I've been a journalist since I dropped out of high school and ran away from home at 17. I can't understand why anyone would ever want to be anything else.

Central to my understanding of our honourable profession is my undoubtedly naive conviction that journalism is a cause and that journalists are servants of the people. However, I believe too many journalists have abandoned both the cause and the people to comfortably serve authorities and institutions instead.

I modestly display both Emmy and Sigma Delta Chi awards for journalism on my bookshelf. But any inspection of my career proves I've had trouble holding down a variety of perfectly good jobs.

I've been — at various times — writer, reporter, interviewer, foreign correspondent, editor, lineup editor, anchor, documentary producer, programme producer, executive producer and news director (your classic moving target) for three newspapers, United Press International, Zambia-TV, ABC-TV, NBC-TV, PBS and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Due to unusually benign neglect on the part of CBC, I was its Coordinator and Executive Producer, TV Journalism Training, for 10 years. Then I noticed the time and quit to form my own broadcast journalism and communications training and consulting company. ... more