Rarely does one see an article that is so pompous and arrogant.

Please take note that I am my own guardian of my own freedoms and liberties – not some reporter or editor. The press is important, just like schools, doctors and plumbers. It is just another group of people that deserves neither more nor less respect than any other group, to be judged by its words and actions.

Kactuz

Journalists have a dificult task at times, to be sure. A well known journalist gave a group of oldies a talk not only on the interesting side of being a journalist, but also suggested that the audience should fire away at will. As some of the oldies had degrees in radical areas like political philosophy etc, he was asked whether some of his reporting on international relations, had tried his conscience? All he said in answer, well, mate, sometime it's difficult, because I have to work for a living.

Now getting into the TV media we could wonder about George Negus now on SBS Dateline who does often give or supervise reports right on, or rather, off the edge.

The one in question concerns our WTO bi-lateral agreement with the USA which somehow involved the weakening of Australia's bio-custom laws which allowed a shipment of Brazilian carcase meat to be landed in NSW. The shock and horror can be imagined when livestock breeders found out that Brazil had been banned from selling meat overseas owing to being afflicted with foot and mouth disease.

But apparently one Brazilian province had agreed to innoculate their livestock, which according to the report it was thought accordingly that the province had got the okay to export.

But apparently not so, and near the end of the video it shows uninjected cattle roaming across a road from a banned foot and mouth province into the province in question.

Since that SBS report everyone involved has been made to shutup, journalists as well as angry farmers. It could be asked of Australian journalists, is there a government spin line, which they are not allowed to cross these days?

Moreover, if it is true that commentary about the banned Brazilian carcase has been officially quietened down, surely must show our government has been involved.

George C, WA - Bushbred

Journalists bring us the facts for which they deserve high praise. However many of them also bring us opinion and spin. I suggest that it is the latter that people denigrate not the former.

I suppose it is hard to report the facts without interpreting them. However journalists so often think that their personal interpretation is the correct one. The counter balance needs to come through media diversity. I am hopeful that the internet is achieving greater diversity. However it is probably also likely to polarise.

I seriously disagree with the opinion/spin that I read in lots of articles. However I don't every recall feeling a personal animosity towards the entire profession.

I agree that serious journalism is laudable and should be protected. however, revelations such as that today, that a journalist threatened to publish the name of a chemical supplier, if they failed to provide them with an interview demonstrate the problems in the profession.

To threaten to expose a person, for having provided information about suspected terrorists, if they do not provide an interview is beyond the pale. The company and persons beind this should be removed from whatever register is kept of journo's, and if such a register is not kept, it should be.

Please do not cry about denigration of a profession whose ethics are non-existant.

I think certain "journalists" are bringing the real journalists into disrepute. Those who take issue with silly media such as the commercial evening current-affair and news shows support the fair dinkum journalists.
To my understanding, objective news journalists are taught not to use adjectives or at least use them sparingly - yet superlatives bombard viewers nightly - not to mention the underlying message which is that the flanny-shirt brigade are all too stupid to resolve issues in a sensible manner and need elites like politicians and the likes of Andrew Bolt to direct their lives. Most of the stories are not newsworthy and really very silly and an insult to real journalism.

I think newpaper editors skew the news. What is happening relevant to our citizenship no longer sets the agenda. It seems to me that apart from the urgent-type major stories, ongoing newsworthy stories dealing with issues such as native title, forestry campaigns, urban design, education, human issues receive little attention other than the occasional flurry when their is some sort of conflict.

Also in the area of commentary. We seem to have a large number of commentators pushing the status quo, the politically incorrect and right-wing perspective, but bugger all offering commentary from the social-justice perspective or offering other alternative points of view.
Democracy in Australia is like the music industry scam. They (don't ask me who) choose ten songs and then you choose from that offering. If you think they are all pick-me shyit - well that is too bad. You make your own box and pencil in "Exploited" - won't compute. Editors give us a narrow perspective(Labour/Liberal and the establishment news) and expect people to make an informed choice in relation to our democracy.
It seems to me that journalists stay, or are forced,or co-opted inside the confines of accepted discourse. Ironically, the evidence of this is the current politically incorrectness craze. When Mundine spoke politically incorrectly about Sept 11, all of a sudden no one recognised the right to free speech and political incorrectness. For some reason the ideals of free speech only work from the top down. Exploit the flanny crowd - but f**k 'em off - if they do as you do.

In Australia there is no real investigative journalism outside the public-funded media. Australia's defamation laws prevent the kinds of stories that USA journalists produce. Generally speaking I would have to say that serious journalist are the gaurdians of some very narrow concepts of democracy. The others are gaurdians of the establishment ideals which includes the exploitation of silly journalists and their targets-and you all know it.