Nobody has dumbed down the news more than the media itself. They ran story after story to scare people into handing over their liberties and now that such seizure of rights is now affecting the media, they cry like little babies. They made their bed and now they have to sleep in it.

A disturbing trend I have noticed lately, are news items that is nothing but a company sponsored item. The news is becoming but one long commercial and I wouldn't be surprised to find them advertising the latest vaccuum of home gym equipment as a headline.

Sir David Smith recently reminded us, in an address he gave on 11 November 2005 in the NSW Parliament House on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Dismissal, of Thomas Jefferson's views as to the value of newspapers, the medium of Jefferson's time. Sadly, Sir David's address apparently did not rate as "news", as I saw no reports of it at the time in today's media.

Not happy, Alison!

Give me the good old reliables of the Government Gazette and the Australian Year Books any day. Thats where the news really is!

Here is what Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen had to say in his preface to Year Book Australia 1988:

"Year after year,ever since 1908, the Australian Year Book has been published annually without fuss or fanfare, providing each year a new source of information about and for, Australia and Australians. It is hard to think of any single national development of note over the past eighty years on which the Year Books do not throw light. Here, in one publication, is a continuous record of government policies, international relationships and a concise statistical summary of every facet of Australia's economy and society. Through the Year Books, one can scan eighty years of life on this continent, tracing the changes and noting the trends. The Year Books have included, too, from time to time, special articles of topical interest, thus adding unexpected treasure troves of detail to the broad brush-strokes of history.

As we enter this, our Bicentennial Year, it is appropriate that that faithful mirror of Australia past and present, the Australian Year Book, should accompany us, reflecting in its candid glass the nation in all its states and conditions. The strength of nations, as of individuals, lies in self-knowledge and there can be few better introductions to a knowledge of this nation than through its Year Books.

Ninian Stephen"

As a current example of the sort of news lurking in the Gazettes, see http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=6147#88417 and following posts.

I hate to say it, but this is a "well, duh..." article.

If any of the commercial channels were to put to air a news broadcast that, say, included important events from overseas as well as important news items from Australia, all delivered in a "straight reporter", factual style without any "back to you Nat's", guess what would happen?

The ratings would go, as they say in the trade, straight down the gurgler.

Is this not true?

If it were otherwise, then we would have quality news reports from quality journalists, on every channel, competing for our attention.

The decision is totally understandable. Nowhere in the commercial broadcasters' annual reports will you see a chart showing increasing integrity, accuracy or sobriety in the delivery of news. Only charts of profitability, and the average number 28 - 39 eyeballs attracted each night.

Clearly, as far as the networks are concerned, they have looked carefully at their audience, and determined that the race is not to the top, but to the bottom.

However we dress up the truth, this tells us much more about ourselves than it does about the broadcasters.

There really is getting to be far too much cross-promotion involving the use of what are alleged to be "news items" as vehicles for publicizing other programs of the TV medium, or other events or activities that medium may be sponsoring. It really has become quite irritating! At least on a forum or blog you can give an item the flick if it isn't the sort of news you want to hear, or doesn't tell it the way you think it should be. Give it the flick, man, thats the answer; remember one click, and its gone.

You could test this on this link: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5018

Or this: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=2136

Or this: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=5018#58127

Speaking of clicks, the 17th post on this thread by Anthony Marinac raises a dreadful spectre. Could the WIN in regional Australia's WIN News signify a relationship with Microsoft? Could it be that the "blue skies" planning of this would-be copyright holder of the very idea of knowledge has designs upon copyrighting news itself? You know, "its our way or the highway, buddy!". That would be a WIN-WIN situation to be avoided at all costs. Anyone even seeking a different take on the news would do so in peril of extradition to the US to face breach of copyright charges! Enough to make one quake in one's ugg boots, generically speaking, of course. It may well become a case of "Render unto Microsoft ...." as in "transport in a Grumman Gulfstream" anyone in regional Australia caught trying to get news on the internet.

Make Linux your friend, Grasshopper. Empty your mind. Try to imagine the sound of one hand clapping in applause of good news.

I'm with Anthony on this one, although my personal preference is for a few back-issues of the Commonwealth Government Gazette and maybe several glasses of a good red. In the mean time, don't nobody bring me no bad news.