Berlusconi

The lowly but heroic journalist tracking down the truth and revealing it to the public, shining a light into the darkest corners of society and shouting to the rest of us "Look! Look what I've found!" It's a naive, romantic idea but I love it, I think we all do.

Perhaps the most applaudable role of the journalist is that of the white blood cell, when those in authority abuse their power or make a mistake the media point it out and society as a whole can only benefit from this. Checks and balances.

I think this is why I've been so interested in the rumours and accusations that have been flying through the Italian press about Silvio Berlusconi. Regardless of whether he is guilty of any wrong doing or not, he's running a country and his laundry should be whiter than white when the press snoops through it. It can only be a good thing that he is subject to the same laws and now the same consequences as any of his citizens.




It's doubly important because Berlusconi is a media mogul himself and that's a dangerous thing. I don't personally believe someone should have the ability to set the news agenda and then profit from it. Men like Berlusconi and Rupert Murdoch have the power to influence governments, we should constantly be looking at them and asking ourselves what are their motivations? Is what they are doing right? Any change in law that makes them more accountable is a breath of fresh air.

And it's great to see that the Italian press (and specifically the publications not owned by Berlusconi) are doing well from the whole fiasco as well.