For better newspapers

One teacher gave us a puzzle what would happen if the only film that remained was of Data on Star Trek? How would a historian interpret this information? What would they say? And how would society be portrayed? Imagine for one moment how historians will use what reporters write in newspapers. This led me to re-think journalism as reporters are today's historians because they record and report on daily events. How will our world be interpreted if all that is left in our daily newspaper????

Reporters and journalists are there to bring the news too often it is bad news, and only negative events get attention. Communities do not get coverage hence there are community newspapers and magazines. I would suggest a new branch of journalism would be interesting that is to bring a history of the city, when various communities came to live in a city, stories of unusual individuals who have contributed to society and made a difference in their own community or another community.

The press can be racist and this can cause a great deal of pain to one community, the solution is to give a fair and balanced view of a community, give the positive and also the negative that way one group does not become stigmatized or feel they are victims of hatred.

Inclusiveness in one way to make sure that everyone is welcome and part of society from historical perspective historians will be able to give a more balanced view of our own century and the contribution we made. It is to plant seeds now so that in the future we can be remember as we are and not as someone imagines us to be.

Here are some suggestions, the cost is a few minutes of your time an email or one stamp and you can make a difference.

1. Write to the newspapers and ask to get fair coverage
2. For radio and television write to producers to advertisers and ask to be inclusive.
3. For the written press you can write to the Editor in Chief or the owners
4. In Quebec you can write the Federation des Journalistes
5. Conseil de Presse
6. CRTC for radio and television
7. You can write to newspaper editors, journalists and columnists

FOr those who have known war and immigrate to another country

Here are some suggestions I would like to see implemented for new immigrants.

It is important to learn about the new culture and the ways of the country of adoption. But, it is also important to have in place some special services for people who have known war. This should apply to all those who have been traumatized by bombings, the fear of loss of life, knowing gun fire or the incessant noise of bombs.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Person traumatized by war should be given help, which includes post traumatic stress disorder treatment and counseling.
2. Victims of war should be helped to re-adjust to life
3. Woman and children should be helped; if women were raped they should get counseling as for children they should be given special treatment.

If a person gets help when they first arrive it will help them adjust and also relieve some of the stress associated with the terror of war. Too many times a person is left alone, without help, hence they isolate the pain, refuse to talk about it and in the long run they hurt themselves and maybe others.