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Saturday's signal of depression (mine)
I have lost the fight for professional journalism. Because whatever mainstream media passes off as news is the truth, according to the G and MPs. They describe it as the voice of trust, source of soft power and guardian against misinformation. Those are assertions, not facts and I am not sure if it is the truth. It is what those in authority say, an opinion that cannot be POFMAed but which nevertheless carries weight among the clueless.
I am glad no one spoke up about professional standards during the MDDI budget debate because that would be too foolish. Anyone with half a brain can detect the decline in quality over the years, especially in The Straits Times. Yet it is known as the truth infrastructure. The G makes much about the “reach’’ of local media. I think “reach’’ should not be confused with “being read’’.
Just going by parliamentary reporting, the truth is whatever comes from the mouth of officialdom. Definitely cannot be POFMAed since that power lies with ministers. And if you say that they are lying, you will be defaming them. If you ask if they have evidence, you will be deemed a troublemaker. Anything that happens is only true if it is officially sanctioned - or confirmed.
So, maybe Henry Kwek was right to call it a trust infrastructure - because we need to trust that we are always being told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That there are no critical omissions which might change the story or another perspective with which to view the facts. If info is missing, it is because it is not necessary or journalists are too stupid or too scared or too lazy to ask. They don’t even give basic information anymore, like Parliament timings or that a repatriation ticket from the Gulf states will cost $600. Only key messages need be reported.
Go ahead. Say it! That this is Bertha at it again! As usual!
For more than 10 years, I have been an advocate of higher-quality journalism. I had hoped that my criticisms would be taken as attempts to shore up standards but they have largely been ignored. I have always believed that the media must not just inform, educate and entertain but also build a strong, critical thinking citizenry which can take part meaningfully in the life of the country. Then again, critical thinking will destroy the credibility of the media. We must simply “trust’’.
I try to project #berthablowsup as forms of media literacy instead, so that readers will know how to read (whether in-between the lines, or spot the holes). But I doubt that this is getting through to many people on the wall who still flog their favorite hobbyhorses instead of seeing the pigeonhole that they are being boxed in. Concerns about G funding or KPIs appear to have died down. In fact, the G looks like it will continue to sustain local media as its own truth infrastructure, setting the very low bar of countering misinformation.
Too many people have asked why I persist in “blowing up’’ or holding media to account. That’s because if the media doesn’t do its job, we all risk getting dumber about the state of our country. In fact, I believe we are already both dumb - and numbed. Which I sometimes think is the end-result or substitute for “trust’’.
