Media Watch | Four misunderstandings and improvement methods in economic news commentary

In recent years, the Economic Daily has adhered to and deepened the concept of "commenting on the newspaper", expanding the mainstream public opinion position, and a large number of excellent commentary works have emerged. In the past three years, the author has written and published more than 100 economic news commentaries, most of which have been reprinted by key news websites of the central government, and some have even appeared on hot searches and become Internet hits. Based on the experience of commentary writing and editing, the author believes that there are the following four misunderstandings in some current economic news reviews, and proposes improvement methods accordingly to enhance the dissemination of manuscripts.

First, broad but not specialized, miscellaneous but not refined

Grasping the valuable "point" is better than laying out the shallow "surface"

Some commentaries are generalized and pointed, staying at the level of superficial descriptions and criticisms of problems, and empty words and clichés, resulting in a wide range of words but not specialized, miscellaneous but not refined, and the taste of reading is the same as chewing wax and tasteless. To talk in generalities is not to go deep and to float on the surface. The root cause is the lack of in-depth research and professional research on the problem. Investigation and research is the foundation of seeking things and the way to achieve things. Commenting on manuscripts is often due to the failure to find out the situation and find out the problems accurately, which naturally makes it difficult to carry out forward-looking thinking and profound expression.

Practice brings true knowledge, research and investigation of the facts. In May 2023, the author conducted a research and interview in a southern province and found that homestays in some areas deviated from the basic positioning, and the homogenization phenomenon was serious; In some areas, there are signs of quick success and quick profit in the process of attracting investment, and preferential policies such as non-standard tax payment have been introduced; There are also some areas that have traffic misunderstandings in the process of promoting rural revitalization...... In response to these practical problems, the author communicated with experts in depth, sorted out ideas, formed opinions, and published 3 comments on the 2nd page of the Economic Daily from June 18 to 20, 2023, respectively, "Country B&Bs Should Avoid Homogenization", ""Involution" Investment Promotion is Necessary", "Rural Revitalization Should Get Rid of Traffic Misunderstandings", talking about problems, finding crux of the problem, and talking about countermeasures.

Integrity and innovation often need to start from the details, rather than all-round efforts. From a formal point of view, the innovation of economic news commentary can be not only the innovation of arguments, but also the innovation of arguments, as well as the innovation of arguments. No matter what kind of innovation, it has its value and significance. From the perspective of content, economic news commentary can not only present new problems in economic and social development, but also provide new ideas for old problems, and also make forward-looking predictions on trends and emerging phenomena. In short, grasping the valuable "point" is better than laying out the shallow "surface".

2. Appeal to emotions and lack of rationality

Looking at complex economic hot events, we must be objective and rational and dialectical, and we must not stop at emotional catharsis

Some commentaries appeal to irrationality in economic phenomena, incite public sentiment with simple judgments of right and wrong, and interfere with the normal trend of public opinion. Some authors carry out moral kidnapping on the operation mode, transformation mode, and development direction of market operators, make judgments on right and wrong based on the general standards of market development, and completely deny the innovation that has found another way; There are also writers who lack basic empathy, hold the moral baton, and indiscriminately blame the business entities for all the problems that arise in the market economy......

Under the influence of irrational emotions, some bizarre theories appear on the Internet from time to time. For example, "to develop new quality productive forces, it is necessary to eliminate traditional industries" and "all localities must launch new quality productivity projects as soon as possible...... These views have caused negative social consequences. In this regard, the "Economic Daily" published four consecutive comments to resolutely fight back. Among them, the front page on March 14, 2024 published "The development of new quality productivity is not to abandon traditional industries", pointing out that traditional industries do not represent backward productivity, but form the basis of new quality productivity. On March 16, the front page published "The Development of New Quality Productive Forces Should Prevent a Rush to the Top," pointing out that the development of new quality productive forces should be highly vigilant against "rising in a hurry and scattering in the end," and that all localities should grasp their own positioning in the overall layout of regional coordinated development and national strategy in accordance with local conditions. This set of comments has accurate intentions, strong awareness of problems, and dialectical reasoning from an objective point of view, which has played a role in clearing the source, and has been disseminated more than 100 million times.

Sitting in a well and watching the sky is a taboo in value judgment. The level of value judgment directly determines the quality of a review. Looking at complex economic hot events, we must be objective and rational and dialectical, and we must not stop at emotional catharsis. It should be noted that economic recovery is a process of wave-like development and tortuous progress. Observing China's economic development, the growth rate is an important indicator, but it is not the only indicator, and we must look at the essence through the phenomenon and see the general trend from short-term fluctuations.

3. Confusing concepts and putting the cart before the horse

Only by clarifying the concept and explaining the truth clearly can it be possible to arouse resonance

Some authors lack the corresponding basic economic knowledge, do not understand the true meaning of professional terms, confuse concepts, confuse arguments, and find it difficult to justify themselves; There are also some authors who do not grasp the deep laws behind economic phenomena, and the logic is not clear, and it is difficult to put the cart before the horse, making it difficult to provide readers with enlightening views.

Different from other fields, economic news has a certain degree of professionalism, and the process of reasoning needs to be more rigorous and in-depth. For example, in response to the chaos of some real estate agents claiming that they can buy a house with a "negative down payment", the author proposed in the article ""Negative Down Payment" Looks Like a Pie but Is a Trap" on the second page of the Economic Daily on May 28, 2023, that "negative down payment" is a word game of stealing the concept and a blatant provocation of the legal bottom line and the red line of the system; In view of the rising prices in the holiday tourism market, and even the phenomenon of "group price increases", the author proposed in the article "Following the trend and rising prices often outweigh the losses" on the second page of the "Economic Daily" on April 22, 2023, that it is the long-term plan to make consumers feel that they are worth the money, and if businesses want to take shortcuts, the effect is often counterproductive; In response to the phenomenon that the price of toothpaste has risen too quickly, often tens or even hundreds of yuan, the author pointed out in the article "Where does the toothpaste below 10 yuan go" on the 12th edition of the Economic Daily on November 1, 2023, that labeling premiums, as a commodity marketing method, have been rampant in recent years......

Reason travels all over the world, but reason may not be able to convince people. Only by clarifying the concept and explaining the truth clearly can it be possible to arouse resonance. In this regard, first of all, it is necessary to strengthen the learning and accumulation of professional knowledge, and effectively improve the level of understanding; Secondly, it is necessary to explain the phenomena in economic life thoroughly and clearly, with facts and support, and data and basis, which can not only inspire people, but also cause people to think deeply; Third, we must be cautious and discerning, be good and reasonable, extract the essence from the rough, remove the false and retain the true, from the surface to the inside, from this to the other.

Fourth, generalize and talk on paper

Clarify the relevant issues from the theoretical source, and analyze the specific problems in detail

In the economic news commentary, when faced with how to solve many specific phenomena in the economy and society, we often see views such as "strengthening supervision", simplifying and absoluteizing the causes of problems, and giving suggestions and countermeasures that deviate from reality and are contrary to the concept of market economy; There are also some authors who are detached from the reality of economic and social development, speculate on the problems existing in some industries, and take result-oriented as the criterion for judging, talking on paper and detaching from reality.

For example, some Internet celebrity anchors deliberately design scripts and scripts, and deceive consumers through live broadcast and false marketing. The author pointed out in the article "Live Streaming Cannot Be Consumed and "Trusted" in the second edition of the Economic Daily on October 9, 2023, that the chaos has been repeatedly banned, not only due to the lack of supervision by functional departments, but also because the platform regards "traffic is king" as a value pursuit and has been inactive for a long time; Regarding the problem of some real estate agents repeatedly leaking citizens' information, the author suggested in the article "Real Estate Agents Leaking Personal Information Is Not Tolerated by Law" on the 5th edition of the Economic Daily on September 10, 2023, that for the rectification of problems in key areas, we must not treat headaches and pains, but promote the comprehensive management of the whole chain.

It should be noted that the necessary supervision and control in the market economy cannot be absent, but supervision is not omnipotent. From an economic point of view, regulation is an act of administrative intervention to address market failures. There are many reasons for market failure, including but not limited to externalities, information asymmetry, monopoly or imperfect competition. It is necessary to solve relevant problems in a targeted manner, clarify relevant problems from the theoretical source, and analyze specific problems in detail, rather than generalizing intervention through administrative supervision. Some market chaos is not due to a lack of regulation, but sometimes due to too much regulation. Under the conditions of a market economy, too much administrative control will not only affect fairness and efficiency, but also affect income distribution, and eventually lead to more market chaos.

Finally, no matter how good the review work is, only by allowing users to really read it can it exert its due positive value. In the context of the Internet, if good ideas and content lack expression skills, the whole article will be overshadowed, and the communication effect will be greatly reduced. The higher the degree of marketization and internationalization of the economy, the greater the impact of market expectations and market confidence on economic operation, and the more important the guidance of public opinion. Development is always achieved through continuous problem-solving, and problem-solving is the key to promoting development. Only by being good at changing backward thinking and accelerating the pace of innovation can more excellent review works accurately reach the audience and truly grasp the initiative of public opinion guidance.

Source: China Reporter

Edited by Feng Luyu

Second instance Zeng Min

The third trial Chen issued a document