The power of non news.

from THE JAKARTA POST -- MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010 -- PAGE 22 I attend a lot of conferences where newsmen (yes I know it's an outmoded, sexist term, but that's the kind of industry we're in) wring their hands about the future of their profession.

Or rather the lack of it.

And loyal readers of this column will know I tend to throw my hands up in the air at such discussions rather than wring them. Because these discussions never tackle the central issues of their industry.

One of them is this: What exactly is news? Or more precisely, what is the product that people are buying - even if they're not paying for it - when they read your paper, your website, listen to …