Chương 52: News is always a weapon

Everyone turned to look.

The one who shouted was a boy in his early twenties sitting in the last row. He had an angry expression on his face, stood up, pointed at Arthur, and said:

"You are misleading the public with fabricated content! You're making up conversations and then claiming it's revealing the truth. This is deception!"

"You're a liar! A liar who can write!"

The audience erupted in uproar.

Dean Williams stood up: "Young man, please watch your words..."

"It's alright, Dean, let him speak. I want to hear his opinion," Arthur interrupted the dean.

He looked at the boy and asked, "What's your name?"

"Peter Lennon," the boy said, "I'm a third-grade student."

"Okay, Lennon. You're calling me a liar. I want to ask you first, have you read 'A Little Advice'?"

"What?" Lennon was taken aback.

"Jonathan Swift's 'A Little Advice.' You should have studied it, right?" Arthur said.

"I've studied it. It's a literary classic. Swift suggested that the Irish sell their children to the English as food to solve their poverty problem."

"It seems you have indeed read it. So, did Swift really advise the Irish to do that?"

"Of course not. That was irony. He was criticizing British oppression of Ireland."

"Absolutely right. So, according to your logic, isn't Swift also a fraud? He wrote false advice and used false content to express his views. Isn't that also 'misleading the public'?"

Lennon's expression changed: "This... this is different..."

"What's the difference? Because Swift is a writer, she can create fiction? Because I'm a journalist, I can't?"

"Yes! News cannot be fabricated! This is a fundamental principle of journalistic ethics!" Lennon exclaimed.

Arthur looked directly at Lennon and pressed, "Then let me ask you again, do you consider 'A Little Advice' a work of literature or political criticism?"

Lennon hesitated: "Both."

"Yes. It is both a literary work and political criticism. It uses literary techniques to achieve the purpose of political criticism."

"Then why can't the news do that?"

Why must the news media confine itself to a narrow framework?

"Why can't we use literary techniques to achieve the goals of journalism?"

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

Lennon wanted to say something more, but his classmate next to him tugged at his sleeve and told him to sit down.

Arthur surveyed the entire room and said earnestly:

"I know many people disagree with my approach. That's normal. If everyone agreed, it would mean that what I'm doing has no value."

"Truly valuable innovations will always be controversial. But what I want to say is that journalism cannot stand still."

What was news like a hundred years ago? It was just simple news reporting: who did what, where.

"Later, in-depth reporting, investigative journalism, and commentary and analysis emerged."

"Every innovation will be met with opposition, with people saying, 'This isn't news.' But ultimately, these innovations are accepted and become part of the news."

"Now, I'm trying to bring satire into the news. Maybe I'm not doing it well enough, maybe my methods need improvement. But at least I'm trying. At least I'm exploring new possibilities."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"Some people accuse me of criticizing others for using the news as a weapon to attack, while I myself am using that weapon. This accusation is quite interesting."

"News has always been a weapon. A newspaper can make a politician famous, or it can destroy him. A newspaper can promote a reform, or it can prevent one."

"The key issue is not whether news is a weapon, but who this weapon serves."

"If a newspaper conceals the truth and whitewashes the truth in order to curry favor with the powerful, then it becomes a weapon of the powerful."

"If a newspaper fabricates facts and maliciously slanders others in order to attack dissidents, then it is using personal grudges as a weapon."

"But if a newspaper exposes corruption and criticizes injustice for the public good, then it becomes the people's weapon."

Many students stood up, and the applause lasted for several minutes.

Dean Williams stood up.

"Time's almost up. Let's thank Mr. Kennedy again for his excellent speech."

The applause grew even louder.

The students stood up, some even jumping onto chairs to applaud. People in the hallway also clapped, and the sound carried outside the building.

After the speech, a group of students surrounded Arthur.

"Mr. Kennedy, could you please sign your autograph?"

"Mr. Kennedy, may I ask you a few questions?"

"Mr. Kennedy, will you continue writing 'Yes, Mayor'?"

Arthur patiently answered every question and signed autographs for every student who asked.

A pretty female student wearing glasses squeezed to the front.

"Mr. Kennedy, I am Emily, the student council president. We would like to invite you to give another speech next time, specifically on how to write satirical articles."

"Sure. But I have one condition." Arthur smiled.

"What are the conditions?"

"You need to write a good news article first, and let me see it."

Emily's eyes lit up: "Great! We'll definitely write it!"

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Dean Williams walked over: "Mr. Kennedy, today's speech was a great success."

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Dean."

"No, we should be thanking you. You taught the students a very good lesson. Not just about journalism, but also about how to think and how to stick to your beliefs."

"I believe that many of the students here today will remember this speech in the future."

Looking at the empty auditorium, and recalling the young faces he had just seen, Arthur solemnly said to Williams:

"Dean, I have a request. If possible, I would like to have the opportunity to give lectures at the academy in the future. It doesn't have to be a formal lecture; a small discussion would be fine."

Williams' eyes lit up: "That's a fantastic idea! We'd love to hear it!"

"Then it's settled," Arthur said.

Arthur walked out of the hall; it was already dark.

The streetlights came on, illuminating the Columbia University campus.

Several students followed behind him, chattering about the speech he had just given.

"Did you hear that? He left those reporters from the big newspapers speechless! He's so cool!"

"That was so satisfying! Especially that guy from the New York Daily, he turned green with envy!"

"How can someone be so handsome and talented! I admire him so much!"

"I want to write powerful articles like Mr. Kennedy someday!"