I was in a cab yesterday and the driver had the radio tuned into what I believe was Ernie Sigley’s afternoon show, and they were talking job cuts at Fairfax. The discussion was not about how these job cuts are directly related to the downturn in print advertising caused by online alternatives, no, according to the clowns on the radio, it was the beginning of a new recession where unemployment will go through the roof. It’s a sign of the times they claimed, a weakening economy, the first of massive job cuts to come.
I wonder what it’s like to live in a state of pure ignorance, a delusional state that ignores reality instead of looking at the real reasons. I know that not everyone is so stupid in the Australian media as to not understand the changing marketplace, and talkback radio isn’t always a platform for highlighting the most intelligent debate, but still, it doesn’t bide well for large chunks of the mainstream media when they simply can’t see the change not only coming, but happening all around them.
