Speak of the Devil

Hot on the heels of my last post about the Internet being the core media, comes this piece of obstinate stupidity from, who else, TODAY newspaper. Don't get me wrong, I only use that rag to provide table cover for my food, but even that might be overstating its usefulness.

The tidbit about "if newspapers disappear, trustworthiness of news becomes problematic" is pretty tasty, given that our local media isn't exactly reliable enough to provide us with objective, unbiased reporting. This thinly-veiled effort to preserve the status quo of traditional media domination is just one piece of evidence pointing towards that fact.

Oh and using Thomas Jefferson's quote in the local context? Very sly, and very misleading, and totally irrelevant given the Singaporean context, Mr Hartung. Give some thought about why the new media is so soundly trashing the old media. And no, it's not just about the business models, though that is a big part of it. Perhaps this article will help you understand, but I'm not counting on it.

If newspapers die off totally, I would not even bat an eyelid. If they evolve and manage to catch up, that's great, but I still don't care. And I suspect I'm not the only one who don't give a flying frak. I used to miss the National Library and Capitol Theatre too. Now I only remember them when I want to make reference to anachronistic institutions like newspapers.

While you're at it, read this article too. It covers this issue in a more in-depth and eloquent manner, and, like I always say, worth reading.

Props go to MrBrown for the first, third and fourth articles and Anh Hung for the second.