The formation of business hosting style?

Although it can't be compared with the talk show of the same name founded by Murrow, the TV program Face to Face hosted by Wang Zhi is still a TV program with personal style, and to some extent, Wang Zhi and his Face to Face formally practiced the spirit that Murrow advocated that "TV media should be highly involved in social affairs, have a strong sense of social responsibility and shoulder the responsibility of guiding the public". As a host, Wang Zhi has become more and more mature, and gradually formed a "questioning" style recognized by some audiences. But at the same time, this colorful way of "asking questions" has attracted many viewers' doubts and even disgust: Is Wang Zhi's doing this a personal heroism? Still fighting bravely? In this regard, Wang Zhi's hosting style is far from the ideal communication effect. This paper tries to interpret the advantages and disadvantages of his hosting style from three angles: communication source, communication mode and communication mentality.

First of all, from the reliability of information sources.

In the talk show, the host should act as the intermediary role of organizer, mobilizer, listener and gatekeeper. He is not a complete information source, but it is undeniable that the host and the interviewed guests together constitute a part of the information source. The host represents the position and viewpoint of the media to a certain extent. In the process of communication, his language and attitude are also spreading information, and at the same time, he enjoys information with the audience within the same experience range. Therefore, the prestige of the host is an important condition that affects whether the audience chooses and accepts its information dissemination and how effective it is. According to the research on the influence of information sources on the communication effect by hovland and others of Yale School, the three variables that restrict the communication effect are: the credibility, popularity and motivation of the communication source. Now focus on two aspects: credibility and popularity.

1, the credibility of the host.

American communication scholars have investigated the age of the hosts of three major commercial television networks (CBS, NBC and ABC) in the United States, and come to the conclusion that 43-year-old hosts are called the "golden age"-mature, steady, authoritative and masculine, which is easy to win people's goodwill and trust. Tian Yongming, the general director of CCTV TV host contest, believes that a convincing TV host should have the following basic qualities: considerable cultural literacy; Unique language ability; Personality characteristics and connotation, this is the most important. ④ Wang Zhi's age (40 years old), demeanor (mature and steady), education (doctor's degree), language ability and personality characteristics are basically consistent with the above points. Moreover, from Hunan Satellite TV to CCTV, from "The Son of the Orient" to "News Investigation" and then to "Face to Face", Wang Zhi's many years of journalist career has given him rich experience and experience, and it is also his dependence.

2. The popularity of the host.

Yale's research confirms that the popularity of communication sources is the same as its credibility and is directly proportional to the communication effect. ⑤ Talking about Wang Zhi's high popularity today smacks of "making a hero in a few minutes". In April, 2003, during the SARS period, Wang Zhihe's "Face to Face" column rushed to Guangzhou and went to the hospital for filming, becoming the first CCTV crew to enter the intensive care unit of SARS patients. Then a series of interviews with Zhong Nanshan, Zhang, Chen Fengfuzhen and other news figures produced by Face to Face were arranged for high-density broadcast in CCTV prime time (18 days and 7 issues), which won unanimous praise from the audience and experts. Wang Zhi, the host of Face to Face, which has just been broadcast for three months, has become the "extraordinary column" and "extraordinary host" in the eyes of "extraordinary period" audience. In 2003, Wang Zhi won five awards from CCTV, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Central directly under the authority for his outstanding performance during the SARS period, and was awarded the first batch of May 4th Youth Medals of the Central directly under the authority. At the end of 2003, he won the highest honor "Golden Microphone Award" of China radio and television host, and was named the annual TV program host by New Weekly, Sina.com and other media. At present, most of the interviews and reports about Wang Zhi that we can collect from many media reporters in China are from May to July, 2003. However, the high popularity of Wang Zhihe's Face to Face can't be entirely attributed to chance. Although people have different views on Wang Zhi's hosting style, he is, after all, one of the few hosts with personality and thought. More importantly, Face to Face, with him as its producer, really targeted at people who "influenced your life, changed your judgment and attracted your attention" to a certain extent, such as Zhong Nanshan and Ma Jiajue during the SARS period. Catch those who are in the news whirlpool in time, so that Face to Face and Wang Zhi have maintained a high popularity since SARS. At present, the media in China has developed to the stage of brand competition. An excellent host with brand value is the most vivid and personalized brand of TV station, which not only has a wide appeal to the audience, but also has an important influence on the loyalty of the audience. ⑥

Second, from the perspective of mode of transmission.

1. On the validity of questioning from "two-sided theory" and "vaccine theory".

The research results of hovland of Yale School on the formation and change of attitude show that unilateral news is the most effective for those who initially agree with news and those with low education. Both positive and negative news are most effective for those who initially oppose the news and those who have received higher education. All landowners according to William mcguire's vaccine theory, to make people adhere to a certain belief, we must make him realize the weakness of this belief. Only by experiencing a slight attack in advance can he resist a stronger attack in the future. One of the most remarkable features of Wang Zhi's hosting style is that he is good at "asking questions", and some even call him a "model of asking questions". Wang Zhi himself talked about this question many times in an interview: "What is questioning? It is an attitude, but it is also a means. It connects these two points and fully demonstrates this process. " "Only through this way of asking questions, only by solving all the problems from the opposite side, can I believe that this day is blue and I dare to believe that this end point is true." Combining the two-sided theory with the vaccine immunization theory, we can understand Wang Zhi's query as a kind of "desire to promote first and then suppress", or objectively produce the effect of "desire to promote first and then suppress". On the one hand, in the face of doubt, guests are bound to express themselves, which can arouse their desire to talk. On the other hand, by asking questions, Wang Zhi puts forward some negative news that is not conducive to the guests, and people generally "doubt" or "don't understand" or even slightly attack the parties (guests), and the guests will inevitably make corresponding explanations, which in turn promotes the audience's understanding or understanding of the guests to a certain extent. The most effective issue is the frontier story of Shui Junyi on April 12, 2003. Wang Zhi's sharp question actually gave Shui Junyi an opportunity to explain and clarify. After the program was broadcast, the reprimand for Shui Junyi's desertion and cowardice was weakened.

Wang Zhi once said that another important point is that you should be smarter when asking questions. For example, ask, "You said you would come at 4: 30, why did you come at 5: 00?" Just ask, "You said you would come at 4: 30." This is not only polite, but also makes the other person feel "oppressed". For example, in the first issue of Biography of Yang Zhenning, Wang Zhi asked, "We are all happy for you and hope you can be happy. Then can you speak for Weng Fan? What does she love about you? " Instead of directly asking, "You are so much older than him. What does she love about you?" Moreover, making good use of questions makes the program full of conflict and drama, and also increases the visibility of the program.

2, the use of language symbols and non-language symbols.

Wang Zhi has a strong language ability, which is manifested in his interview ability. He skillfully uses all kinds of interview skills. "What's next?" "Is that so?" "Why?" The questions are very close, and there are many interactive questions, hypothetical questions and negative questions. He also paid attention to the background, details, hypothetical questions and negative questions, and used many useful methods to dig each other's hearts. Besides, Wang Zhi is also good at using body language: leaning forward slightly, tilting his head, frowning, laughing, gesturing, deliberately pausing in conversation, etc. Body language is a kind of nonverbal symbol, and its function mainly lies in spreading attitudes and emotions, assisting verbal communication and replacing language. Pet-name ruby Wang Zhi's usual body language often conveys some meanings that cannot be accurately expressed by language: questioning, challenging, thinking, sympathy, expectation and so on.

3. Hosting style is more rational than emotional.

Generally speaking, emotional persuasion is more effective than rational persuasion. As Shi Lamu said, "A lot of experiments show that emotional appeal is more likely to lead to attitude change than logical appeal". In the formation and change of attitude, the most critical factor lies in emotion. Attending for the host, coupled with the spread of emotion, it is easy to cause emotional blending and soul collision between the host and the receiver, which will eventually produce * * *. The success of Wang Zhi's earlier editions of Face to Face also cited this theory. In a series of interviews with medical workers and experts on the front line of "anti-Africa", Wang Zhi shed tears several times and moved the audience. However, this is only an extraordinary move in an extraordinary period. Generally speaking, Wang Zhi's hosting style is too calm, rational and introverted, as if he always stays out of the way, which obviously lacks the expression of this emotion. Jason, the producer of News Investigation, once said that Wang Zhi was more emotional than emotional in the program: "As the spokesperson of public feelings and public values, the host has many places to show his interests." "Emotional expression is also a very important thing that constitutes the charm of a host. In the program, it is not necessarily impossible to see emotions from beginning to end. This is not necessarily good. " "Xiao Cui touched me a few times. After listening to each other's narrative, he couldn't control his emotions and seemed a bit rude. But it was his professional gaffes that conquered people's hearts and made people feel that Xiao Cui was very compassionate and kind. "Compared with Cui Yongyuan, what Wang Zhi lacks is the natural expression of this touching emotion.

Third, from the communicator's mentality.

1, the revelation of media hegemony consciousness.

At the seminar on Wang Zhi's works organized by News Investigation in 2000, Dai Jinhua of Peking University pointed out, "We must pay attention to the key columns of CCTV, including the issues of' power media' and' media power'. There is no doubt that CCTV, as a medium of power, is not only a symbol, but also a power directly transformed from political capital and cultural capital. This super media has been deeply involved in people's daily life, making people feel the power of the media. The combination of these two things is another form of superpower, not a political form. Can be used to treat ordinary people, but also can be used to treat the whole society. Some columns don't seem to realize the fact that they are the medium of power, but use their own power as a medium to the fullest. The power of this media, journalists and cameras, when they really represent a part of the public or the weak, still have that kind of enthusiasm, but at other times, they show a violent and aggressive factor. " Although Dai Jinhua quoted Wang Zhi as a positive example when talking about this passage at that time, we can see that after hosting Face to Face, Wang Zhi often revealed the "invasion" of this media force, unilaterally endowed himself with the so-called "fair" and "balanced" discourse monopoly in the hosting process, ignoring the right of guests to communicate on an equal footing and ignoring the audience's own judgment, so that he often played a role. Don Cushman, an American communication scholar, said: "If a person wants to enter interpersonal communication, he doesn't need to agree with the other person's thoughts, but he must support the other person as a unique self or an important individual. Positive respect is the most basic of this interaction. " However, this kind of "support" and "respect" for each other is hard to see in Wang Zhi's interview. Take the first issue of June 2004 14 as an example. "You mean other cases can't be irrefutable?" "Ma Jiajue individuals certainly have no ability to compensate. Since there is no repayment ability, why should we make such a judgment? " "Isn't an unenforceable judgment just a dead letter?" In the face of professional lawyers, Wang Zhi's questions put on a "supreme arbitrator" posture above him, which is undoubtedly an improper use of media power.

2. The enlightenment of "parents' mentality" in communication activities.

According to each person's psychological and personality characteristics, American sociologist Benyr divided three kinds of self-mentality, namely, parents' mentality, adults' mentality and children's mentality. Among them, the parents' mentality is marked by authority, superiority and autocracy, while those with high parents' mentality and low others tend to be "hidebound, paternalistic and lack of sense of humor". Many people who don't like Wang Zhi think that his performance in the program is too critical, self-righteous, aggressive and lacking in warmth. Wang Zhi once defended himself like this. "I think a person who appears as a guest in the program can express his thoughts and opinions, and then he becomes a strong party, but at this time his opponent becomes weak because he has no chance to appear in the program, and what I have to do is to speak on behalf of the weak party, so sometimes what I show may be for the guests. However, it was Wang Zhi's idea that led him to show too much "parental mentality" in the program. First of all, this is reflected in Wang Zhi's "paternalism"-"gatekeeper" role consciousness is too strong, and he always tries to unilaterally control the topic of the program and the direction of the conversation in the program. This tendency of "autocracy" often leads to the capture of some more valuable information. For example, in the first issue of Zhang's "Diary of the Frontline" on May 9, 2003, Zhang was right about the question "What did this collective leave you, a temporary collective? Why do you miss it so much? "It is precisely because she thinks that medical staff risked their lives to stay in the temporary ward. There are not many reasons and it is a very natural choice, so Wang Zhi is the most touching." It's actually a profession for you. What motivates you? Do I have to find a reason? ""you have no special treatment during this period. " "For honor?" Obviously, to induce Zhang to say something more noble and tragic according to his ideas is undoubtedly gilding the lily. If we give up asking questions and compare Zhang and his colleagues' reluctance to go to the "front line" with the phenomenon that medical staff in Taiwan Province fled the hospital at that time, the questions raised may have better results. Secondly, it is manifested in excessive "questioning". Although the above article analyzes the function and advantages of "questioning", excessive questioning will often cause anxiety and even anger of the respondents, produce a defensive mentality, and even produce resistance, making it more difficult for them to open their hearts. Especially for some defensive, experienced and prepared guests, such as Zhao Benshan, this kind of questioning is even more redundant and stupid.

Four. conclusion

Talk shows are usually called real host programs, because the role and value of hosts can be fully displayed in talk shows. On the other hand, the quality of the host has become a key factor in the success or failure of the talk show. ⑾ The success of Face to Face cannot be separated from Wang Zhi's excellent field control and interview ability. Even those who complain a lot about Wang Zhi's hosting style will admit that Face to Face is still a program full of expectations. According to Jason, the fourth generation producer of CCTV news survey, the host has three levels: eyes, brain and heart, while Wang Zhi is at the level of brain, that is, the audience has a kind of appreciation and admiration for the facts he provided, his knowledge structure and interview level. But as a host, it is not enough to just stay at the level of "entering the heart". Only by respecting the audience's psychology, following the law of communication, truly integrating yourself into the program and truly "looking up" with the guests and the audience can we "walk between people's hearts" and reach the realm of "entering the heart". ,