《HP官方资料翻译集（人物篇）》霁随心

111、丽塔·斯基特（Rita Skeeter）

　　好吧，除了原著里的信息，罗琳还没给这位甲壳虫小姐补充过什么设定。
　　丽塔第一次出场是在1994年，那年她43岁，这意味着她出生于1951年，和贝拉特里克斯同岁。她的出生日期、魔杖属性甚至是学院都还是未知（尽管大多数认为她是拉文克劳，但我没找到证据，hp wikia甚至都不肯定她是否是霍格沃茨的毕业生）。

　　丽塔的信息不多，就在这里说说pottermore上的“预言家日报”吧（翻译来自pottermore吧帖子《【翻译】布斯巴顿、德姆斯特朗、预言家日报》）：

　　【在不列颠的巫师界里，如果不算上《唱唱反调》这种不入流的小杂志的话，就只有一家巫师报社了。《预言家日报》的总部设在对角巷，由猫头鹰邮差每天把报纸投递到英国巫师界的几乎每家每户中，付款方式则是把钱放在邮差猫头鹰腿上绑着的口袋里。在出现突发事件（某些很有趣的事情，譬如一辆非法的福特安格里车横跨大不列颠飞行）时，也会增印预言家晚报版。

　　预言家日报并非一个完全报道真相的消息来源，有时候也会出现哗众取宠的趋势，尤其是在明星记者丽塔·斯基特的报道中。在它自立门户的表象下，预言家日报其实不止一次地受到过魔法部（或其他统治权力）的制衡，对某些事实三缄其口。而这份报纸的名称则是报导动机的最大线索了：“预言家”的发音和“利润”的发音是相同的（不过，巫师报纸能够预言未知的说法我也接受）。

　　巫师界们往往呼吁报纸不要老是写那种带着一股子政治倾向的报导（不过这并不代表预言家日报没有政治栏目）。作为小众的、局外的、还不时被骚扰驱逐的群体，巫师们大体上的兴趣爱好都是相似的：魁地奇联盟的比赛结果啦，谁又违反巫师保密法有麻烦啦，禁止滥用麻瓜物品司又出了什么幺蛾子啦，或者塞蒂娜·沃贝克/古怪姐妹什么时候开演唱会什么的。

　　虽然在麻瓜世界里，互联网已经愈发成为取代纸质报纸的新闻载体，但巫师界似乎还将继续对旧式的报纸情有独钟。不过要是麻瓜的报纸上图片也会动，他们的发行量也会相当可观的。】

作者有话说

　　【预言家日报英文原文】
There is only one wizarding newspaper in Britain, discounting such small circulation publications such as The Quibbler. The Daily Prophet, whose headquarters are in Diagon Alley, is delivered by owl on a daily basis to nearly every wizarding household in Britain. Payment is effected by placing coins in the pouch tied to the paper-owl's leg. Occasionally (when something particularly interesting or exciting happens, such as the illegal flight of a Ford Anglia the length of Britain) an Evening Prophet edition will be rushed out.
The Prophet is not an entirely unbiased source of news, and sometimes displays an unfortunately sensationalist tendency best epitomised by star reporter Rita Skeeter. Ostensibly an independent news source, it has more than once been influenced by the Ministry (or ruling power) of the day to hush up certain stories. A clue to its overriding motivation may be found in its name, 'prophet' being a homonym of 'profit' (although I was also taken with the idea of a wizarding newspaper claiming foreknowledge of news to come.)
Wizardkind tends not to require alternative political flavours in its news coverage (which is not to say, however, that the Prophet does not have a political agenda). As a small, outsider and occasionally beleaguered community, wizards are, by and large, interested in the same kinds of stories: the Quidditch League results, whether anyone is in trouble for infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy, what irritating legislation the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office has come up with now, and when the next Celestina Warbeck/Weird Sisters concert will take place.
It seems likely that wizards will continue to favour old-fashioned newsprint, even while the Muggle world resorts increasingly to the internet. If Muggle newspapers had moving photographs, their circulation might be similarly buoyant.