蔡琰、臧國仁

Yean Tsai,Kuo-Jen Tsang

想像 ； 新聞 ； 讀者

imagination ； news ； reader

「想像」一向是虛構敘事的主要內涵，如小說或電影類型均常透過此一概念來表達敘事者之創作意念與內在感知。新聞專業領域卻常視「想像」為忌諱，乃因新聞理論奠基於實證主義而篤信客觀義理，認為新聞記者撰寫報導時應恪守中立原則，既要避免寫作內容有任何作假或想像的編織，也要力圖「據實報導」，以免閱讀者產生遐想或天馬行空式之幻想。本文挑戰新聞與想像必須對立的觀點，進而提出需要重視想像的原因，透過整理相關文獻後提出十個可能引起讀者對新聞文字產生意象的文字線索，繼以「聯合知識庫」裡與老人相關之新聞報導為例，由自願者標示各類引起其想像之新聞寫作內容。初步歸納以下發現：(1)一些有關人地事物、日期、數目等資訊報導較不引起閱讀者想像；(2)新聞報導裡的形容詞、細節描述、感官／空間／生命經驗等說明常易引起閱讀想像；(3)不同閱讀者對同樣新聞描述之想像或有不同。

News professionals have long held that writers should not arouse the imagination of their readers but write in an impartial manner. The rationale for this doctrine is that readers need to knox, "the truth and nothing but the truth." The purpose of this study was to challenge the doctrine of impartiality by analyzing news stories mostly about aging people. The researcher collected news stories from the UDN data bank by using ten indices relating to the concept of imagination. The results show that stories about names, places, and dates infrequently aroused the imagination of readers. Stories using adjectives and imagery, describing details of events, and delineating human experiences frequently stirred the imagination of the readers.