The media. It's a term often spat out with derision and disgust. According to Listosaur.com, journalists rank No. 6 on the list of 10 most despised professions in America, just above IRS auditors and just below political lobbyists. It's not too much of a stretch to extrapolate that ranking into Canadian terms.
It's probably a myth that the fifth estate was ever held in high esteem, although the concept of free speech is deeply imbedded in the treasured tenants of western civilization. Those of us who practise the craft, however, have a higher opinion of ourselves than that granted to us by the reading or listening public.
"Unfortunately, for many people the lines between the bottom-feeding, sensationalistic blogger who can string together a couple of sentences and the trained industry professional have become almost indistinguishable," states Listosaur.com.
And that's probably true. When the provincial media turns up to cover yet another bad news story about the Battlefords, local reporters get lumped in right along with them when the grumbling starts.
Thick skins are us, however, and we know the bad rap is all part of the game. But how do we fit Steven Sotloff and James Wright Foley into that ranking? They are the two American journalists recently beheaded by the Islamic State terrorist organization while trying to do their jobs in war zones in the Middle East.
I think the first question we ask is, what were they doing there in the first place? Why would they risk their lives to "get the story?"
I've enjoyed a long and comfortable career in the "media," and have never put my life on the line for a story, but I still understand the concept. If not for people like those two men and others like them, the extremists, dictators, despots and bullies (Vladimir Putin comes to mind) would have their way with the world with no one raising a single peep of protest. That's because without true journalists in the world the only information the public would have is what various propaganda machines churn out. There would be no one searching for the truth, exposing the machinations of the powerful and the vicious.
These people do important work and deserve respect. The rest of us media minions will just continue to rely on our thick skins to keep us safe.
