The more I hear about the phone hacking trial/scandal currently going on the more exasperated I get. What is the obsession with celebrity lifestyles and, more importantly, when did it become acceptable to tap phones and dig for dirt, just to find something to sell their papers with?!
There are some fantastic journalists out there, and there is certainly no need to go looking for stories buried in famous people's lives. And yet a significant number of newspapers sold in this country contain almost nothing of value when it comes to the original intention of journalism.
The world is in significant strife and there simply aren't enough pages to devote the required words to those items which need to be discussed, reported and acted upon. The frivolous and simply pathetic "reporting" which is undertaken by these newspapers and the people who work at them has to be stopped.
The original function of newspapers is given away by the title really, they were papers that told you the news. They also serve an important role in society in providing a forum for ideas and discussion but at the heart of the matter should still be the reporting of the news. There is always a perspective to consider but never at the expense of the truth. Journalistic integrity is a fundamental principle that is in danger of becoming an oxymoron in the eyes of those looking in at the industry.
Yet now we have these people who's job it seems to be to find half-truths, rumours and suspicion and report this instead of concentrating on the fundamental purpose of journalism. It frustrates me so much that we, as a society in the West, have propagated this situation and allowed these so called "newspapers" to flourish. And these people are paid a fortune to contribute what?
Those who are now on trial have taken something which has the power to do so much good in the world and dragged it down to the basest level; making fun of people and prying into things that are not "in the public interest" at all but are simply sensationalist rubbish.
It is only by refusing to provide these people with the demand for what they supply that we can really be in a position to return journalism to what it should be, and in fact what it still is amongst a decent amount of the newspapers and magazines out there.
And in case anyone is worried about "restricting the freedom of the press" I would argue quite strongly that this is not what that law is all about. We are not restricting freedom but rather ending the intrusion of the gutter press and that is something what we should surely be striving to achieve. If we are able to do that then I believe that real journalism will then allowed to flourish and perform the function it was originally designed to do, report and comment on the news of the day.
Today's #randomfactoftheday - Michigan Stadium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbour is the largest stadium in the USA. It holds 109,901 people. The town of Ann Arbour itself only has a population of 113,934
Today's #badjokeoftheday - Did you hear about the magic tractor? It turned into a field
Today's #websiteoftheday - How good is your geography? Prepare to get better! (http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq)
On this day: 1820 - Death of King George III - who's reign as monarch is still the longest of any King of GB or UK.
Till next time,
DT
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