Photosynthesis and the News

Think of the classic food chain we were taught in school.

Plant life is at the bottom. That is where sunlight is first changed into biomass. Then herbivores eat them, carnivores eat them, and larger carnivores still eat them. And when any of them die, their biomass becomes available to scavengers on both a macro and a micro level.

Now think of the news business. Sunlight is reality. Commentators expounding their opinions for us on the "news" shows, and denouncing each others' opinions are large carnivores. Whatever there is of reality in those bloviations has been digested several times long before and they are chewing on it again. They don't add any biomass. They aren't equipped for the photosynthesis that adding biomass to the system actually requires.

Where does THAT adding-of-biomass take place? Largely amongst the old wire services: AP, Reuters, UPI, Knight-Ridder. They are still the bottom of the food chain.

I need scavengers to make this analogy work....

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