Today a speech by Russian journalist Leonid Parfyonov at a Russian media awards ceremony was brought to my attention. He speaks about the state of Russian journalism, and the lack of a free press in Russia. These journalists are risking their lives to perform their public duty, and here in Sudbury, many journalists and editors don't seem to care either way. I quote (at length), from Parfonov:

"I speak with bitterness, having worked for Russian television full-time or freelance for 24 years. I have no right to blame any of my colleagues: not being a hero myself, I cannot demand heroic deeds from others. But the least we can do is call a spade a spade.  Current affairs programmes on television are doubly embarrassing when compared to the obvious successes of big TV shows and our homegrown school of soap opera. Our television is getting increasingly sophisticated at providing thrills, fascination, entertainment and at making us laugh, but it hardly deserves the title of a civic social and political institution. I am convinced that one of the main reasons for a dramatic fall in viewing figures among the most active part of the population is the fact that people from our circles are saying: why should I turn on the box, they’re not doing it for me!

What is even worse is that most people no longer have any need for journalism.  He got beaten up, so what?  All sorts of people get beaten up these days, so why all this fuss just because of a reporter?  Judging by this type of bewildered response millions of people in our country do not understand that a journalist takes professional risks for the sake of his audience. A journalist does not get beaten up because of what he has written, said or filmed. He gets beaten up because it has been read, heard or seen."

I hear about journalists being threatened and beaten, and sometimes even dying, in their attempts to bring people the truth around the world. At the same time, I watch North American journalism, and become sick to my stomach. Much of it is fat, complacent, and irrelevant. Articles about line-ups at Best Buy, a survey saying Sudburians are happy, and a fluff piece about Cambrian cutting programs run as top stories in the local media.(The Cambrian story is important, but the article is such a College-PR perspective that it's impossible to take seriously.)

These types of stories are what our city has come to expect from our print journalists. Could it be a slow news day? Certainly. However, this is not uncommon. I wish it were. I read an article by a sports editor, which contained at least four major grammatical errors a spell-checker would pick up without difficulty. The citizens of this city, and this country, should demand more of their journalists. what happened to being proud of one's work?

Journalism is a public duty, which is now treated as if it were purely entertainment. It's not meant to be all flashing lights and laughs, it is meant to be hard to swallow at times. I'm not saying journalism shouldn't include features pieces, sports, an entertainment section, or anything besides hard news. I am saying that media personnel have a responsibility to their readers to not simply take a squat over newsprint and publish the results. Quality is important, despite the decline in it we've witnessed over the years.

Around the world we watch journalists dying and being beaten to bring the public the truth. At home, we watch some journalists who are too lazy to get out of their desks to find a good story, and are all too happy to eat press releases and spew out articles that even a student journalist should not be proud of. I wonder what it feels like to look in the mirror. At home, we seem too willing to step onto the treadmills provided for us by public relations and communications professionals. We are unwilling to put foot to pavement in order to dig up real stories.

In Mexico, some journalists are getting shot in the head to report the truth. Locally, we have journalists unwilling to ask difficult questions or take the time to balance their articles, even though they are protected by the force of the law. To put it simply, we have become irrelevant cowards, unwilling to stir the pot, most likely due to fear from corporate masters or flat-out laziness. This is unacceptable. We are failing the public, and failing each other.

Who will speak up for those without a voice if we remain impotent?