Editorial: Tears for a champ

John Campbell had his last show with TV3 on Friday.

It is not often you see a journalist cry.

Surprising given most days we encounter the darker side of life. Not that we lack empathy - but professionalism dictates detachment that precludes tears spilling on a keyboard.

Yet Friday night there was barely a dry eye in our newsroom as we watched the last episode of Campbell Live.

The montage of stories was a reminder why Campbell's exit is mourned by many in the media.

Ordinary New Zealanders often asked the team for help when there was no-one else who cared or listened. Sure, there were lighter entertaining stories, but, in many instances, the stories made a real difference. The team persisted in asking questions that people didn't want to answer. The stories held the powerful to account, and advocated for the "little man".

In other words, they did what journalists are supposed to do. Not to say a media diet has to be all hard-core issues. Like many, I love celebrity, quirky and light-hearted programmes. But the existence of lighter entertainment should not mean more serious journalism is sidelined.

The last Campbell Live show aired the same week in which Fairfax NZ announced around 180 editorial positions were being disestablished.

"It's a tough, tough time to be a journalist," said Campbell on Friday.

It is not the prospect of losing one's job that makes a true journalist cry, but the threat to journalism itself.

The increasing number of spin doctors, communications advisers and public relations companies means there are more people acting as guard dogs to the truth than journalists seeking the truth. Those spin doctors would prefer it if we just typed out the press releases they send to the newsroom, and send them to press. Imagine if there was no-one left to verify facts, hunt down sources, question people, find out what really happened and why it mattered.

Imagine if the flow of information to the public was controlled by the Government, the councils, and those with commercial interests at heart.

That would be something to cry about.

Friday night's tears were encouraging that throughout the country there are still journalists left who care, and who will never give up the fight for the truth.