The State of “Journalism”

BBC NEWS | Business | Blogger brought down by dire forecasts

Living in modern times, one finds it difficult to find comfort in the misery of others. After all, modernity derives to some extent from the establishment of standards and the adherence to standards by practitioners of all stripe. Consequently, the lower standards to which less industrialized (i.e., less modern) societies conform provide no relief to the modern citizen. The educated, modern citizen will find relief only in the elevation of the higher standards in which he or she lives, and he or she will lament the deterioration of the high standards to which she or he has grown accustomed.

That said, it is pretty amazing to learn that economic journalism and prognostication in South Korea is about as pathetic as it is in the United States. A single, high school educated blogger seems to have outdone the entire South Korean economic journalism establishment in analyzing and predicting Korea’s financial course. Whether it was the government that ended the blogger’s career or a thoroughly embarrassed journalism establishment remains, consequently, a legitimate question.

Still, it would be nice if “journalism” had some meaning in the US, the Korean debacle nothwishtanding.

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