The latter half of 2022 began, and the typhoon washed away the heat and boredom of summer, giving me a clearer feeling - both in the air and in my spirit.
I don't know if the "Law of Attraction" is taking effect, but lately, I've been thinking that I want to meet a group of people like this, and they're just looking for me - they're exploring the relationship between the rapidly changing media ecology and high-value content.
Recently, I've "re-met" a group of alumni from the School of Journalism. Although we are in different corners, I found that we are all searching for a way to verify some things in our common "values". Although we may not have frequent contact or often hang out together, when there's an issue, everyone will quickly respond.
Recently, various recruitment promotions are hot, and this year is exactly my 10th year of university graduation. Some people think that the campus now only has skill training and secularity, but I still feel something different in these conversations and in this heavy rain.
I try to recall the campus, college, and major in my memories, about those lovely people, things, and events, how they shaped our common values, and what has been affecting me all along.
Those lighthouse-like existences
In the popular TV drama "Awakening Ege" from last year, there is a scene where everyone is discussing how a news reporter should carry out their work, with the famous modern journalist Shao Piaoping on the podium.
This scene gave me a special sense of familiarity. This is because this topic was discussed in our first class of "Introduction to Journalism" during our Freshman year. Names like Shao Piaoping, Zou Taofen, and Fan Changjiang will appear on our course materials. In that turbulent era, their emotions were simple and sincere, and their writing was influential. Mr. Fan Changjiang is also the father of our Dean Fan Dongsheng.
Therefore, in the value system of education that we have received, journalists and editors in the media are a group of people with a special mission.
During high school, the teachers I met, the books I read, and the Phoenix TV I liked all stimulated my dream of entering the media industry in the future. At that time, I read the autobiography of the famous host Hu Yihu in a bookstore. It mentioned his idol Peter Jennings, Larry King, and the famous war correspondent Peter Arnett.
Peter Arnett, the war correspondent who has won the Pulitzer Prize, interviewed Saddam Hussein, bin Laden, al-Assad, and Castro, and has experienced the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War, is the person whom Hu Yihu admires and who will have lunch with us at the east gate of the school, discuss recent news events, and give lectures to high school students.
He asked us in the classroom: “Does anyone want to become a war correspondent in the future?”
Nobody raised their hand. But his existence itself is constantly inspiring us.
Our Dean Chen Wanying, near 70 years old, is constantly discussing the “digital era”, “media innovation”, and “technological revolution”.
Our teacher Alice Yang, advised us to understand the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the industrial chain. She had written The Biography of Sun Yunxuan, The Father of Semiconductors - The Biography of Zhang Zhongmou, and Guo Tai-ming's Hegemony.
Our Professor Wei Yongzheng, is a scholar who has devoted his life to the study of journalism and legal system.
Interviews that are engraved in my memory
I also joined the school newspaper and founded the Grassroots with my classmates. By going through many similar work processes as many major newspapers and websites, we were able to publish content, reflecting the hard work and efforts of the editorial staff and campus journalists.
I also had some interview opportunities that other students would not have access to, those people from my childhood TV days have come to life right before my eyes.
The reconstruction of the Wenchuan earthquake-stricken, the Olympic diving champion, the grass-roots female village official in Chaozhou, and the Jieyang Xiaomei Art Troupe... Unique memories of the times have also left a profound imprint in my mind.
The birth of the idea of change
The ink smell of newspapers is a special odor. On many hot summer afternoons, I spent a lot of time at an old computer working on the layout of the school paper.
My teacher gave me a lot of guidance, reminding me that every word, punctuation mark, and blank space on each sheet of paper was something that needed to be thought about repeatedly.
Some senior colleagues at journalist's day lectures exclaimed how difficult it is to persist in their dreams and even shed tears in frustration; others at academic forums fought fiercely over whether certain scenes should appear in reporting, their faces red and ears burning…
But new media is another special scent - countless bytes and information jumping on the screen, providing a place for young people to try their fresh ideas and providing a quick channel for the dissemination of information.
At that time, I encountered some new terms on the Internet: iOS, Android, Weibo, Zhihu, Wikipedia, short videos, online live broadcasting, fans, users...
I knew that some of the things in the classroom might no longer be suitable for the development of the times, and I had to change, to do something that there were no textbooks or senior references for.
End.
Due to limited space, these memories haven't expanded too much into details. 14 years ago when I first entered school, and 10 years ago when I graduated, I was just an inconspicuous young girl. That young girl had a heart that loved and wanted to explore a big proposition, and these values and memories are priceless to me.
Maybe you are like me, have been lost and taken the wrong path in this fast-changing age, but there are stories and thoughts that can transcend time and space. When time washes away everything like a typhoon, you will understand what is more precious and irreplaceable.