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industrial agriculture, diverts natural sources of water through irrigation. It is factual that pastoral farming relies heavily on natural sources of water. But what is not factual, is the assumption these people will inevitably clash over the dwindling water supply. While it is an educated assumption, it is nonetheless an assumption, which cannot be considered news without the backing of statistical data and expert analysis.

Stonehill's article is, essentially, a human interest story, but it is also a call to arms for the general public to demand the fundamental right to objective and balanced reporting, especially on the international scene. If the occurrence of these events were covered as well as what in our media is deemed important news, then the possibility of an impending water crisis might be a conclusion that the public would be aware of, having come to that conclusion as intelligent and sensible people. It is counterproductive to keep the supporting facts out of the media, but then present the assumption as the news instead. That is almost offensive to a certain degree when we are a nation where freedom of the press is a constitutional right.

Connecting the dots and bringing separate events into context is a cornerstone of good journalism, and for that I salute Alex Stonehill, but assumptions do not make for particularly good journalism. Furthermore, it is not necessary to make that step for the public. The primary function of media should be to inform the people, not to shape their views - although, of course, it does - but with freedom of the press comes great responsibility: the ethics must not be forgotten, and the public must be allowed to draw conclusions from unbiased and undiluted facts.

Stonehill, Alex. "Off the Record: The Coming World Water Crisis." The Common Language Project. 2008

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