Bird's resume

In 2008, like all journalists, Bird was very busy and deeply felt. He participated in reporting almost all the major domestic news this year. As a member of the growing "post-80s" journalists, Bird is constantly accepting all kinds of experiences and challenges brought by running special articles.

But what really made Bird stand out was a resolution of the newspaper at the end of 2008.

June 5438+February last year, Morning News decided to send Bird and his colleague Yu Zeng to Somalia to conduct in-depth interviews on the causes, current situation and solutions of Somali piracy, which was widely concerned by the international community. At this time, the China warship is about to set sail to carry out escort mission in Somali waters. There is no doubt that this will be a very valuable news point. But at this time, there is no China reporter to interview in the hinterland. At the same time, Somalia is "a multinational journalist wyndell dichinson, an African country that is extremely horrible in the eyes of westerners, and it is not the same as any difficult interview I have experienced in China".

The difficulty of the interview can be imagined. Despite careful preparation, difficulties and accidents are still far beyond imagination. But these did not hinder their trip to Somalia. On June 5438+1October 65438+May, 2009, they finally set foot on the land of Somalia. Compared with some strange and even distorted reports on Somalia in western media, Bird's reports not only restored a real Somalia with pen and ink, but also fortunately interviewed real pirates. Their trip to Somalia itself became major news. After returning to China, CCTV News Channel interviewed two journalists and produced a special program called Looking for Somali Pirates, which was broadcast in March this year.

As a member of the growing news team, Bird is still young. However, from his personal experience in journalism in 2008, we can see a microcosm of the post-80s journalists: the post-80s, who have been controversial and criticized, have achieved all-round rise and maturity with professional enthusiasm and practical actions in the year of frequent news, and they have increasingly become the backbone of the media.

"Covering Somalia is a pioneering journey."

Reporter: At the beginning of this year, the Morning Post sent you and your colleague Yu Zeng to Somalia. You are the first journalists from China who successfully arrived in Somalia to cover pirates. Before you set out, how deeply did the domestic and foreign media, especially western journalists, report on Somalia?

Zhang: Before this interview, there were no reports about Somali pirates in the domestic media. CNN, AFP and other western media have only reported Somalia, but only a female reporter from France has really been to Somalia. The rest of the reports are mostly telephone calls, mixed with a lot of false news. These false information also caused a lot of trouble for our subsequent interviews.

Our interview is a groundbreaking news trip. Because everything was blank before, we have plenty of room to play. Personally, I prefer the original ecological description. Every day life of local people, even everyone, can become news. Through a series of reports, we tell you that Somalia is currently in a very closed state. There is no tourism, no so-called foreign trade, only some import business, and their economic development is restricted by many factors. But there are not only AK-47s in Somalia, but also a group of children who love to play football. Somali soldiers are not only cold soldiers with machine guns, they also have a gentle side.

Reporter: Someone has theoretically explained your interview from the perspective of media game. I believe that it must be the decision made by the newspaper after careful consideration before the action to support you to complete this transnational interview. Can you tell us your newspaper's initial thoughts on this operation?

Zhang: The Somali issue has always been very hot, especially the news that China sent warships there, which attracted the attention of Chinese people. We first confirmed that an in-depth interview with Somalia would definitely arouse readers' interest, and then after repeated consideration, we determined the most suitable time. Since then, the newspaper is most concerned about how to report well and how to ensure our safety.

At first, we tried to find the local China Chamber of Commerce or China businessmen, but the result was blank. Even if China has the task of sending aid abroad, the staff will only stay for a short time. Our embassy in Somalia has been withdrawn. Later, the Somali ambassador to China, Mr. Aiwell, helped us a lot and tried his best to ensure the personal safety of both of us in Somalia. He has very strong friends in China, and they generally welcome journalists from China to go to Somalia. They don't agree with western media reports. In the western media, Somalia is a primitive, barren and disorderly place. They don't report and reflect the real living conditions of local people, such as what local specialties are, what are the pillars of economic development, how to set up administrative institutions and so on. There must be something strange in their report. Comparatively speaking, they hope that journalists from China can report a more authentic Somali.

"Five soldiers armed with AK-47s are our bodyguards."

Reporter: In some major breaking news scenes, including battlefield interviews, the experience and qualifications of sending journalists are very important. In Somalia, do you feel the danger or confusion caused by inexperience?

Zhang: After all, there are differences between interviews in Somalia and general battlefield interviews, but there are also certain risks and accidents. 65438+1October 15 When our flight landed in Somalia, as soon as we got out of the cabin, we saw buildings surrounded by barbed wire and dozens of soldiers armed with AK47 rifles. In their eyes, we two China reporters are like whispers. The group of soldiers soon surrounded us, and Saeed, the leader of the armed forces in the airport area, immediately ordered us to return to the cabin and fly back to Djibouti immediately. He thinks that we are in danger at any time after entering the country, and he is unwilling to take risks for it. Later, things finally turned around. The Minister of Defence of Puntland Autonomous Government agreed to allow us to enter the country for interviews, but only if five bodyguards and two accompanying vehicles were employed, and all our activities must be approved by the guards in advance. The guards carry guns 24 hours a day, and are always ready to be in place to deal with emergencies within the range of 15 meters around us. Just outside our hotel, gunshots can be heard from time to time. But with those five armed guards, we are still safe.

Due to my inexperience, some accidents happened on the road. For example, when we flew to Djibouti, a neighboring country of Somalia, my luggage was lost. These include all my clothes, medicine boxes, chargers for mobile phones and cameras, etc. Tea and other gifts originally intended for Somali friends are also gone. Fortunately, I still have my passport, computer and charger.

Reporter: You wrote in your blog that in Somalia, you are like a "flying kite". Looking back now, is that feeling horrible? What was your worst plan?

Zhang: The main reason is that this interview often encounters some sudden changes, such as lost luggage, unreasonable cancellation of flights, poor communication and so on. At Djibouti airport at that time, due to special status and other reasons, our entry was suspended, and there were only two people in the huge waiting room, me and my colleagues. Being trapped for more than five hours really feels like being locked up. Djibouti airport is like the waiting room of China in 1980s. No international calls, the waiter can only speak French. A series of subsequent travel arrangements were also disrupted.

After security is guaranteed, what we are most worried about is how to keep in touch with the rear. There is no mobile roaming service in Somalia, and there is no signal in many places. Bossaso is an important port city in Somalia, but there is only one computer in the whole city to publish.

"They trust China reporters."

Reporter: CCTV's feature film once mentioned that in Puntland, two western journalists went to interview but were kidnapped. China's news is becoming more and more open, and China journalists are active in many international news events. From this experience, can you talk about your personal perceptual knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of China journalists in the process of international news reporting?

Zhang: Before going to Somalia, Somali Ambassador to China Ahmed Aweil told us that he hoped you would show the world a real Somalia. The Minister of Defence of Somalia also told us that the world knows too little about Somalia. They only know that there is poverty and war here, but they don't know what kind of help people need. People here are eager for everyone to know Somalia again.

I can feel that Somalis like China very much. Enthusiastic Somalis often come up to us curiously and say to us in Chinese, "We like China people and we need China people". They have deep feelings for China. In many places, China has helped Somalis. The roads aided by China have been well protected so far. Neither side of their civil war will blow up the road built by China. The reason is that it was built by friends from China. We found in the Somali free market that most of the products here are "made in China", and daily necessities from China are very common, such as China's white elephant batteries, playing cards, boots, lighters, shoe polish, etc., all made in China. The most interesting thing is that one of the guards who personally protected us used a mobile phone, which was a domestic copy. It's only 8 dollars in Somalia.

One thing is amazing. When we interviewed in Somalia, all Somalis who greeted us in the street could accurately recognize us as China, and they would never mistake us for Koreans or Japanese. Compared with the reports of western journalists, they have obvious trust in us.

Reporter: The trip to Somalia is only 10 days, but it is a rare and precious experience for any journalist. Have you ever thought about the possible impact of this experience on your whole journalism career? What do you think of the interview experience of 10?

Zhang: I'm a feature writer. Usually when I interview in China, I need the ability to respond quickly to the news. Also pay attention to the depth and angle of the manuscript I wrote back, which requires a reporter's high short-term explosive power. In Somalia, a week's interview settled me down. I am more of a static observation of the living conditions in Somalia, showing the true face of Somalis who are still positive and love life despite the poverty crisis. To put it bluntly, this interview itself is not difficult. As long as freedom of movement is guaranteed, all the news sent back is exclusive news. Of course, with our efforts, we finally interviewed a real pirate, which made our interview have a perfect ending.

"eight times to find hope in the earthquake-stricken areas"

Reporter: 2008 was an unsettled year for everyone in China. Your personal experience in 2008 is meaningful and valuable. You almost participated in the interviews of several most important news events in China this year. Your personal news experience can therefore be regarded as a microcosm of domestic journalists. Tell me about your experience in Wenchuan.

Zhang: After the earthquake, I went to Beichuan eight times. It feels different every time. The first interview after the earthquake mainly recorded and reflected the real disaster situation. At that time, I was very moved and witnessed many true feelings. I think I'm looking for hope in the disaster area. But when I came back from Sichuan and returned to Shanghai, walking on the busy Nanjing Road, I saw so many people laughing and shopping. Compared with what I saw in the disaster area, the environment changed too much, and the scene before me made me feel particularly angry. People in the disaster area are still groaning in pain. Why is everyone so heartless, as if nothing had happened? During that time, a group of colleagues who went to Sichuan for interviews often got together to drink, and sometimes everyone would cry when chatting. I didn't realize it was a post-disaster psychological syndrome at that time. I neglected that everyone was trying to make a smooth transition from a sudden abnormal state. Later, I went to Beichuan several times and found that it was also changing, and the mentality of the affected people was slowly adjusting and recovering.

Reporter: I saw on your blog that 2008 was your year of birth. You have a blog post specially written for 2008, which contains several key words: backpack, tears, anger and joy. These keywords are actually the same feelings of many young journalists like you. The post-80s generation has become the main force of domestic journalism. As one of them, what do you think of the post-80s social responsibility as a team?

Zhang: In the past, everyone called the post-80s generation irresponsible, saying that the post-80s generation was collectively "brain-disabled" and so on. But have you noticed that these comments have now been transferred to the post-90s generation? In fact, there is also a question of inheritance time. A few years ago, we "post-80s" didn't really integrate into this society, but after several years' work, everyone's heart has gradually settled down, and they have a thorough understanding of society and a strong sense of social responsibility.

Allow the post-80s generation to have a growth process. The "post-80 s" generation rose. Especially a journalist who wants to be a famous post, no matter what "post" he is, the news is not written with a pen, but with his feet. Without experience, there will be no experience, and there will be no "news". Learn to walk on your own, take your own path, and take the path that others have not taken.