不會說的事。它說它為瀕危的言論自由而戰，即便已因為煽動種族仇恨而遭政府廣播監管機構罰款。

It is CNews — which in four short years became France’s No. 1 news network for the first time in May by giving a bullhorn to far-right politicians, opponents of fighting climate change and a high-profile proponent of the discredited idea of using the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19.

它就是CNews，短短四年，於今年5月首次成為法國第一名的新聞台。他們提供發聲管道給極右翼政治人物、反對應對氣候變遷人士，以及高調支持使用抗瘧疾藥物羥氯奎寧治療新冠的人，儘管這想法不被採信。

The model is Fox News — including the clashing talking heads and incendiary cultural topics — and it has worked. Owned by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, former chairman of the media group Vivendi, CNews increasingly helps shape the national debate, especially on hot-button issues like crime, immigration and Islam’s place in France that are expected to sway next year’s presidential election.

福斯新聞是其榜樣，手法包括衝突性訪問內容與煽動性文化話題，且已收到成效。法國億萬富豪、媒體集團威望迪前董事長博洛黑擁有的CNews，愈來愈會塑造全國性辯論話題，尤其是犯罪、移民、伊斯蘭教在法國地位等料將影響明年總統選舉的熱門議題。

In a country where trust in the media is very low, CNews emerged at a time of particular discontent — in the aftermath of the Yellow Vest protests of 2018, which, like the U.S. election of Donald Trump, prompted much soul-searching among journalists.

在一個對媒體信任度非常低的國家，CNews的出現，正值2018年黃背心抗議後民眾特別不滿之時，就像川普當選美國總統一樣，這引起很多記者深刻反思。

“People were sick and tired of the politically correct, and, in France, for the past 30, 40 years, news was in the hands of newspapers, television and dailies that all said the same thing,” said Serge Nedjar, the head of CNews, explaining how his channel positioned itself in a nation with four all-news networks.

CNews負責人內德賈解釋自家頻道在一個擁有四家新聞台國家的定位時說：「人們對政治正確感到厭煩，在法國，過去30年、40年，掌握新聞的報紙、電視與日報說的都是同樣的事。」

Unlike its competitors, CNews focused on “analyses and debates” of topics that Nedjar said mattered most to the French but had been ignored or insufficiently covered by the media: “crime, lack of safety, immigration.”

不同於對手，CNews專注於「分析和辯論」內德賈所說對法國人最重要卻被忽視或報導不足的事：「犯罪、缺乏安全、移民」。

He added: “We created this network by telling ourselves we talk about everything, including topics that are explosive.”

他還說：「我們成立電視台時告訴自己，我們無話不談，包括爆炸性話題。」

Nedjar said that he was unfamiliar with Fox News when CNews was created and waved away comparisons.

內德賈說，CNews成立時他對福斯新聞台不熟悉，也拒絕做比較。

“There’s the word ‘news,’ and all the better if it works like Fox News,” he said, referring to his network’s name. “Fox News works really well over there, I hear.”

他提及他的電視台名字時說：「有『新聞』這個字，若它能像福斯新聞那樣運作就更好了。我聽說福斯新聞在那邊作得很不錯。」

But critics say the problem is not with CNews’ choice of topics but with the way it treats them. They say it emphasizes on opinion, often backed up with little reporting or fact-checking, propagates popular biases and deepens cleavages in a polarized society.

但批評者說，問題不在於CNews的話題選擇，而是它對待話題的方式。他們說，它強調觀點，很少以報導或查核事實來支持，這助長了偏見，加深兩極分化社會的裂痕。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/5769927