COMMENT | Daily we follow the news to stay informed. But is there a downside in staying ‘informed’ about what you think are socio-economic injustices but feel powerless to do something concrete about it?

I wrote last year that what we do is largely based on facts and opinions garnered from what we have read. To know for a fact that something is not right, and actually act on it is one of the most challenging tasks we face.

Journalists too often face this difficulty, especially those working in a system like ours, which is defined by political patronage, blatant cronyism, kinship ties, ethnicity and religion.

It is an ethical dilemma. Where does one draw the line between objectively reporting on how the country is doing, where it is going, and personally becoming part of the story in pushing for long-awaited reforms?

This dilemma has created a situation where occupational stress and pessimism in the mainstream newsroom will more likely happen than editors putting aside a budget and assigning a team of sharp reporters to investigate into public corruption, organised crime, socio-economic injustices and so forth.

Resignation to the reality of it-is-what-it-is, and a sense of learned helplessness, I think, goes beyond the newsroom to readers who habitually check their news feeds through the day – and night...