To Whom It May Concern,

I'm a student of journalism. If anyone asked me what I was doing with my life at the moment I would answer 'studying journalism'. I do not have the inclination yet to answer 'I'm a journalist'. I don't know why, perhaps it has to do with the fact that beside this blog my contribution to the world of media seems significantly minimal. However, the irony is, I still believe my opinion on various aspects of media matters. Especially the news. In fact, I believe the opinion of the public far outweighs that of the journalists.

The news is a medium that I love and loathe. It is a vital form of journalism, if not the most important. When the floods hit, when the earthquake hit, when the tsunami hit - the world was kept in the loop. The terror and pressures were shared. People had the capacity to do something. The images were heartbreaking yet there was a human element to the entire thing because it was presented on the news.

What I loathe is when it becomes acceptable for trivial stories to hit the air that are filling our minds with useless information, bad habits and gossip. A vast degree of the political stories, not all, but much, verges on over-technical drama. I can watch my family switch off in the living room the minute a prominent politician's name is uttered. If you bring up politics in public, eyes go glassy, thoughts wander and suddenly everyone you're talking to is nodding for the sake of seeming polite.

That should not be the standard response when you mention the Australian Government. Get rid of all of the irrelevant political nonsense on the news and maybe the nation will look up at the TV screen when their political leader's name is spoken. That's your job news! Get us interested in the nation. Stop showing us crap. Pretty please.

I not even going to largely mention the stories about the cow that got loose that one time or the neighbour that won't cut down his tree and it's ruining someones life. THAT IS NOT NEWS. Kindly make a TV show called 'Trivial Gossip' and air it that way. I'm fine with that!

This rant was brought to you by the content I learnt in my ninth lecture. That of news values.