Yukko!

A few months ago, the Edmonton Journal did an expose on food safety in city restaurants. The public reaction to the issue forced an opening up of the safety inspections, which are now available for anyone who wants to see them. Since then, occasionally an article appears like the one excerpted below, which is about the China Palace Seafood Restaurant:

Prosecutor Rob O'Neill said the violations found during many inspections included restaurant staff leaving raw meat out in improper temperatures and rinsing vegetables and noodles in dirty sinks where raw meat had been.

As well, inspectors found mouse droppings and fly infestations, dirty kitchen equipment, unsanitary dish rags and raw meat hanging over uncovered vegetable containers.
Inspectors also spotted mouldy sweet and sour sauce, leaking water, dripping oil, grills with encrusted grease and dust and unsanitary staff washrooms.
[Edmonton Sun. July 10, 2007]

All I can say is, Yukko!

Well, actually, that is not all I can say. This food safety issue is one of a host of issues that have been publicized by our local media, which would otherwise have gone unnoticed. Another big profile issue was the government jets zooming all over the province at vast expense -- the official records for which were witheld by government until AFTER the 2004 provincial election. And how about the story the Journal also broke on the government agency, the Energy and Utilities Board, that hired private investigators to spy on Alberta landowners? All coups for the good old print media!

I bring this up because the print media is in trouble. Todd Babiak had a column about this a couple of weeks ago. It was an alarm cry for anyone who cares about journalism's role in promoting a healthy democracy. The fact is, not enough people are paying attention to the news. How many people are subscribed to a newspaper these days? Of all the people I know in this town, I can think of only one subscriber. My father gets the Edmonton Journal. Nobody my own age -- including me! -- is subscribed to any local paper.

But look at why... Look at what I just did. I got an article online from the Sun and stuck some of it on my blog. The last time I subscribed to a paper, 1995, that would not have been possible.

Yes, Internet -- you are a temperamental monster, wreaking havoc on some cherished parts of our culture, yet liberating others.

I don't know where all this is going to lead us, but I do know this. In the same way that those who only travel a city from inside a car don't truly know it, those who never read about a community don't really know its politics.

ADDENDUM:
Sometimes I write something and it appears to wrap up nicely, but then on closer inspection, I realize it doesn't. I had to add something to this post because as initially written, it made an assumption I wasn't happy with. Reading is not the only way to find out what's going on. Of course. Radio and TV -- especially the CBC -- illuminate the issues of the day. It's partly a question of the rigour that the given medium gives to the issue. My point is, everyone should pay attention to a dependable media source on a fairly frequent basis. By dependable, I'm not wanting to get into left or right wing bias. I just mean something that will explore an issue in depth, not in a soundbite.