The point I was trying to make in yesterday's post was not letting fear interfere or blind you to opportunties beyond your existing situation.
I used newspapers as an example because that's the career I had for more than four decades. I've been through it all in that industry.
Unfortunately for newspapers they got caught up in The Perfect Storm. A bombing economy, fractionalization of information distribution, untold numbers of websites and bloggers most purporting to be offering "true journalism."
It is incredibly expensive to publish a newspaper. Most people have no idea of what it takes to receive that newspaper on their doorstep each and every morning.
And yet newspapers still today offer the "purest" form of journalism in America. Now it's far from perfect. But make no mistake about my point here. The decline -- or worse yet -- failure of newspapers would threaten the fundamental tenents of Democracy. Did you read that? "Threaten the fundamental tenets of Democracy."
So while I do believe that traditionalism contributed to newspapers being behind the curve, it still is in everyone's best interest to insure their survival in some form. Otherwise, Democracy as we know it will no longer exist.
Pure, accurate and objective journalism is the greatest protection we have in maintaining our freedoms gauranteed by the United States Consitution.
True journalism are not sound bites on broadcast television. Or, websites dedicated to happy news. One that I am familiar with doesn't even pretend it offers pure journalism. What it offers is a slice, a fraction of the entire journalism pie.
Journalism encompasses everything from good news, to in-depth news, to news that is a catalyst for change -- good or bad - and so forth. It must be direct, objective and informative.
Be that as it may, it is vital that journalism not only survives, but thrives. This is a call to action. Support media organizations that provide pure journalism. In mosts cases it's newspapers. If that means subscribe, then subscribe. If that means advertise, then advertise.
No one will like the consequences of failing to do so.
