Pains me to admit, Marum, but, as a retired journalist, I'd have...

Pains me to admit, Marum, but, as a retired journalist, I'd have to agree with you. To be fair to the current crop - many of whom are better educated and more intelligent than I - the problem is the second-by-second news cycle. No one has any time to think. (Think about that) All the reports are flushed out - not heavily researched, rarely put in context. The gloomier and more doomed the better. Plus, aside from the frontline soldiers under constant fire from their own bosses and the rest of the world, there are too many sit-on-bum commentators and (help me my sweet lord) influencers and bloggers. They, as my grandma used to remark: "Open their mouths and let their tummies rumble." So, if we have to be wary of the media, we have to choose carefully our teachers. Good luck to all.