本文節選自《經濟學人》一篇名為新聞法規之戰暫被擱置(The battle over newspaper regulation rolls into the long grass )的文章。考研中所涉及的外文文章思路清晰,層次清楚,因為我們的主要目的是選拔,所以,考點是一定要突出化。在這里,老師給大家節選了幾段,供大家參考泛讀:
“IT IS not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” That (quoting Winston Churchill) is one MP's verdict on Britain's battle over newspaper standards. His judgment, if grandiloquent, is accurate. The clash between politicians and newspapers, which began with the revelation in 2011 of widespread phone-hacking by a tabloid, appears to have reached a conclusion. On October 30th the government approved a new regulatory system to discipline Fleet Streetmisbehaviour. But the hostilities have merely been postponed.
The new system is the product of months of debate and compromise. Reacting to the phone-hacking scandal, the government commissioned a judge to investigate press standards. After a tortuous, year-long inquiry, Lord Justice Levesonrecommended a tough new regulator backed by legislation.
In March the three main political parties responded by proposing a royal charter—an ancient device seen as less offensive to a free press than statute would be. The charter provides for a regulator as well as a “recognition panel”, free from press or political control, to police its independence. The regulator could impose fines of up to £1m ($1.6m) on newspapers and insist on prominent corrections. The charter also exposes newspapers that refuse to join the regulatory regime to punitive damages if cases are brought against them.