Veteran Journalist Hao Wang Shares Insights into Media Industry

To provide SCU students with deeper insights towards media industry, Hao Wang, an experienced media worker and a Soochow alumnus, was invited to give a lecture in Puren Lecture Hall on the afternoon of November 15^th. As a sequential part of “2016 SCU Chinese New Writing Competition” in which over 100 students from 18 departments had participated, Wang’s lecture, titled “Qualities the Media is Looking for in Future Talents,” appealed more than a hundred audiences.

Hao Wang, who had worked for China Daily News, TVBS and EBC News for years, obtains extensive experiences in the field of media. He said the chaos and poor quality of news reports in the media industry in recent years are truly alarming. Therefore, for those who intend to work in this field, Chinese writing must reign as an important skill. Wang used Cao Zhi’s poem, referring soybeans as a metaphor for brotherhood and the fight for throne, to present how concise and profound Chinese writing can be. “Chinese would be the dominant global language in 21^st century. Those with higher Chinese proficiency will be more adept in writing than their fellow competitors because of skillful use of Chinese idioms and proverbs,” he mentioned. 

By giving an example of a student who has become a competent reporter of arts news because of the talent in dancing, Wang also pointed out the importance of knowledge and skills of certain specialized fields for students who want to work as journalists. He considered it essential for students to develop some personal interests and hobbies in addition to the knowledge school education has given. 

Wang later criticized that current media coverage pays too much attention on those shallow contents such as showbiz gossips. But in this worsening situation, students as future media workers will have more opportunities to make a difference and stand out from the crowd. To make it possible, students must widen their horizons, improve their writing skills, and develop their expertise and foreign language proficiency because those are what the media is looking for in employees.

Wang’s lecture was wrapped up with an enthusiastic Q & A session where students showed their curiosity over everything from how news anchors train for their cadence to which newspapers are the most recommended. At the end Wang stressed that the future belongs to the younger generations. “How the media would fare and look like is in your hands,” he said.