Coming back from 8 weeks of travel, I coudln't help noticing (right or wrong) that the maturity of public debate is not being allocated the space it deserves.

I had a chance to watch US, European and middle eastern media. There are probably good 3-4 hours per day on hot topics whether local, regional or global. There was a lot to learn on energy crisis and oil alternatives, global economy, globalisation, etc...

The conclusion I had is that public debate in Australia needs a lot more attention, space, interaction and passion.

I am interested in fellow posters feedback: anyone shares my view?

I agree with you, and this is especially obvious in an election year: we have the media controlling the issues that are being played out. For example, once the issue of the Gunns Pulp Mill was settled on none of the major media outlets (to my knowledge) have continued to question anything regarding its environmental credentials.

We do need sustained debate, and I can only say that it is heartwarming to see that the internet is revolutionising this so that people who are interested can find a place to discuss topics that are of concern to them.

For those that aren't interested then I suppose the way the major media outlets gloss over of all the major concerns facing our society today is enough food for thought. I have also travelled extensively and I also believe that Australia's media isn't focused on the international enough in an age of increasing globalisation.

here in oz, ordinary ozzies can have no substantive input into national, or state, policy for lack of citizen initiative and direct election. so ozzies don't care about politics- it's over their head. oz media follows their interest, which is celebrities and sensationalism.

in america, almost all the states have some kind of citizen input, many states set broad policy with initiative referendum. so it pays educated people to pay attention to politics, and pays media to support this interest.

until you have democracy, you can't be a citizen.

News has become a branch of infotainment, and the objective of the news source is therefore to entertain, and not put too great a strain on the mental capacity of its audience.

People who travel, on the other hand, are far likelier to be more choosy about their news sources, and tend to scan the hotel's TV guide for one of the more reputable and in-depth news programmes.

Locals, however, much like the majority of the audience here in Australia, will choose the local news channel, precisely because it lacks depth.

Picked entirely at random, here's the headlines, in the order presented, from Channel 2, WDTN Dayton Ohio.

- Family Shares Chemical Concerns for Former Mound Workers: When our story aired Wednesday night concerning former Miamisburg Mound workers contracting cancer, video of one particular man prompted several e-mails and phone calls to the station.
- JCPenny Recalls Toys Due to Lead Paint Danger: J.C. Penney recalled Chinese-made Winnie the Pooh play sets and decorative ornaments with a horse-theme, as well as art kits made in Taiwan and Vietnam
- Piqua Soldier Makes Ultimate Sacrifice in Iraq: A Piqua soldier deployed to Iraq six weeks ago has been killed, family members and school officials said Thursday.
- Congress Changes Rules on Religious Expressions on Flag Documents: A 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Dayton who wanted to honor his grandfather's "love of God, country and family" with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol has helped remove a ban on the word "God" in certificates that accompany these flags.
- Cold Medicines For Babies Yanked From Market: Drug makers pulled cold medicines targeted for babies and toddlers off the market Thursday, leaving parents to find alternatives for hacking coughs and runny little noses just as fall sniffles get in full swing.

No discernible difference, I'd suggest.

The Dayton Daily News is much the same: its lead breaking story is "Annual Sauerkraut Festival Begins This Weekend"

Demos,

You'll be pleased to know that, contrary to your impressions, research into media use shows that Australians are generally unimpressed with the level of political debate in our media. Just like you, they can tell it's garbage, and just like you, more and more of them are turning to the internet where at least they can get different points of view.

It hasn't made any difference to the media, yet, but it may well do in the future.

Have you seen media watch on the ABC? It points out a lot of these problems in a very in depth and calculated way. The last one I saw was about how banks are paying the commercial stations and even the ABC to do their financial report segments on the news and how this can result in conflicts of interest by those who have investments doing the very reporting they are supposed to be relying on. I like the fact that this show is able to criticise the station it runs on.