8 %

Picture of Paris Hilton at a news Conference in Broumana, Lebanon

Below is a comment by Haiku to an article in Techdirt entitled Only 8% Of Journalist Coverage Of Healthcare Debate Is Actually About The Healthcare System.

A number of years ago I attended a talk given by the managing editor of South Africa's highest-circulation newspaper. His theme was simple:

• The sole purpose of a newspaper is to sell advertising.
• Editorials exist simply to fill empty space, i.e. to join the adverts.
• Only the incredibly naive believe in 'crusading' journalism (or similar) e.g. Watergate.

Based on his criteria I have come to the conclusion that the 'purest' form of journalism is represented by the so-called trade magazines, whose editorials are simply a reprint of the PR company's hand-outs ... 8-)

I agree