2015年经济学人 地方电视台 小城眼光

 

Local television

地方电视台

Small-town views

小城眼光

The fruits of government meddling¹ in the television market

政府干预电视市场的后果

FOR more than a decade staff and media students at the Grimsby Institute, a college in Lincolnshire, have broadcast worthy² programmes to a smattering of nearby cable TV subscribers. In November their audience quadrupled. With a new name—Estuary³ TV—and a prominent spot on Freeview, a free digital television platform, their news and discussion shows now reach 350,000 homes around the Humber. A station long propped⁴ up by grants and donations is courting advertisers.

十多年来，林肯郡格里姆斯比学院的一些员工和传媒专业的学生，一直为附近零星几户有线电视用户播报有价值的节目。11月，他们的听众翻了两番，而且名字改成了河口电视，同时还在免费数字电视平台Freeview上占据了显要位置，现在亨伯河附近收看他们新闻和讨论节目的用户达到了35万家。一个昔日需要靠补助金和捐款苦苦支撑的电视台现在居然可以招商引资了。

Estuary TV is the first of 19 television stations launching in Britain's towns and cities over the next year—the fruits of a plan laid out in 2010 by Jeremy Hunt, then the culture secretary, to revitalise local media. Ministers hope they will help promote small businesses, train new creative talent and generally make people more civic-minded. London will get a station in March, Birmingham in the summer. Ofcom, the television regulator, plans to license⁵ about 30 more.

河口电视是19家电视台中第一个登陆英国乡镇的电视台，下一年的目标是城市，2010年文化部长亨特为了复兴地方传媒业而制定了此计划，现在的发展就是计划结出的果实。部长希望这个举措可以带动小型企业，培训新兴有创意的人才，并且逐步让人们变的越来越热心公益。明年3月，伦敦就会新增一电台，而伯明翰在明年夏天也会跟随其脚步。电视总局英国通讯部计划，明年会再批准成立30余电视台。

High costs and low positions on on-screen TV channel guides have killed previous efforts to launch local services. So the government has tilted⁶ the market to help them. In England and Northern Ireland local television will air on Freeview channel eight, a coveted⁷ slot. A single operations centre in Birmingham, set up with ￡25m($41m) from the television licence fee, will keep them on air. Over three years the BBC will dole⁸ out a further ￡15mto the stations, in exchange for local footage that can be used in its own news reports.

屏幕上电视频道的高成本、低地位，使先前许多开展地方电视服务的努力都付诸东流。对此，政府为他们调整了市场。英格兰和北爱尔兰本地的电视，会在每晚8点黄金档在Freeview频道播出。独立运营的电视节目将集中在伯明翰展开，需要花2500万英镑（约合4100万美元）的电视许可费才能保持其正常播出。未来三年，为了能让地方电视中的画面能被自己的新闻报道所用，BBC将要为此多付1500万英镑给地方电视台。

These bungs have attracted some well-known firms. STV, a big Scottish broadcaster, plans services in Glasgow and Edinburgh; the Evening Standard, a newspaper, will launch London's channel. In many towns local papers are involved, in part for fear of interlopers such as Made TV, a firm from the capital which will run services in Leeds, Newcastle and three other cities.

这一系列福利吸引了许多知名的企业。苏格兰一家大型广播公司，苏格兰广播，计划对格拉斯哥和爱丁堡提供电视服务；《标准晚报》将会登陆伦敦。许多当地报纸都包括其中，某种程度上是担心伦敦Made TV这样的入侵者会在利兹、纽卡斯尔和其他三个城市推行电视服务。

Most will air only a few hours of new telly each day. Local bulletins are a condition of the licence; cheap chat shows are inevitable⁹ (station controllers like to cite “The One Show”, a jovial¹⁰ BBC programme, as a model). Bill Smith of Latest TV, Brighton's new channel, hopes viewers will want to contribute films on topics that engross¹¹ them. Estuary TV is airing a nightly talk show for fans of the paranormal.

大多数城市每天只用几小时播放新的电视节目。本地新闻快报是许可执照的条件之一；廉价的谈话类节目是难以避免的（广电总局总喜欢引用BBC一档娱乐节目“一个秀”作为反面教材）。布莱顿一个新频道“最新电视”的史密斯希望，观众能够提供可以鼓舞他们的影片。河口电视为一些灵异事件爱好者还提供了夜间谈话节目。

Britain's local channels are inspired by America. But there the market is different, and more favourable¹². The tiniest local channels, of the kind lovingly lampooned¹³ in “Wayne's World”, a comedy, are publicly funded. Others are supported by advertising¹⁴ from large regional businesses. But Britain's high streets are dominated by national firms who advertise nationally. Jamie Conway of Made TV insists big chains that do not yet splurge on costly¹⁵ campaigns will welcome a chance to experiment in smaller media markets. His team have already secured more than half the cash they hope its channels will make next year.

英国的本地频道是受美国启发。但是英美的市场是截然不同的，而且英国的更有优势。最小的本地频道是政府资助的，这类频道会被亲切的笑话成喜剧《反斗智多星》。其他频道由大型地区企业的广告支撑。但是英国高速公路的广告还是全国广告的国企占了主导地位。Made TV的康维坚持认为，大型连锁不会在耗资高昂的活动中撒钱，而会倾向在小型传媒市场中尝试。他的团队已经筹集到所需资金的一大半了，他们希望频道明年就能建立。

In titchier towns where local television stations are planned, such as Cambridge and York, the economics look grimmer. Small businesses increasingly advertise online. Simon Terrington, an analyst¹⁶, thinks channels may survive through the benevolence¹⁷ of local bigwigs and the generosity¹⁸ of volunteers. “People get involved in media for no money,” he points out. Regional studios will test that.

已规划的地方电视台在例如剑桥和约克这样的小城镇中，经济问题似乎更加严峻。小型企业不断增加网络广告的份额。分析家特林顿认为，本地频道要靠当地权贵的手下留情和志愿者的慷慨解囊才能幸免于难。他指出，“人们被无偿的卷入了传媒”。地方电视会检测这一说法。

1 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

2 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

3 estuary   

n.河口，江口

参考例句：

• We live near the Thames estuary.我们的住处靠近泰晤士河入海口。
• The ship has touched bottom.The estuary must be shallower than we thought.船搁浅了。这河口的水比我们想像的要浅。

4 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

7 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

9 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

10 jovial   

adj.快乐的，好交际的

参考例句：

• He seemed jovial,but his eyes avoided ours.他显得很高兴，但他的眼光却避开了我们的眼光。
• Grandma was plump and jovial.祖母身材圆胖，整天乐呵呵的。

11 engross   

v.使全神贯注

参考例句：

• I go into bookshops and engross myself in diet books and cookbooks.我走进书店，聚精会神地读关于饮食的书以及食谱。
• If there was one piece of advice I would offer to improve your reading rate it would be simply to engross yourself in the material you are studying.如果让我给你一个忠告来提高你的阅读速度的话，那就是全神贯注的研究你的资料。

12 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

13 lampooned   

v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His cartoons mercilessly lampooned the politicians of his time. 他的漫画毫不留情地嘲讽了他那个年代的政治人物。
• He was lampooned for his political views. 他的政治观点使他成了受奚落的对象。 来自辞典例句

14 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

15 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

16 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

17 benevolence   

n.慈悲，捐助

参考例句：

• We definitely do not apply a policy of benevolence to the reactionaries.我们对反动派决不施仁政。
• He did it out of pure benevolence. 他做那件事完全出于善意。

18 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。