Although I suspect most people would automatically think the term journalist in this instance refers to the tabloid press can anyone, paid to write for a living, be realistically expected to maintain their independence in a complex and interconnected modern world?
Are today’s journalists true recorders of all the facts … does the simple dictum ‘what, when, where’ still truly govern what appears unfiltered or manipulated in our daily news columns?
Many within the PR industry would say what doesn’t appear in the newspapers is more important than what does and given that a vast proportion of those practitioners are ex-journalists this should probably be taken as being fairly close to the mark.
Of course the growing field of highly remunerated political media minders (read spin doctors) also continues to flourish at all levels of government and for both major parties. Again, another bolt hole for many senior journalists with an eye to the future.
Given this trend for the elite of their profession to ‘sell out’ it is perhaps not surprising so many people now question their integrity and commitment to telling it as it is - without fear or favour.
Research in the US shows the tendency to under report or entirely ignore important local issues is particularly prevalent where a sole media proprietor dominates an area, such as when there is a single newspaper in a town.
This can often be attributed as a desire not to offend a powerful group, an aversion to costly and often un-winnable litigation, a concern advertising revenues could be put at risk, or a combination of all three.
Instances of powerful individuals threatening to restrict journalists’ continuing access to news opportunities if they are not treated favourably (in their eyes) has become institutionalised in many places and often skews news reporting towards spectacular items about less privileged citizens who possess little or no ability to defend themselves at law, i.e. keep themselves out of the news.
Much has been written, particularly by academics, about today’s citizens’ ability to freely broadcast their views using the internet with blogs, dedicated websites and e-zines (such as our own) and, whilst there are some notable local examples of this ‘consumer generated content’, it has to be said there has not been an overwhelming rush to utilise this opportunity to date.
At the end of the day …perhaps, like governments … we get the journalists we deserve.
Commitment … to what?
Fifty years ago most Australians would define themselves in terms of their country of birth, political persuasion or religion, and in most instances they were exactly the same as their parents.
Fast forward to the 21st century and we find that virtually all these values and attributes have changed or no longer have the relevance or significance they once had.
These days we are an overwhelmingly secular country although some of the old religions and particularly some of the newer spin-offs (although statistically small in number) are becoming more strident and are overtly seeking to influence society generally on a number of social/political issues.
On the political front the electorate is not as polarised or intransigent as it once was. There are more swingers than ever. Recent polls even show the much vaunted and so-called aspirational blue collar voters are now more likely to favour the ALP than the Liberal Party.
Working in the close vicinity of where you were born is also becoming less common in this country, as it is in most western type democracies, with little to suggest this well established trend will ever change.
Divorce rates are up, single occupant households are on the rise and the traditional two adult, 2.5 child family units are declining rapidly.
Given this unsettling backdrop is it surprising that our younger people are increasingly avoiding the old ways and perceived certainties and are searching for some new nirvana?
Of course for many, if not most, this desirable state of affairs probably does not currently exist but it does help explain their reluctance to unquestioningly embrace the traditional values and make what they might consider to be a commitment to values or institutions to which they can no longer relate. | 
