Did the Earth Move For You??

Victoria has had a number of shocks recently. The latest was a 5.3 earthquake situated near Moe in the state’s south-east. I was watching Foreign Correspondent on ABC TV when the sliding door nearby rattled for a good few seconds. While my couch didn’t move (too weighed down perhaps?) it was pretty obvious that we had an earthquake.

After checking everything was ok and there hadn’t been a short windstorm outside the patio, I jumped on the iPAD and checked Geoscience Australia. No joy there, the site crashed with all the traffic ( when will governments learn to fund their websites appropriately??) then turned to Facebook and  the Amercian Geological Survey which gave accurate data about the quake within about 15 minutes.

I didn’t turn to the Age website, the Age newspaper or any other media outlet, other than Facebook. I went directly to the source of technical knowledge, repute and interest – the geologists who have sensitive machines measure these things. I also turned to my friends who are inhabiting social media.

 This also illustrates the other quake that hit Melbourne and Australia in the last couple of days, the shedding of thousands of staff at Fairfax media empire.

I don’t buy the newspapers except for the Saturday edition. I do the crosswords and look at the magazines and occasional business stuff. My other half reads the main pages and does the Sudoku. The rest gets turfed into recycling bin or used for cleaning the fire.

So here is the dilemma. I buy the Age, read it at the library occasionally, but don’t support it financially.

 I certainly won’t buy the Age newspaper at all if Editorial Freedom is lost!  

 I consume media largely from free websites, such as the ABC, and specialist groups – Australian Conservation Foundation, government websites, and overseas websites. I watch TV, read blogs and watch non-fiction DVD’s often sourced from my public library.

So Brave New World – it will rock on whether I like it or not!