最近参加了一次人文经济讲座，还未开课，范长江新闻奖得主朱海燕便给我们这些学员留下一个悬念：“到时候你们会和一位著名经济学家、品牌专家、名记者、作家、哲学家来一个‘亲密接触’”，我们听了很高兴，但不知这位品牌主讲人究竟是谁。
　　后来当得知首堂主讲者就是艾丰时，真有些欣喜若狂，但顾虑也随之而来：他会不会老气横秋？对我们提问会不会用心解答？
　　讲座开始了，我们感受到了艾丰的热情，他丝毫没有学者的架子，对我们这些刚出道的小记者、通讯员尤为关心，让人感觉他既是一位关心体贴人的长辈，又是一位知识渊博的学者。
　　艾丰是饮誉海内外的名人，浑身散发出知性、自信、幽默，但他给我们的印象远不止这些：在新闻圈和社科界，他是我国社会科学著作最高奖——吴玉章奖和我国新闻记者最高奖——范长江奖获得者；在企业界和经济界，艾丰的名声更响，当年轰动全国的“中国质量万里行”活动便是由艾丰组织策划并指挥实施的，当时任国务院副总理的朱基还亲自点将让艾丰担任组委会主任；北京大学出版社出版的《一个记者能走多远？——艾丰评传》一问世，中宣部原常务副部长徐惟诚称其为“创造性的记者生涯”，清华大学新闻与传播学院院长范敬宜则称其“‘想总理想的事情’，敢于这样‘夫子自道’，而且能够真正这样去实践的可能只有艾丰。”
　　“记者要想总理的事情”，这是艾丰在讲座上勉励我们的话，也是他的人生准则。对艾丰来说，这不仅是他首倡的理论，也是“责任”的同义语。他曾经是《人民日报》的高级记者，《经济日报》总编辑；离开新闻工作岗位后他开始担任中国企业联合会副会长，成为一名知名的经济学家。他说“总理是一个国家的大管家，责任最广、最细，记者就要有这个责任感。”一位多次听他讲课的学者说：“听艾丰讲课，使人感受到知识和智慧的力量，使人感到知识的可贵。说到打假他会愤怒地举起拳头，说到品牌他会兴奋地挑起大拇指，他是一个学者，又是一个激情的诗人。”
　　1938年出生的艾丰，自从参加工作以来一直从事新闻工作，但在他本人的一份简历中，我们意外地发现他的“研究领域”并不包括新闻，而是宏观经济、名牌战略、企业管理、城镇化等等方面。谈起这些话题时，艾丰对我们说，“新闻工作确实有很大的影响力，它可以让记者广泛接触社会的各个层面，但新闻工作有一个局限，那就是对媒介的依赖性太强，比如报社记者离开版面往往做不成事情。”他说整个中国已经走上以经济建设为中心的轨道，而他个人曾经担任的记者工作与经济有着密切关系，他说自己从52岁开始就下决心学习经济学，艾丰的远见今天已得到社会的承认，他运用学到的经济学知识服务社会，所以在离开新闻工作岗位后生活非常充实和潇洒。
　　
　　艾丰说：“新闻界是一个学校，一方面要做好新闻工作，一方面可以发挥其他方面的特长。当你的年龄不适合在第一线的时候，你可以把拥有的知识拓展，继续发挥自己的作用，既利于社会也利于个人，这是一件好事。如果不介入经济界，还可以进入文学界、广告界，我们应该成为某一方面的专家。”
　　年过半百踏入经济学殿堂的艾丰，在经济研究领域所取得的成就甚至超过了某些专业经济工作者，他从1994年开始相继完成了《论农业产业化》《名牌战略和国际竞争》《资本运营是搞活国有企业的金钥匙》《我国经济进入新的发展阶段》等多部经济专著，除了著书立说外，他还奔走四方，讲述他的经济见解和主张。他对中国国情了解得深刻、全面，对社会富有责任感。美国以指导策划人生而闻名的卡耐基说：“机会是一件不可捉摸的活宝贝，无影无形，无声无息，它有时潜伏在你努力工作中，有时徘徊在无人注意的境地里，你假如不用苦干的精神努力去寻求，也许永远遇不着它”。艾丰第一次人生重大选择，是报考大学新闻系，这决定了他一生与“新闻”结下不解之缘；艾丰第二次人生重大选择是1978年他40岁时报考研究生；艾丰的第三次人生重大选择是下决心研究经济问题。他在这个方面的建树不仅使他获得了著名记者的头衔，还获得了著名经济学家的称号，极大地延伸了他的工作和成就。凡是能有所作为的人，都是在忙碌和辛苦中获得幸福和自我的人，他在忙碌和辛苦中体现了人生和幸福。有人形容说，历史好像一条长河，人类好像在河中航行的船，坐在船上的人有的人是坐船的，有的人是划桨的，艾丰就属于划桨的人。
　　
　　Zero Distance Contact with Ai Feng
　　By Wu Zhen
　　
　　We did not know who would be the keynote speaker when we arrived at the culture and economics forum. We were excited when the host deliberately mystified that an experienced economist, brands promotion specialist, journalist, writer and philosopher would speak. We were overjoyed when seeing Ai Feng appear on the stage whereas we also had some misgivings. Would he take himself too seriously at the lecture? Would he take our questions seriously? Our misgivings soon vanished.
　　He did not put on air. He emitted enthusiasm and concern. He cared for us young and inexperienced journalists. The knowledgeable scholar was avuncular.
　　A celebrity of international renown, Ai Feng radiated knowledge, confidence and humor on the stage. Who among us young journalists does not hear of Ai Feng and his dazzling career? He has won the top national glories for his achievements in both social sciences and journalism. These days he is best known in business circles. The 5,000-kilometer Quality Trip across China, initiated and produced by Ai Feng, was a national program that grabbed the whole nation’s attention. The program featured the grave issue of poor product quality that once embarrassed manufacturers and enraged consumers across the whole country.
　　
　　Ai Feng is well known for his journalist mission statement: Try to think like a premier. It is more than a guideline he followed in his journalist career. The mission statement upholds the responsibility he believes a journalist must take seriously. He explains, “The premier works like a housekeeper of the country; his job description includes the biggest and most detailed responsibilities you can imagine. A journalist should take it upon himself to act and think like a premier.?Born in 1938, Ai Feng worked as a journalist after college. He became a senior journalist of People’s Daily and then served as the editor-in-chief of Economic Daily. After his retirement, he was appointed the deputy president of China Enterprises Federation. He said that he determined to become an economist at the age of 52. Today he is widely recognized as a prominent economist with influential books published.
　　No wonder his resume includes such research interests as macroeconomics, brand strategy, business management, and urbanization. He explains his personal take on journalism and economics. Journalism is influential and a journalist can be exposed to all aspects of a society. But journalism is highly dependent on media. A newspaper journalist can do nothing without the newspaper pages. Journalism is a classroom where you do your job and learn things. When you are no longer engaged in the news report, you can continue to use the knowledge you have accumulated to play a role in the society and serve the society. A journalist doesn’t have to retire to business. You can become a writer or you can start an advertising agency, for example. In short, journalists should work to become specialists.
　　His remarks summarize his life. Nowadays, he not only writes books on economics but also gives lectures on business and economics around the country. He says he is very proud of the three big choices he has made in his life. He chose to study journalism in college. He chose to take a postgraduate course for a master degree in journalism at the age of 40 in 1978. And he chose to study economics at 52.
　　(Translated by David)