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NARRATOR:Listen to part of a conversation between a student and her history professor.
FEMALE STUDENT:So I definitely wanna write my term paper on American journalism in the eighteenth century.That old copy of the New York Daily Gazette you showed us, the one printed from the library's microfilm... just seeing a newspaper that was published in 1789, that was really cool.
MALE PROFESSOR:Yes, reading old newspapers can be a powerful experience, especially to a budding historian like yourself.As a resource for scholars and researchers, I don't think any form of publication really captures the day-to-day life of a community better than a local newspaper.
FEMALE STUDENT:Yeah, I mean I knew that the number of newspapers exploded in the eighteenth century, but I figured they all deteriorated before the technology was invented to preserve them, or y'know, make copies.
MALE PROFESSOR:Well, actually, before the mid-1800s, newspapers were printed on fairly sturdy paper made from cotton fibers. Those that survived are in surprisingly good shape.
FEMALE STUDENT:Are there many more copies of the Gazette on microfilm.
MALE PROFESSOR:Yeah, we've got a great microfilm library on campus. You'll find it invaluable, I'm sure, as you research your paper.Um, but also talk to the librarians, because they're creating an online archive of their microfilm collection.I'm not sure of the project's status, but if it's done, it'll probably save you time.[getting back on topic] So, um, eighteenth-century journalism; you must realize that that topic's too broad for this assignment.
FEMALE STUDENT:I do. So one idea I had was like, looking at an important world event, like maybe the French Revolution of 1789, since we just finished a unit on it.The readings you had given us were incredibly vivid; I loved them. But they were translations of French writers...historians.So, I thought it'd be interesting to pick the Gazette and one other American newspaper to see how each covered the Revolution, how the journalists reported it from America's perspective...
MALE PROFESSOR:Hmm. Interesting approach. But remember, I'll be grading your paper based on the details you include.And at some point in your paper, you'll want to focus on a particular event of the Revolution, like maybe the storming of the Bastille prison?
FEMALE STUDENT:How 'bout the formation of the French National Constituent Assembly?
MALE PROFESSOR:Sure, that would work.
FEMALE STUDENT:And since I'm gonna look at newspapers from two cities, I could read the editorials, the opinion pieces, to find out what each community thought about the National Assembly.
MALE PROFESSOR:[warningly, not excitedly] OK, but... y'know, I once attended a history conference where a professor presented a paper on the American press in the French Revolution.She was discussing the development of democratic ideals here and in France at the time.[cautioning student against overgeneralizing] But, ah, she also pointed out that using old newspapers as primary sources... to be aware that they reflected the values of only a segment of society and should not be used to draw conclusions about all Americans.[no regrets] I don't think I held onto her paper, but it was subsequently published, so you'll have no trouble tracking it down on the Internet. Let me give you her name...
旁白：请听一位学生和她的历史教授之间的对话。
学生：所以我的学期论文想写关于18世纪的美国新闻业。你展示给我们看的那份年代很老的《纽约每日公报》，从图书馆的微型胶卷中打印来的，看到一份1789年印刷的报纸简直太酷了！
教授：是的，读旧报纸是一种很有力的体验，尤其是对像你这样的历史学家新秀来说。作为学者和研究者的一种资源，我认为没有任何形式的出版物能比一份当地报纸更好地捕捉一个地区的日常生活。
学生：是的，我是说，我知道18世纪时报纸的数量暴增，但是我以为它们在发明出保存技术或者能被复印之前全都损坏了。
教授：事实上，在19世纪中期以前，报纸都印刷在非常坚硬的纸上，这些纸是用棉纤维做的。保存下来了的那些状况都相当好。
学生：微型胶卷上还有很多其他的公报吗？
教授：是的，我们学校里有一个非常棒的微型胶卷图书馆，我相信在你为论文做研究的时候，你一定会觉得它是无价之宝的。但是也记得和管理员们聊一聊，因为他们正在给他们的微型胶卷收藏创建一个网上的档案馆。我不太清楚这个项目现在的进度，但是如果已经完成了的话，可能会给你节省很多时间。所以......18世纪的新闻业，你一定要意识到，这个题目对这次的作业来说太宽泛了。
学生：我知道，所以我的一个想法是讨论一个重要的世界事件，比如1789年法国大革命，因为我们刚学完这个单元。你给我们的阅读材料非常生动，我很喜欢，但是他们是法国作家、历史学家的翻译作品。所以我想拿公报和另一个美国报纸来读，看看每个报纸上当时是如何报道这场革命的应该很有意思，看看记者是如何从美国的角度报道这个事件的。
教授：很有趣的方法，但是别忘了，我会根据你论文中包含的细节来打分。所以在你论文中的某个部分，你要关注一下那场革命的一个具体活动，比如占领巴士底狱。
学生：法国国家立法议会的形成怎么样？
教授：当然可以啦！
学生：而且既然我要看来自两个城市的报纸，那我可以读一读社论，观点的部分，看看每个地区对那个国民大会是怎么看的。
教授：可以，不过，我曾经出席过一个历史大会，在会上一位教授展示了一篇关于法国大革命时期的美国新闻业的论文。她讨论了那个时期这里和法国的民主理想的发展。但是她也指出了，使用旧报纸作为主要信息来源......要意识到它们反映的只是社会上一部分人的价值观，不应该被用来得出关于全部美国人的结论。我不记得我保留了她的论文，不过它后来被发表了，所以很容易就能在网上找到的。我把她的名字告诉你。