Journalism should be about ascertaining truths. Ironically, the need to at least break-even financially, has resulted in ratings squeezing out quality investigative journalism. This has resulted in promotion of poorly researched and often biased narratives that are not based on reality nor helpful for navigating a very uncertain future. The alternative, publicly funded media has proven to be equally compromised as competition for meagre funding, and the need to grab people’s attention, squeezes the ability of journalists to adequately inform the public of reality. 
 

The overarching predicament is that our species is extracting, processing, consuming and excreting too much, too fast, for our finite planet to handle. The flip side of that coin is that our species – at this level of consumption – is overpopulated. Neither journalism faction seems capable of grasping this essential fact; both champion growth and continuation of an unsustainable civilisational model. 
 

As humanity traverses the peak of the Limits to Growth, ‘funding’ (which is nothing more than a forward bet on the planet’s tangible resources) for all things will be increasingly fraught. Already, alternative ‘facts’ and polarization are becoming the norm, as people try to displace a mainstream narrative and political discourse that doesn’t fit their lived realities. 
 

The seeking of truth is more essential now, than it has ever been. We need a public discourse about our trajectory, our overshoot and our future options; we need a platform for that discussion. Journalism – including the accurate reporting of science – is still society’s best hope; the rewards of funding it far outweigh the consequences of polarization-via-ignorance.

© Scoop Media