A change of topic, sort of.

Freedom of the press; an important part of our Bill of Rights. Our forefathers understood the value in allowing the press to run free and print good, solid news without repercussion from government retaliation. They saw this as a check by the electorate to keep the government in line. And for quite a great many years the media has done a fairly nice job in their reporting.

With the onset of web-based content print journalism is on the decline and many newspapers are falling into bankruptcy. This fact alone is scary and a travesty. There are still many people without the means to access on-line news and will become less informed and unable to make sound decisions or to fully participate in government. This, in turn, will allow our elected officials to run roughshod over the minority of society, those who are poorer and with limited means. And government does not have a good track record for equality and fair treatment of these people as it is.

But I'm finding it hard to feel any pity or sorrow for the print media itself. More and more often we are seeing journalists resort to opinion based solely on emotion with no factual evidence to support those opinions. Ironically, any facts on the subjects about which they write are usually opposite those opinions. Or any facts they do choose are one sided without well constructed arguments. What is left available to those seeking out print media is poor journalistic endeavor at best. News has become sensationalist, emotionally based fluff. And less and less of us are interested. It's a sad testimony to the industry when BOTH leading newspapers in the third largest metropolis in the United States are in bankruptcy.

What will happen with this important check on government gone? Like a room full of kindergartners with no supervision. Chaos.

Chuck