I recently found this interesting presentation by Alisa Miller, CEO of Public Radio International, speaking at TED about the global news crisis.

Alisa starts off by asking the question “how does news shape the way we see the world?”. A serious and particularly relevant issue in the 21st Century which is exemplified by the news map of the world according to the American media (both the U.S. & Iraq are disproportionately inflated).

Two points struck a cord:

• Coverage of Anna Nicole Smith’s death surpassed all major events except for Iraq.
• 50% of American foreign bureaus have been closed and therefore there is an increased reliance on shared wire services and less of an emphasis on primary sources and robust reporting.

It truly is a sad fact of life that celebrity news and infotainment are taking over mainstream media with an alarming frequency. Consequently, this affects public discourse and the way we see the world. Without a strong independent media I don’t believe you can have a strong democracy and what has happened to America over the past couple of decades is evidence of this. The 30 second TV commercial has become the de facto marketing channel for political candidates and media consolidation has resulted in fewer, more powerful networks. As for newspapers? Let’s not even go there.

Profits have become the order of the day for most media companies and the belief in quality journalism as a service and a vital component of a robust democracy has all but faded away. These are dangerous times that we live in.