Frederick FN Noronha wrote: > But just for the sake of debate, may I ask: > * Do we see our newspapers as serving society today, or not? > Or is it a mixed bag?
FN, A newspaper is established for profits. It brings either monetary or ideological profits to those who control it. It is rather naive to believe that a newspaper exists to serve society. > * If they aren't serving society, is it because they are making too > much money in advertising? Or is the crisis actually traceable to > somewhere else (i.e. they're too dependent on big advertisers, cover > prices of newspapers have not grown over the years so readers barely > matter now, readers are not influential enough in keeping check on the > system, growing political and/or industrial control over our media, > the rise of a class of professionals within the media whose interests > may not tally with those of the wider society, etc, etc?) One of the worst places to invest in, here in N. America, is the newspaper business. Over the past 5 years, the share price of the Toronto Star, the Washington Post, the New York Times, etc. have fallen 60 to 70 percent. The younger generation can get all the info they want on a hand held device and do not see the need to subscribe to newspapers. The younger generation also sees newsprint as a waste of resources and a disposal problem. A fall in subscription leads to less advertising, less profits, and the spiral can soon become vicious. > Being the contrarian that I am, let me point out however that even if > media payments can be small in this part of the globe, my work there > has created enough of a surplus to allow me the time to focus on > issues I love working on. In that sense, I would not say an advert in > the media is necessarily a waste of money-that-could-be-put-to-better-use. > What I would agree is that our media has a long, long, long way to go > before they can claim to be taking care of wider social needs. One of the most influential journalists in the US today, is also one of the most unlikeliest. N. Americans, myself included, are glued to his weekly, prime time TV show which is just short of amazing. Konkani and Muslim, Fareed Zakaria. is in my mind, the epitome of good journalism. There are times when I do not agree with him, but he usually presents his case in such a way that it really makes you think. His, "Why They Hate Us," is a must read for any journalism student. Once you are tuned in to his program, it is almost impossible to switch channels. Advertisers, needless to say, will pay top dollar to be where they can get peoples undivided attention. Let me repeat this, good journalism usually leads to answered prayers. Mervyn2212
