No longer an informed society.

I liked newspapering in the 1960s. More than at any time in my life. It was a nice era. Fun. And rewarding. In the sense of being able to reach people. Everybody was reading newspapers. Unlike today. Newspapers were an integral part of every community. Dailies. Weeklies. If you wrote for a newspaper, you felt like you were an integral part of the community. Bringing news. Provoking thought. And you learned your trade on the job. You didn't have to go to journalism school. And the jobs were plentiful. I had my choice of 20 or 30 jobs. Across the country. With dailies or weeklies. And I had lots of freedom. Newspapers were making money. Advertisers flocked to newspapers. Even when newspapers carried stories that alienated advertisers. We had crusading editors. They dared to take on the establishment. But gradually, times changed. And newspapers changed. They took reader polls. Started giving readers exactly what they wanted. Capsulized news. To hell with indepth reporting. Readers wanted to be entertained. Not informed. Often, pictures counted more than words. The carefully crafted 30-second sound bite began to sway public opinion. Political debate had to be crystallized. Down to a 2-minute exchange between combatants. No, an old-fashioend Lincoln-Douglas debate wouldn't cut it anymore. We needed instant gratification. Entertainment. Entertainment. And more entertainment. Yes, we got what we wanted. An entertained society. No longer an informed society. --Jim Broede