No news is good news, or is it?

Imagine a day without journalists...Apart from the apparent fact that less oxygen would be consumed on Earth, the world would probably see less of a magical force.

Journalism is more or less a form of witchcraft in the modern days. It discreetly runs in the vein of our daily lives, pumping a different kind of drug every other day. One day it is the exuberant celebration of human race that lifts up the mood of every single person. No wonder kids get their ice-cream bought without having to pester and listen to a dental health lesson from parents. The next day it is the credit crunch that drags down the outlook on life of even women who have just trimmed down their bodies following a crunchy diet of Special-K.


Forget about the argument of active audience, no matter how independent we are, no matter how we endeavour to resist, we are still subject to some kind of influence. Not necessarily being persuaded, just a tempting interest. It is like being exposed to a sensuous woman. You might be just about to manage to say no but that doesn’t mean you can’t look, or talk about her.
Say, a colleague asks you what is going on around the world. Even if you don’t really follow the news, a little bird inside tells you that it is all doom and gloom, and sooner than you realise, you start arguing as if truly convinced by the idea. I guess the only way to avoid is to turn a blind eye to current affairs and accept the label of being “behind of time” or something like that.


“If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” This exaggerated quote somehow summarises the point above. If you cannot fight against the drug, then don’t attempt to try it. But in this digital age, to be immunised from journalism is much as politicians sticking to their promises.


Journalists are definitely crafty, which could be understood in either meaning. Someone once said if we see the world going into crisis, then don’t panic yet, it might just be that journalists are working extra hard. It is unfair to discredit good and responsible journalism though. That is not to say we only acknowledge the work of broadsheets’ reporters and sneer at red-tops’ journalists. They know their place and know to combine different seasonings to make a perfect dish for the audience.


Would it be a bit too banal having to read or watch serious news every day? The human instinct wouldn’t allow it. It is against our nature to not engage in some sort of gossip, for women or discussion, for men. Indeed journalism is “organised gossip”.

I find the triangular relationship of journalists, PR people and writers rather amusing. PR consists of failed journalists, because they cannot be as concise and to-the-point. Journalists are failed writers, because they cannot be as flowery and literary. Writers are failed PR, because they cannot publicise and appeal to the public.

Journalists are neither God sent people, nor devils from hell. They are there because we want them to be. Until the day we stop the thirst for information including trivial pursuits, we are yet to see the last of journalism.