I grew up in a newsroom. I believe you can’t have a healthy democracy without a strong, independent media. I know how hard it is to be a good reporter. I know there are plenty of good journos. So why do I feel betrayed by the profession I love?

1. For 25 years it’s failed to come to terms with the threat of the internet.
2. It’s allowed bean counters to run the industry, leading to clickbait churnalism and the clearing out of newsrooms.
3. It’s given too much power to too few publishers and broadcasters.

4. It’s tried to turn news into entertainment.
5. It’s aided and abetted the rise of Pauline Hanson.
6. It’s allowed the political class in Canberra to obsess over tactics for 20 years instead of holding them to account for not value-adding to the nation.

7. It’s aped the worst aspects of US and UK media.
8. It’s encouraged its journalists to behave like celebrities.
9. It’s failed to stand up on the Julian Assange case. (I know he’s a pain, that’s not the point.)
10. It’s kowtowed to power instead of following the money.

11. It’s treated climate change as a political battle instead of an existential threat.
12. It’s allowed its news cycles to be dictated by governments and corporations.
13. It’s lacked the stamina to understand and tell the story of the challenges we face.

14. It seeks increasingly simplistic answers in an increasingly complex world.
15. It has no memory.
16. It’s too thin skinned.
17. It’s too parochial.
18. It’s too easily impressed with itself.
19. It’s terrified.