Another new year, another few million taxpayers’ dollars delivered to the print media to prop it up while most of the Australian population has moved on to prefer social media, local online media or national online newspapers.
As a daily newspaper reader and crossword fanatic, PS-sssst! is a paper junkie, but even the junkiest paper lover has to admit the days of reading the broadsheet in bed are numbered.
The question is: How long?
Given that taxpayers have plainly pointed out their preference, can it be fair to use taxpayers’ money to prop up a past world press?
PS-sssst! doesn’t think so.
Yes, it will be sad to see paper newspapers go, but it will be the same sadness that saw us say goodbye to horse-drawn carriages, 45rpm records and black and white TV.
In each case they lived on but not at the expense of the taxpayer.
Of course as an all online publication PS News will be biased won’t it?
Except that in our 17 years of publishing PS News we have yet to receive a dollar from any Government to support our service to our readers.
If we can do it, why can’t the ultra-squillion-dollar paper printers do it too?
The PS News stance has nothing to do with competition – but it has a lot to do with being a taxpayer!
Living overused
To the serious subject of suicide now where Victoria’s acting Minister for Mental Health has invited public comment on a new strategy for preventing ways to support people at risk.
Making the point that the family members left behind are deeply affected when it happens, the acting Minister said the new planned strategy would increase available supports with early interventions and expand a number of strategies that were already working well.
Referring to a recent Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, the acting Minister said the proposed strategy would look to people whose family had experienced it to play an important role.
“The strategy will be developed alongside people who have lived experience of suicide and their families, carers, kin and supporters,” the acting Minister said.
A wise strategy, of course, but could it have been put in a little less dramatic?
PS-sssst! wonders if the reference to people who “have lived experience of suicide” couldn’t have been just as meaningful if they simply “have experience of suicide” without reminding readers they had to ‘live’ through such a non-living experience.
Not a criticism, just a comment!
Winning the world
To the wild world that is Rama Gaind’s weekly giveaway now in which one lucky reader of PS News stands to win a free copy of the Blu-ray DVD Dynasties: The Greatest of Their Kind and learn how five extraordinary animals survive in nature and how they protect their dynasties.
Narrated by Award-winning English broadcaster and biologist Sir Richard Attenborough, 96, the DVD is to go to the first reader able to tell Rama how many extraordinary animals are featured in the brilliant documentary.
The answer Rama was after was ‘five’ and the first correct entrant to emerge from the PS News Barrel of Booty was from Jennifer H of Queensland’s Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy.
Congratulations Jennifer and thanks to all who took part in Rama’s world of winningness. Jennifer’s new DVD will be on its way shortly.
For another chance to be a Rama winner simply follow her books and/or DVD reviews and answer her simple quiz questions, one being to win this DVD The Good Neighbour at this PS News link or another book prize Level Up at this link.
It’s free to play and you have to be in it to win it!
Good luck to everyone who does!
Moral event
And finally, another word of wisdom from the fabulous Philomena S from Victoria’s Department of Health, this time posing a problematic pollster aimed at showing the science of scrutiny with a quizzical question of quip.
“If electricity comes from electrons” poses Philomena.
“Does ‘morality’ come from morons?’
PS-sssst! will leave that to the reader to decide!
‘Till next week…..
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