What I wanted to be...

Ever since I can remember, I always associated adventure, mystery and excitement with two iconic figures. The first was Nancy Drew. I loved reading the books and I think to a large extent it encouraged my analytical thinking

The second was Lois Lane. Man, I wanted to be her! When I started university I actually wanted to become a journalist. You know…find the scoop…expose the truth and all the other excitement that went with it. I think to a certain extent the eager, hard hitting journalist who uncovers the truth has been one of those perceptions that have changed the world forever.

When you think of Lois Lane, what is the first thing you think of? Besides her being in love with superman. My thought is someone who stood for justice, honour and righteousness. Not someone who sensationalized stories so that the Daily Planet can draw more advertisers, so they can pull more readers! And why do they do this…to make more money. That is essentially what the media has come to.

When I watch CNN, I laugh, because even the way they speak is so dramatized! Like they are so passionate about what they are saying that it has to be true! Which is not the case. To a large extent, I see journalists as quite ego centric, because they only really chase stories that will give the most shock value to their viewers. They are paid to stand there and say things or write things that their bosses approve of. It is not there journalistic integrity for the truth that drives them these days, but their desire for status, power and the money their book deal will bring them one day. Some might say so what if they want to make money…does that mean that the news needs to be entertaining?

I worked at a radio station at University and as a result made friends with a lot of journalists that are working for some of the main radio news stations currently. I love my friends to bits, but I have to say that I hate journalism. It is the most pretentious industry on the planet. They hide behind the idea of exposing the truth in order to right the wrongs, but in actual fact all they really want to do is make money. Which is fine if everyone knows that is what your main goal is. Because there are people who do not question the media’s motives, and take what they say as gospel. But this gospel is highly biased.

The result of highly sensationalized news can be seen in many cases. In South Africa this whole Malema and AWB thing is a classic example of how the media has blown things out of proportion. (They are both idiots and have now turned a small bad situation bigger and even worse!) A situation, that the western media has also blown completely out of proportion, despite what you might think…people are not attacking each other based on race.

The line between sensationalism and 'truth' is completely blurred in the media today.

Journalists have to take a page out of the Anthropologists field journal and re-learn how to tell the story, without becoming sleazy. I don’t think it will ever happen but in the mean time…don’t believe everything you read or see in the news.

P.S. In the last Superman movie…Lois has Superman’s son, but is engaged to someone else…does anyone know when the hell is she going to realise that Superman is Clark? She can break every story on the planet but the most important one that is sitting right in front of her she can see? Stupid woman!