据说早年间的北大荒是沃土千里，一铲子下去，都是油乎乎的黑土。现在国内的新闻，存在同样的情况，未被开掘的新闻非常多。
就以近一周左右的国际科技新闻来说吧。
航天飞机、太空游客是不用说，新华社重点做的话题，报纸成篇累牍，有兄弟说已经看腻了；
另一个可能的选题是美国菠菜的大肠杆菌。这个事儿很有意思，因为它涉及如何发展有机农业、如何包装储存蔬菜以及如何生食新鲜蔬菜等一系列问题，而这些也正是中国白领阶层饮食的进化方向，这个选题新华社做了一点儿，但不充分。出现这种情况很简单，驻外记者有限，而且这些记者也不是八爪鱼，写好航天飞机就没有余力了；
世界卫生组织近日连爆了两个新闻：
一、第一个是支持DDT在室内使用控制疟疾。http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr50/en/index.html
DDT现在译为滴滴涕，以前也叫过敌敌畏，有点儿岁数的中国人对它应该不陌生。对于这种药的争议是长期性的，目前多数国家已经禁用了，但它的杀虫效力却无人质疑。如果把DDT的发现、历史争议、被禁过程以及现在世卫组织态度的转变发一条稿子，应该会很好看，可惜新华社的国外分社只来了一条稿子，说是南非支持世卫的建议。
二、另一个是发出瘟疫警报的。禽流感这两年大家都烦死了，但是世卫再次发出有关警报，还是有得一做的。可惜新华社没有相关稿子。
出现这种问题，原因还是媒体关于依赖新华社。从国外经验来看，成熟的媒体，通讯社只是提供基本消息，并不会对消息进行精加工，这部分活儿应该是报纸或者电视台自己做的。这样，由于不同的取向，不同的选题只要有价值都会在一部分媒体上被挖掘。
但在国内，媒体则要求新华社提供精加工产品。限于人力等各方面原因，新华社的记者编辑也只能就少数一个或者两个话题进行精加工，而其他有价值的选题就被废掉了，非常可惜。
形成这种现状的原因很多，一时也说不清，但在政策资源等允许的空间内，我们新闻从业人员依然有进步的空间，这是我们每个从业人员应该思考的。
附文：
WHO urges Member States to be prepared for a pandemic
Fifty-seventh session of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific
18-22 September 2006, Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand, 19 September 2006-The increasing threat from emerging infectious diseases makes it imperative that countries prepare for rapid response and containment activities and for a worst-case scenario such as an influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised today.
In addition to taking urgent steps to prepare for an immediate response to emerging infectious diseases, such as avian influenza and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), public health officials also must focus on the mid- and long-term battle against these diseases, the international health agency said.
Many countries and areas do not have the required national and local core capacities in place, such as rapid response and containment activities, to avoid serious health threats, which have the potential to cause substantial economic and social disruption.
"Many health systems were undermanned and under-resourced when SARS struck, causing great human suffering, enormous fear and staggering economic losses," said Dr Richard Nesbit, WHO acting Regional Director for the Western Pacific.
In response to these needs, the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, WHO's governing body in the Western Pacific Region, today endorsed the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group on the Implementation of the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases (APSED). The Regional Committee, composed of Member States in the Western Pacific, is meeting here to review WHO's work in the Region and to plan for the future.
APSED serves as a road map for countries and areas to strengthen core capacities for effective preparedness, prevention, early detection and rapid response to emerging infectious diseases. The Strategy was jointly developed by the WHO Regional Offices for South-East Asia and the Western Pacific.
The Regional Committee also urged Member States to use the Strategy as a stepping stone towards the effective implementation of the revised International Heath Regulations, also known as IHR (2005). These regulations set out new obligations for the notification, verification, assessment of and response to significant public health threats. Although the IHR (2005) does not enter into force until June 2007, countries and areas in the Region have been requested to comply immediately and on a voluntary basis with provisions relevant to the risk posed by avian influenza and pandemic human influenza.
A few months after WHO declared the containment of SARS in July 2003, an outbreak of avian influenza A(H5N1) hit Asia and has since spread to Africa, Europe and the Middle East, an indication that the virus continues to present a threat. To date, more than 40 countries have reported outbreaks in either wild or domestic birds, or both.
The continuing threat of emerging diseases means that WHO Member States and the international community must mobilize resources necessary for strengthening country capacity, Dr Nesbit said.
"In the early stages of a potential pandemic, it may be possible to stop or delay the spread of the virus by swiftly implementing pandemic influenza rapid response and containment measures,"
Dr Nesbit said. "If rapid interventions are successful, the severe adverse health, social and economic consequences expected to result from a pandemic might be prevented."
The window of opportunity for action is very narrow because rapid globalization, urbanization, and increasing cross-border travel and trade can aid the spread of infectious disease. Dr Nesbit said: "Countries and areas must therefore prepare for such an eventuality and develop operational capacities and coordinating mechanisms to swiftly implement rapid containment measures, which also require close regional and international coordination and collaboration."
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