Misses old way news was reported

Dear Editor:

I miss the news!

The days of Stanley Burke, Knowlton Nash and even Peter Mansbridge are gone. Those were the days when the viewer was provided with real news, freshly reported and without much editorial overprint. These days, real news is being replaced by opinion, advocacy and repetition.

We are inundated with “what you need to know about...” and interviewees stating “Look, ...” Both, usually preceding a rehash, an opinion or advocacy, presented as news. Our media has found “experts” a plenty and they will surely set us straight.

Where have all the reporters gone? You can scan broadcast, print and internet news sites and view the exact wording from multiple sources. Is there some central, unseen source of most our news? Are we living in a world that was described in 1930’s science fiction?

There is a certain orthodoxy presented in broadcast media today. Certain beliefs, positions and activities are deemed to be good and covered in depth. Others are not. What happened to balance in the news? Panel “discussions” are populated with folks with the same opinions. Debate has largely disappeared. Aren’t there two sides to most issues? There are a lot of things happening in our world now. Some are good, some are bad, some encourage optimism, some don’t. Those things that encourage optimism are under-reported.

Why is that? We, the consumers of news, deserve better. For those of you out there in the news business, please try a little harder, for your sake and ours.

Ron Ramsay

Penticton