As the internet grows so must the need for the professional journalistr

A Marxist call to arms by Tim Luckhurst, Professor of Journalism at the University of Kent in the Independent this morning.

Whereas according to Tim,we thought

There will be no further need for newspapers or broadcasters to host debates and represent public opinion. The internet will let every citizen speak for themselves. The masses will seize the means of media production. We will witness an era of revolutionary change.

and that this would lead to the end of the independent capitalist media barons

In fact they are alive and well and we need them to guarantee the journalist's role in the Fourth estate

Democracy cannot thrive if state or commercial power is left free to scrutinise itself. It needs honest, authoritative reporting of the kind Britons have become accustomed to receiving from newspapers and broadcasters. And the internet makes surveillance and intrusion as easy as it makes information sharing. That creates a greater need for the scrutiny only professional journalism can guarantee.