Battery, my favourite part of St. John’s, has suffered extensive damage in yesterday’s storm. A couple of houses needed to be evacuated in the middle of the night and some stages and wharfs have been simply washed away including the frame foundations on our friends’ house. This afternoon, when I walked over, the winds were still strong and the waves moderately high washing away the debris and further damaging the properties along the water.
***
I apologize in advance for what is surly going to turn into a rant.
If you still wonder why is journalism held in such low esteem these days, look no further than the local CBC website and the insensitive, self-promoting and badly written blog published under the heading Haiti Impressions by ‘journalist’ and anthropology student Justin Brake. “Two and a half days in Port-au-Prince and I still have not felt any aftershocks,” laments Brake. Well, sorry that it’s not so entertaining as you hoped it would be. He offers nothing: no insight, no compassion, no understanding of the place, the people and their history or the current events, and no ability or empathy to actually come away from this tragedy a better person- never mind actually do some good. And he is not alone. According to this lightstalkers thread, the vulture mentality has hit an all-time low. You can tell what frauds various Justin Brakes are when you read a personal account of an actual journalist like Peter Power. When a place like CBC gives platform to somebody like Brake it robs us all of a meaningful public discussion on things that truly matter. Journalism is not about self-aggrandizement, but about giving a voice to those who need it. At one point, CBC had journalists who understood that. It’s time to hire them back.
Croatian word of the day: oluja storm [o loo ya]