Do you have a unique or "classic" book?

JaKing wrote:

tedolf wrote:

JaKing wrote:

Siegfried, while I don't have your specific book, I have several shelves that include most of the others mentioned so far. All of Ansel Adams technical writings and several of his photography books. Quite a few of the 1950s era - e.g. Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, the Leica manual, etc.

Much of mankind's knowledge is 'locked up' in books - reading is the 'key'.

Funny thing is, when you suggest that someone read a book, even a specific book, you are branded as being "elitist" and "not helpful", especially in the Beginner's Forum.

Tedolph

Same thing is happening in our schools here. The education union considers the expectation that teachers can read, write, spell and do arithmetic to be a harsh imposition. Teachers who cannot spell see nothing wrong when a child cannot spell.

Don't start me on journalists! They appear to want total freedom to write whatever they like (often badly) , with no attached responsibility or liability at law ...

I'm not sure which country you are talking about.

In the US, the media is not regulated because it was designed to keep an eye on the powerful/government. And in many cases it's been very successful. That arrangement has worked well.

Unfortunately, media consolidation (and corporate ownership) has eroded local news and put the news corporations in bed with government. There has also been a gradual easing of ownership restrictions. That's very bad news if we want an educsted population. I think one company provides news for about half the country. That should scare anyone, especially when you consider how the Founding Fathers viewed the importance of news. Newspapers used to be delivered free via USPS.

Then, you have the capitalistic needs for news outlets to turn a profit (each year) which leads to less quality but bigger returns for the owners.

As far as liability, you are very wrong. News organizations can be sued for libel, and often are. Sometimes they lose, but I think they more often win.

Journalists do make mistakes. They are human and rely on other humans for information. Sometimes sources are wrong. They key is whether they journalists admit/correct their mistakes. Credible news sources do.

Now don't confuse journalists with commentators who provide options. Bill O"Reilly was good at blurring the lines when it worked in his favor.

I have concerns when someone with a video camera (yet no training, experience or job) claims to be a journalist when they are really an advocate. It's like q gas station attendant claiming to be a mechanic.