Journalist Thinking

I consider one of the most important jobs in the world being a journalist, and its probably one of the most interesting, or at least it could be. Though I think for any intellectual it is no longer that. The value proposition for intellectuals has disappeared for intellectuals. Why? Because investigating journalism is no longer appreciated. Why?
1. Investigations take time. Why spend time gathering evidence when there is plenty of syndicated information to fill the tabloids.
2. Investigations cost money: For the cost of having some journalist trying to get an interview, or chasing traffic, or constructing a story, its easier to get a journalist to copy & paste some syndicated feed from AAP. You might ask where does the AAP get its feed from. I believe it comes from newspapers that merely report what people say, with little analysis.
3. Investigations piss people off: People have no sense of reality. If they hear something said could potentially undermine their self-value or standing, they alienate the source of the problem, rather than deal with the issue honestly. Why? Because that is the way they were raised. That is what was framed as practical growing up. As a journalist you might expect not to get any interviews if you take that posture. Maybe in the Philippines you might even be the object of death threats.
I have explored this issue more in another blog.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com