Chapter 42 APPENDIX IV RED IN ACTION

——Tang Shizeng, photojournalist of Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency reporter Luo Gengqian Movie star Alain Delon arrived in Beijing. On an occasion where no reporter was allowed to take pictures, a camera was squeezed in. The camera was operated by a young reporter in a red shirt. On the Beijing-Tianjin Highway, at a speed of 140 miles per hour, a "Mercedes-Benz" car closely followed the police car of the Public Security Bureau. The young man in the red jacket was sitting in the car. , he pressed the shutter. A fire broke out in the guest house of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We quickly arrived at the scene and rushed into the fire. The one with the camera was still in the red shirt...

This young man who often wears a red shirt and is active in the news scene is Tang Shizeng, a photojournalist from Xinhua News Agency.He likes red and needs red. He thinks red has a sense of urgency. Red is passionate and competitive, and it is easy to leave a memory on people and provide convenience for the next interview. A year and a half ago, he was a teacher at the China University of Political Science and Law, and before that, he was a student at the Department of International Politics at Peking University.With his diligence and his half-baked works pasted on straw paper, last January, he knocked on the door of Xinhua News Agency.Since then, a new name has popped up in the newsroom of the photography department, almost every day.The colleagues quickly matched the name with the red figure that came and went in a hurry.Just when Xiao Tang was worried that his Pantax camera might go on strike due to overwork, he got a Nikon.

"Give me two Nikons...", he was so excited that he said it to everyone like Fan Jinzhongju, so that he accidentally cut his hand with a knife while working.A few days later, because he got the camera as he wished, he jumped happily, hit his head on the door frame, and "patched".Xiao Tang was indeed over excited, only those soldiers who had personally experienced the flames of war understood the importance of good weapons. Just when everyone thought Master Tang was smug and like a fish in water, Xiao Tang suddenly felt guilty.He desperately learns from experienced journalists, hoping to gather the strengths of others, and he has a large group of masters.While seeking advice from colleagues around him, he began to study how world-renowned photojournalists work with relish just like he was fascinated by the history of world wars back then.

He admired Robert Capa of the United States, who did not forget to press the shutter the moment he stepped on a landmine, and died with a smile on his face. He felt that it was worth dedicating himself to the cause he loved. He took what Vico, the chief photojournalist of Reuters in the Philippines said, as his motto, "I work hard for my fax line." Photos, what news people want to see, and how to take pictures of such news.He hopes that his readers can get to know him and recognize him in the interview scene and in the byline of news photos that appear in newspapers.In the more than 400 days since he got the camera, he has sent more than 700 photos at home and abroad. This kind of work efficiency really impresses colleagues in Xinhua News Agency.

Some people think he does not look like a reporter for an official news agency, probably because he is not dignified enough, or because his interview channels are too informal.Indeed, many of the interview clues that Xiao Tang obtained are somewhat evil. This is because he is well-connected and has a wide range of contacts. He has acquaintances from government officials who hold real power to the old doorman in a certain messenger room. Be his "eyeliner". People saw him as simple and honest, funny, and his surname was Tang, so they gave him the nickname "Donald Duck", which he readily accepted.In fact, this belied his agility to some extent.Who can believe that he used the method of being caught by the staff on duty to approach the interviewee? He once opened the camera wide and rushed to stuff the advertisements of the photography department of Xinhua News Agency into the hands of the staff on duty. He has sneaked into the encirclement and arrived at the shooting scene.

Tang Shizeng, a 27-year-old young reporter, although the quality of the photos he took needs to be improved, even though he is still very immature, but his red figure is in action after all... (This article was originally published in China Youth Daily on September 8, 1988)