紐時賞析／超人的另一秘密弱點？新聞倫理

超人劇照。美聯社

Superman’s Other Secret Weakness? Journalism Ethics.

超人的另一秘密弱點？新聞倫理

If Superman’s greatest weakness is green kryptonite, then Clark Kent’s may well be the ethics of journalism — thanks to his work as a reporter who has to cover his own heroic alter ego. It is a conflict in the character apparent since his first comic book appearance.

如果超人的最大弱點是綠色氪石，那麼克拉克．肯特最大的弱點可能就是新聞倫理：因爲他身爲記者，卻報導自己是英雄的另一身分。這種角色衝突，從他首次亮相漫畫時就已明顯。

In his 1938 debut, Superman saves a woman wrongly sentenced to death. Clark is relieved that the front-page news of her release makes no mention of the Man of Steel’s intervention. Clark also likes that his job often leads him to tips on where Superman is needed. But when he is assigned to report on the hero, he feigns enthusiasm. He tells his editor, “If I can’t find out anything about this Superman no one can!” Disingenuous much, Clark?

在 1938 年首次登場中，超人拯救了一位被錯判死刑的女子。克拉克看到頭版報導未提及鋼鐵英雄的介入而感到放心。他也喜歡記者工作能幫助他得知需要出動的地點。但當他被指派報導超人時，則假裝興奮，對主管說：「如果連我都查不到這個超人，那就沒人能查到了！」——這是否有點虛僞呢，克拉克？

Flash forward to modern times.

切換到現代。

In the new “Superman”film, which opened in theaters last Friday, Lois Lane  is surprised when Clark allows her to interview him as Superman for The Daily Planet. Her probing inquiries agitate him. She also chastises him on the ethics of reporting on himself, since he would know the questions in advance — generally a no-no in responsible journalism. But she shouldn’t judge him too harshly: She’s dating Clark and probably should recuse herself from the interview, too.

在上週五上映的新《超人》電影中，當克拉克讓露易絲．蓮恩以《星球日報》名義採訪他時，露易絲感到驚訝。她的深入提問令他感到不安，也批評他報導自己違反新聞倫理，因爲他提前知道所有問題——這在負責任的新聞業中是禁忌。不過她也不該過度指責他：畢竟她是他的女友，也應該回避這場採訪。

It is a good moment for Lois, who does not always fare so well in comic books. In 1986, when Superman was rebooted by writer and artist John Byrne, Lois is determined to get the scoop on the new hero. She lands an interview but too late. Clark has the exclusive, gives it to The Planet and is hired by the paper, which is when he and Lois first meet.

這對露易絲來說是個不錯的場面，因她在漫畫中不常佔優勢。1986年，漫畫由約翰．拜恩重啓時，露易絲立志搶得新英雄的獨家採訪。但太遲了，克拉克搶先完成報導，交給「星球日報」，因而獲聘。那也是他與露易絲的首次相遇。

“That has always been the conceit, that he gets his job by reporting on Superman and therefore proving himself to be an ace reporter,” Mark Waid, a comic book writer, said in an interview. “I personally reject that notion because I don’t understand what that proves other than he’s really good at taking advantage of the system.”

漫畫作家馬克．韋德在訪談中說：「超人能獲聘，就是因爲報導了超人，證明自己是王牌記者，這一直是角色設定的核心。但我個人並不認同，因爲這只是他善於利用體系。」

Kelly McBride, a journalism ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, said in an interview that “if a journalist has a double life, there’s bound to be problems.”

新聞倫理專家、波因特學院的凱莉．麥克布萊德表示：「如果一名記者有雙重身分，麻煩必定會出現。」

Clark “can’t be a secret newsmaker and then a mild-mannered reporter,” McBride added.

她補充：克拉克「不能既當秘密新聞事件的主角，又是舉止溫文的記者。」

McBride, the chair of the Poynter Institute’s Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, had a firm opinion about Lois being Clark’s boss: “How is HR letting her supervise her husband? That’s also highly problematic.”

波因特學院新聞倫理與領導中心主任麥克布萊德，對露易絲是克拉克上司也很有意見：「人資怎麼會允許她監督自己的伴侶？這很有問題。」

文／George Gene Gustines，譯／國際中心

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