During the interview, Wu Guangchao (second from left) moved to the stool and talked with the interviewer about the story of sticking to the grass-roots level (first from left is Chen Ning, a reporter of Zhejiang Daily). Photographed by Hu Ling

Only when journalists have been on the road can they feel the pulse of the new era.

This year is my ninth year as a reporter. In the accumulated experience of grass-roots interviews, I am used to thinking about this question: how can we go farther, see more clearly, think more deeply and write more deeply in the "back of the news"? By implementing these four issues, the journalists of the Party newspaper can lay a solid foundation for their feet, eyes, brains and writing skills.

On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2019, in Meitang Village, Qiantan Town, Deqing City, Zhejiang Province, 73 year old village doctor Wu (Wu Guangchao) became "angry". After several media reports, the story that he stuck to the village clinic for more than 50 years and only charged one yuan for medical treatment for villagers became a good story.

Practice and grassroots are the source of finding "the back of the news". Less than 3 days before the Lunar New Year, I decided to drive more than 100 kilometers to Meitang Village to have a look. But before meeting Lao Wu, a natural question arises: How can journalists extract new materials for a person who has already had a lot of reports? Only when you interview with thinking, can you grasp the problems accurately.

After reading the earlier report, I found that what the readers saw was a typical figure who was selfless and sacrificed his ego for the greater self. In fact, Lao Wu, who has been rooted in the grass-roots line for more than half a century, is not only the "health gatekeeper" of the villagers, but also the witness of the development of grass-roots health undertakings.

As a result, the breakthrough of this interview "came into being" - a social survey a few years ago showed that less than 5% of medical students were willing to work at the grass-roots level. Faced with the dilemma of the development of grass-roots medical and health services, what are Lao Wu's aspirations in the new year? What needs to be changed most in his clinic?

With these questions in mind, I came to Meitang Village and began to observe, judge, and distinguish in order to see what people have not seen. This is where the eyes of journalists are tested.

In the small health room, Lao Wu was still surrounded by the villagers on three floors inside and three floors outside. On the same day, there were also several persons in charge of the health department of Zhejiang Province. They removed a new oxygen generator from the car. When Lao Wu took over the machine, his joy and gratitude were unforgettable. So I walked up to him and asked, "How long have you been waiting for this new machine?" Lao Wu took me to a hospital bed in the clinic, pointed to an old traditional oxygen cylinder and told me that it was the oxygen generating equipment he had used in the past 10 years. When some bronchial and asthma patients need it, he often rode a tricycle with a 50kg oxygen cylinder to send oxygen to the village. When encountering rainy days or late at night, Lao Wu was most worried about the late delivery of oxygen and the villagers' illness.

It turns out that a simple appeal of the old village doctors reflects the weakness of the lack of basic health supplies and the difficulty in funding. What other difficulties did Lao Wu encounter when he was at the grass-roots level for many years? At this time, Lao Wu simply moved a few stools and told us the story of sticking to the front line: as he grew older, he was worried that there was no successor for his job, but villagers from far and near could not leave the clinic. Several relevant persons in charge at the scene also picked up the notebook to record Lao Wu's problems one by one, and they said in succession that Lao Wu's wish was also the wish of 12000 village doctors in Zhejiang Province. They must keep the problem in mind, strengthen research, and strive to solve the problem that grass-roots health talents cannot stay and sink.

What Lao Wu and I said was "the story on the back of the news" that had never been shown in earlier reports. Grasping this point, I completed the "Old Village Medical Oxygen Generator" manuscript of Zhejiang Daily for the Spring Festival. This is the time to test your writing skills, as well as your feet, eyes and brains. From the title to the layout to the words, I try to restore the scene, make good use of the language of the interviewees, and let the facts attract readers, impress readers, and infect readers.

"Kung Fu is beyond poetry". Always on the road, take the initiative to attack with problems and come to the scene in person, so as to catch the most exciting things and dig out the typical examples reflecting the essence of things. Although Lao Wu lives in a remote mountain area, his great love and responsibility are the spirit of the times, and his demands and aspirations are also the direction of grass-roots development.

The "four forces" advocated by journalists are also calling on us to stick to ordinary posts like Lao Wu and paint a vivid color for the times?

Share to let more people see