什么是新闻?历来的定义是:“新闻,就是新近发生的事实的报道。”这个定义对不对呢?我的看法是:也对,也不对。说对,因为它正确地规定了新闻必须是客观事实的反映。说不对,理由有二:其一是这个定义太广了,广到攒不清边际。刚才院子里的母鸡和公鸡斗架,难解难分;昨晚邻居的父子对奕,父胜子败……诸如此类的新近发生的事实,难道说都能成为新闻的本源吗?显然是不行的。其二是这个定义又太窄了。既称“新近发生的事实”,总不能是一两年以前发生的吧,否则又哪能称得起“新”而且“近”呢? What is news? It has always been defined as: “News is the story of a recent fact.” Is this a definition right? My view is that neither is right nor right. Right, because it correctly stipulates that news must be a reflection of objective facts. No right, for two reasons: First, this definition is too broad, wide margin to save unclear. Just the yard of the hen and cock fighting rack, indifferent difficult points; last night’s neighbors father and son on the game, the father wins defeat ... ... and so on the recent occurrence of facts, can all say that can become the source of news? Obviously not . The second is that the definition is too narrow. It is not always a matter of a year or two ago to call both “new facts”, otherwise, what can be called “new” and “near”?