How refreshing it is to see that idealism still exists in this world of ever-growing cynicism, which cynicism has been well-earned through disappointment after disappointment, by the way.
This young man of 24 years recently quit his job as CTV Bureau Chief in Quebec after becoming disillusioned with what he realized was the difference between important news reporting vs. reporting fluff for the masses in the hopes of attracting more advertisers and a wider viewership.
This is a huge problem in mass media today. Newspapers, radio and TV stations are vying for the "lowest hanging fruit" creating a race for the bottom. What can you say when the visit of a young and photogenic couple trump every other news story in the world? And what better example of the rot in the media can there be than the reporters for the "News of the World" tabloid in the UK hacking telephone conversations of ordinary citizens and celebs alike to create their own news? (This is surely happening in other media and in other places.)
The mainstream reporting today is in a sorry state. The vast majority of "journalists" and "reporters" have abdicated their solemn duty to hold "[...] decision makers to account [and] are instead broadcasting useless tripe, or worse, stories that actively distract from the massive projects we need to be tackling instead of watching TV."
Kai Nagata's blog is well worth a read. It is clearly written, well thought out and a breath of fresh air in a room that is becoming increasingly oppressive. And... he hits all the bases:
Kai Nagata
