The Twilight of Journalism

Last Sunday, The Boston Globe published a large piece on their Op-Ed page. It was a load of company crap from an industry hack, telling us how wonderful genetically modified food is, and how it's so much better than organic food, which according to this wonk, is bad for us and the planet.

Wow. And they wonder why it's the twilight of journalism, where newspapers are dying off. Gee, maybe it has something to do with the fact that they keep acting like big-industry newsletters, rather than responsible journalists, pushing out every piece of spin mouthed by self-serving agents of those corporations, at the expense and detriment of the public.

The piece is full of lies and distortions, and is a long advertisement for an industry that has been exposed time and again for its bad practices and potential for disaster. The piece totally misrepresents the opposing view, and is an obvious piece of spin by someone who gets paid to shovel this crap at us.

For an example of what this piece is like, read the book "Toxic Sludge is good For You" by Stauber and Rampton. You'll find many similar examples by corporate mouthpieces.

It is truly shameful that one of the few good newspapers left would put this out to the public. It is a disservice to the readers, and not worth the space. It is indicative of why newspapers are in trouble and losing readership. Printing lies is bad journalism, and makes people mistrust the venue that prints them. So the Globe is digging its own grave. Sad, sad, sad.