Our media: puerile more than feral

Idealistic dreams of how democracy will conquer all, or religious faith will get them through are nonsense. If, or when, outside aid stops, the nation will collapse with ramifications for us all.

In the coverage of our contribution of troops and money to Afghanistan similar realities are ignored. I missed it if any Australian media has mentioned that the Afghan population is one of the fastest growing in the world. From 10 million in 1960 it grew to 35 million in 2010. Or that there is no hope of a viable domestic economy providing jobs even for all the men let alone the women. Loss of interest by Western powers will inevitably be followed by chaos, religious oppression and more mass migration. When it happens the Australian media will be shocked and amazed.

The coverage of asylum seekers is a little more mixed but the moralisers, such as the Greens, are never asked to extrapolate from their simplistic bleating. Many journalists actually put similar views, that it is all about individuals rather than national policy. They provide no global context or even an immigration policy context within which people can understand what is going on.

I define news as information that helps people carry out their role as citizens more effectively. The rest is entertainment. There is a market for real news, but not for emotive twaddle pretending to be news.

The internet is creating a new role for news media. In a time of very rapid change citizens need facts, context and new perspectives. We do not need opinions and moralising based on dead idealisms or stories that have no meaning because the background is not mentioned.

People will look at dross for want of any real alternative, but they won't pay for it.