Authoritative, simple advice all that’s needed
I WRITE a column every Wednesday. This does not make me a journalist. My daughter is an outstanding journalist and we talk often. This also does not make me a journalist. I know nothing about what any particular daily paper should have as its major theme on any one day.
I’m sure that proper journalists can work that out and, at least partially, frame their own articles to enhance the quality of the newspaper they write for. Of course, there is a limit to how one writes a story to fit into the style of the newspaper owner.
I don’t read a particular newspaper because of its style. I do read newspapers that genuinely tell the news and reflect the overall climate of opinion.
Simply, I am something of a fanatic about news and current affairs and love to see what other people are doing and thinking.
A responsibly designed newspaper with professional columnists, editors and other staff gives me great pleasure and allows me to make personal judgements about what is going on in the world.
The newspaper must therefore reflect the thinking priorities and emphases of those who read it.
It follows that the newspaper should try to satisfy the quest for responsible coverage and we must expect that any particular edition will contain stories that one may personally regard as trivial, nonsensical and unworthy of publication.
Other stories will capture the imagination and encourage you to think about the content and learn about the world as a consequence.
I’m aware that this is a huge responsibility
‘‘ I WANT MEDICS AND THOSE PEOPLE RELATED TO DIABETICS TO RECOGNISE THE NEED FOR SIMPLE STATEMENTS AND SIMPLE ACTIONS ...
placed on the heads of individual journalists, editors and owners.
I think that Wednesday’s front page of the Chronicle which included the heading, “Who the bloody hell is running this eight hundred million industry?” was not worthy of the paper I know.
I absolutely dislike the language of the heading.
As I write this, I’m listening to ABC’s Code Sunday program. It contains an item about diabetes in which people who appear to know what they’re talking about, discuss policy.
I am a type two diabetic and have been for many years. The only thing that matters to me is that the outcome of those high level policies give me the chance to live a full life unthreatened by doing stupid dietary actions that unnecessarily force me to have too much sugar in my system.
I am totally willing to accept that lifestyle changes must be made to constrain my sugar intake to an acceptable level.
I don’t want a complex debate about policy! What I do need is the simple authoritative piece of advice about what needs to happen to my body as I cope with the incurable danger of eating too much sugar.
I want medics and those people related to diabetics to recognise the need for simple statements and simple actions that constrain any unnecessary sugar inputs and therefore solve a real problem for diabetics.
Diabetic itself, properly controlled, can be lived with very easily.
But you have to be careful!