But I wonder how many people know that the BBC is funded by a licence fee (just under 200 dollars a year) which is paid by any household with a TV.

This means that the BBC is well-funded, and also that it is accountable to the people through parliament.

News coverage in particular is scrutinised and examined, and highly valued.

But I have a lot of contact with local BBC radio and TV stations on behalf of clients, and I have noticed over the last few years that their journalists have been cut back drastically. Previously, if I sent a press release, I would expect a call asking for more details, asking about the bits I'd left out (maybe hoping they would not notice!), checking a fact.

These days it seems as if all local news media, even the BBC, do not have the resources to do other than, in most cases, accept what I send them without question, and I do find it a bit unsettling to see the exact words I've used being regurgitated several times over.

There are exceptions of course, and some excellent investigative journalism, but they ARE the exceptions.

I want good journalism. I want the journalism of my youth. (I started reading the LA Times when I was 4 1/2 years old.) Concise stories that I could get the gist of in a few paragraphs at the top.

And I miss the conversations about the news. Sharp, insightful, relevant issue oriented conversations. But they no longer exist either. It's more interesting to find out what phone someone has then what is going on in Afghanistan.

I have no answers, only questions. Thanks for bringing up the dilemma.

The issue you bring up is one my husband and I have talked about many a time. And the only answer we have been able to come up with to be in integrity with the value we place on really good journalism and newsworthy stories is to continue to renew (and upgrade) our membership and support of our local Public Television and Radio Stations. That doesn't help the print journalism end of things… but the challenge you describe with the print media is not all that different the NPR and PBS are facing or will be facing in the future. For me, it's SCARY to think of not having those sources of information… Which is also probably why Dan subscribes to The Atlantic Monthly and we both subscribe to The Week (both quality print magazines). So – here's my plug for all of us supporting our local NPR and PBS affiliates!

Your blog also made me realize something else – and another way I can make a difference. When I log onto the internet in the morning (or at any time), my home page has all sorts of links of headlines in the news. After reading your article, I realized that I am one of those people who click on the latest Tiger Woods story or “buzz” story… which means that news organizations are including my page visits in their “evidence” to support the new direction of news. That is EXACTLY the opposite of what I want… so, begin today, I can start to “vote with my mouse” and NOT click on those “sensational story” links from my home page or Google. In fact, I just had a BRILLIANT idea! I'm going to change my home page to the PBS Newshour page… so that any news headlines I get will be coming from a quality organization that I want to support! That's an organization I want to support .. but it's a move all of us in this Tribe can take… be it NPR or PBS or the New York Times website. So -that's my “game-changer” today… thanks for helping me see that I CAN do something … I am not a helpless victim!

(Sarah, another fun song! thx).

I love to get the paper in the morning and read it at my dining room table. And it's really the local news I want to know all about. People don't realize that the demise of local news will make it difficult to have a say about what's going on in your town. If no one reports on that historic home being razed, you won't know about it. It's an important tool for a democracy. Yeah, you can read someone's posting on FB.

Getting the news on-line isn't the same. The onus is on the reader to spend a lot of time trying to stumble on what they need.

On a related note, ur obsession with getting the lowest price is destroying the middle class. If we want the lowest price then we need to be willing to work for the lowest price because ultimately that's where this discountification of the country is going. That's one of the reasons jobs get shipped overseas.

I'd love to reverse this movement and see a move to buy quality products and services that last, including bringing back high quality journalism. Anything can be deemed desirable. It's up to us to decide what kind of world we want to live in.

Thx, Giulietta