Norwegians are talking, but are they thinking and analyzing?

24Feb09

In this blog post I criticize journalists for being to tabloid and immediate referendums thrown at the people for contributing to stupidity. Here goes.

According to the biggest newspaper in Norway there was a Norwegian girl who first reacted to the new terms from Facebook and eventually gathered enough support to get them changed. This time to the good! Such immediate referendums made available through Internet have totally changed the way both companies, but also the politicians have to do their work. Dramatically!

However, they have a potential downside (at least one). When our Minister of Justice, mr. Knut Storberget nearly have to leave his chair because of an uncontrollable and extremely tabloid flaming from Norwegian newspapers and media, supported by the simplifying opposition, I understand that people turn to blogs instead of newspapers, but probably not to a large enough scale. And if they add to their media habits with blogs, do they read them with a critical analysis in mind? People have a tendency to believe in what they believe in, and then search for (and of course find) supporting evidence wherever they look. This is also why the Liberalistic Party (Fremskrittspartiet) is finding so many supporters these days. They tell people the simple story; Storberget did not have control over his Ministry, and should leave (and add to the story a couple of other blunders he made in the fall). I do not think it is that easy.

No one is perfect, not the secretary who happened to post the Police Hijab press release on the ministries web pages too early, neither the minister himself who followed up very clumsy at the beginning. He might however have learned by now. I do not know. He is probably no worse than any unknown alternative, but to be forced to step down by the opposition on this matter, because the press and opposition wants blood. As more and more voices are fronted, more and more blood seem to be what one want, and more and more dirt is being written about our high profiled politicians, I can not do anything but conclude that it has become a hell lot harder to be a politician, and that they have to listen to many almost immediate referendums to stay on top, and have the journalists back away.

Are the journalists just doing their job as the critical media shall be, or are they stressed to the brink, buying good stories based on presumptive evidence, and trying to make them hit the front page just to sell more papers, miscarrying justice as they go, and terrified that the media house they work in will set them on the street due to bankruptcy?

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