Friday, October 09, 2009

高錕獲得今年度諾貝爾物理學獎這單新聞﹐我讀了香港《明報》的報導﹐也讀了英國《泰晤士報》的報導。兩者有著很有趣的分別。

昨天提及過﹐兩份報紙對高錕的母校有兩個不同版本。《明報》說﹐高錕是帝國理工學院(IMPERIAL COLLEGE)的畢業生﹔《泰晤士報》則說﹐他畢業於胡域治理工(WOOLWICH POLYTECHNIC)﹐也就是現在的格林威治大學(GREENWICH UNIVERSITY)。 那是一所沒有名氣的學校。因為《泰晤士報》要跟讀者介紹該大學位於東倫敦。那天﹐這份英國歷史悠久報紙的標題為﹕「An engineering graduate of Woolwich Polytechnic in east London has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics」。

《明報》的標題則為﹕「高錕與兩科學家分享物理獎」。然後﹐在首段說﹕「光纖之父高錕與兩名科學家史密斯和博伊爾分享今年度諾貝爾物理學獎。高錕對光纖通訊研究有重大貢獻。」記者接著寫道﹕「諾貝爾評番委員會稱,高錕獲今次獎項一千萬瑞典克朗(相當於1085萬港元)的一半,其餘兩名美國科學家各佔四分一。」之後﹐便盡是三位得獎者的生平。當然﹐是高錕的佔大篇幅。

我不明白那位《明報》記者如何寫得成這篇報導。除非他根本沒有用腦袋想想。寫稿的時候﹐就算那是諾貝爾評番委員會發出的新聞稿﹐難道他不覺得有點奇怪的嗎﹖既然是與另外兩位科學家分享物理獎﹐為什麼高錕可以獲得獎項一千萬瑞典克朗的一半﹐那另外兩位科學家則只能瓜分剩下來的一半﹖為什麼不是各人得三分一呢﹖讀到這裡﹐我想﹐任何一位讀者都會懷疑這篇報導是否準確罷。

或者﹐香港華文記者已經習慣了生吞政府﹑新華社傳遞下來的文件﹐所以﹐便COPY-AND-PASTE諾貝爾評番委員會的官方稿件完事﹐完全沒有用心寫好自己的新聞稿﹐完全沒有意識到這當中有解釋的需要。

《泰晤士報》記者當然沒有犯這樣的錯誤。英國記者解釋道﹐原來﹐諾貝爾評番委員會決定把今年物理學獎分為二﹕一半給光纖研究﹐一半給電子圖像研究。由於高錕是唯一一個能夠在光纖研究得獎的人﹐所以﹐他可以得獎項一千萬瑞典克朗的一半﹔至於電子圖像研究﹐因為有兩位學者﹐所以﹐他們只能瓜分剩下來的一半。

介紹生平的時候﹐《明報》會提及許多各人資料﹐像何地出生﹑何時從中國大陸來到香港﹑那所中學畢業等等﹐不過﹐沒有交待一絲關於研究光纖時候的資料﹔相反﹐《泰晤士報》則只提及對其研究有直接影響的地方 - 畢業於胡域治理工﹐然後在英國電訊公司Standard Telephones and Cables工作的時候﹐開始研究光纖。

另外﹐在《明報》裡﹐除了用上「光纖科技提升通訊系統的能力﹐令到網絡傳送大幅提高」外﹐其實完全沒有跟普羅大眾解釋什麼叫做光纖﹐仿彿那是小學生也曉得的事情。這不是等於貶低諾貝爾物理學獎的價值嗎﹖至於電子圖像研究﹐那位記者則選擇用上「半導體影像電路」這樣的專業名詞﹐配上「CCD」這個拉丁字母縮寫﹐來介紹另外兩位學者的成就。那篇新聞稿是這樣寫的﹕「CCD研發成功,令數碼相機及影像系統,得到普及」。

《泰晤士報》是如何跟讀者介紹這兩項技術的呢﹖

When he began his investigation in the 1960s, fibre optics were only capable of transmitting light tens of metres before it petered out. Through a series of precise and methodical experiments Professor Kau identified the chief limiting factor was the absorption of light by iron impurities in the glass.

In a seminal paper in 1966, published only a year after he was awarded his PhD, Professor Kao suggested that glass fibres made from fused silica could represent “a new form of communication medium”. His suggestion sparked an intense worldwide race to produce glass fibres with low optical losses......Kao was the first to understand the impurities in glass and how to get rid of them. He had already spotted the communications opportunities, and therefore the great distances light could travel, while others were still thinking in metres. He was a revolutionary and his work is a fine example of how fundamental research can have a massive impact on our everyday lives.

As a result of his findings, modern fibre optics transmit 95 per cent of the light, allowing long-range, rapid communication.

CCD呢?

The device, which makes use of Einstein’s discovery that photons of light can be turned into an electrical signal, has had an array of medical applications, such as the development of endoscopes to gain images inside the body for diagnostics and keyhole surgery. In astronomy, the Hubble telescope records its vivid images of distant galaxies and supernovas on CCDs, as did the robotic Mars rovers.

是真的可以用顯淺的文字來介紹複雜的東西。要知道﹐《泰晤士報》其中一個辦報方針﹐便是要十三歲的孩子都能夠讀懂報紙裡百份之九十五的文章。這其中一個關鍵﹐就是新聞稿裡不能用上過深的字眼。

這一切一切都只在乎記者是否有心去寫好自己的新聞稿罷了。

5 comments:

May said...

hey...that's an interesting point of view..however, there are some more touching articles on Prof. Charle Kao and his wife...it's a really heart-warming piece...well, actually, the couple has now relocated to SJ/SF area and the very first TV interview was done by the local chinese broadcasting media there...of coz, the hk print and tv media did more in-depth stories for him...there days...

as a CU alumini, i wish i were the students of his time...though i'm not....as a gal, i found that there has been lots of love and caring between Prof Kao and his wift...

May said...

btw, he's st joseph old boys...only knowing it recently...

Anonymous said...

to be a ''good'' reporter is not that easy at all in a society like hkg, if only u know how a media operates, how reporters are supposed to work!

The Man Who Loves Everton said...

May,

I think I'm trying to comparing likes with likes. I'm sure there must be some soft pieces on the same page or on other pages. But one doesn't compare an orange to an apple, I suppose.

Talking about CU, haha, i'm glad to learn that HKU is still the top, not even among HK's, among the Asian, if i don't get it wrong, according to the latest league table published by the Times newspaper recently. One doesn't need a Nobel Prize Laureate to boost one's ranking in that league table......haha. Sorry about that. =P

The Man Who Loves Everton said...

Anonymous,

I'm sure it's not easy in post-97 era.