2021年经济学人 BBC大厦将倾,溃在旦夕(1)

Britain

英国板块

The BBC

英国广播电台

A colossus quietly crumbles¹

庞然大物的悄然坍塌

The corporation can cope with a hostile government and angry royals, but not with Mickey Mouse

BBC上能处理敌对政府，下能安抚愤怒的皇室成员，却斗不过米老鼠。

Relations between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the government have always been delicate. Stanley Baldwin bridled² at the BBC’s coverage³ of the General Strike of 1926. Margaret Thatcher⁴ was infuriated by its reporting from the Falklands. Hugh Carleton Greene, the corporation’s boss in the 1960s, confessed that, when dealing⁵ with Harold Wilson’s government, “I found my experience as head of psychological warfare⁶ in Malaya in 1947 extremely useful.”

英国广播公司和政府之间的关系一直很微妙。BBC对1926年大罢工的报道让斯坦利·鲍德温十分恼怒。BBC对福克兰群岛的报道让玛格丽特·撒切尔怒不可遏。20世纪60年代，BBC的老板休·卡尔顿·格林坦言，在与哈罗德·威尔逊政府打交道时，“我发现自己1947年在马来亚担任心理战负责人的经历非常有用。”

The latest spat⁷ pits the BBC against not just Downing Street but the royal family, as well as many viewers. An independent inquiry⁸ released on May 20th found that one of its most famous scoops⁹, an interview in 1995 in which Princess Diana claimed that “there were three of us in this marriage”, was secured partly by deception¹⁰. Martin Bashir, the interviewer, forged documents to persuade the princess that she was being spied on. A BBC probe at the time led by Tony Hall, who later became director-general, covered it up.

最新的口水战让BBC的对立方不仅有唐宁街，甚至还有英国王室以及众多观众。5月20日公布的一项独立调查发现，其最著名的独家新闻之一，即1995年戴安娜王妃声称“我们婚姻里有三个人”的采访，部分是通过欺骗获得的。采访者马丁·巴希尔伪造文件，让王妃相信自己被监视。当时由托尼·霍尔领导的BBC调查对此事进行了掩盖，霍尔后来成了BBC总裁。

The BBC promises a review of its editorial practices and another report into its dealings with Mr Bashir, who left the corporation earlier this month citing ill-health. Two former executives, including Lord Hall, have quit their new jobs. Prince William declared the revelations proof that the interview “established a false narrative” about his mother. The government is drawing broader lessons. Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, wrote in the Rupert Murdoch-owned Times newspaper that the BBC needed “a new emphasis on accuracy, impartiality¹¹ and diversity of opinion”. To avoid “groupthink”, he said, “cultural change must be a focus”.

BBC承诺将对其编辑行为进行审查，并承诺将提交另一份报告说明对巴希尔的处理情况。巴希尔本月早些时候以健康不佳为由离开了该公司。包括霍尔勋爵在内的两位前高管已经辞去了新工作。威廉王子宣称，这些披露证明采访“构建了关于他母亲的虚假叙述”。英国政府正在吸取更广泛的教训。英国文化大臣奥利弗·道登在鲁珀特·默多克名下的《泰晤士报》上撰文称，BBC需要“重新强调观点的准确性、公正性和多样性”。他说，为了避免“从众思维，文化变革必须成为重点”。

1 crumbles   

酥皮水果甜点( crumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This cake crumbles too easily. 这种蛋糕太容易碎了。
• This bread crumbles ever so easily. 这种面包非常容易碎。

2 bridled   

给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气

参考例句：

• She bridled at the suggestion that she was lying. 她对暗示她在说谎的言论嗤之以鼻。
• He bridled his horse. 他给他的马套上笼头。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

7 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 scoops   

n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句

10 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

11 impartiality   

n. 公平, 无私, 不偏

参考例句：

• He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。
• Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。