As the eyes and ears of the paying public, the media digs, probes, investigates, asks questions, writes stinging editorials, and does all the hard work that we should do and we are expected to do. But does it amount to anything at all?
It’s an uncomfortable question but somebody’s got to ask it, and Brian Cathcart does just that in an article titled “When Journalism is Powerless” in the New Statesman.
In spite of the belief that the media wields huge influence, he argues that “when it comes to the things that matter”—such as the barbarity in Darfur and the desperate situation in Zimbabwe—“most journalists are conscious of how little difference they make, rather than how much.”
Maybe it is not the duty of the media to bring about change. Still, it rankles that all we can do is create the minor ripples while the major scams lie beyond our reach and grasp.
Read the full article here: When journalism is powerless
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