I grew up reading newspapers. I loved opening a freshly delivered daily paper, it was like opening a birthday or Christmas present. The sense of expectation though for a newspaper was that every page held a surprise or a mystery either solved or insinuated.

    As a youngster fifty years ago I delivered the Kingston Whig Standard in my small home town of Wilton, Ontario. Thirty-four newspapers delivered over a three to four mile route. Walking in the winter and riding my bike the other three seasons. All for two cents a paper.

    For me as a young person those many years ago I held in great esteem the men and women who wrote the articles that I poured over page by page. I considered a journalist one of the great professional occupations of the world. Researching the truth about an event and putting it in writing, uncovering dastardly deeds and bringing them forth to the reading public.

    Oh, what a cloak and dagger life these writers must lead I thought to myself! Finding the story behind the story. Meeting informants in smoky bars and coffee shops to get the buzz that would astound all their readers. 

    As I grew older and starting working for a living I discovered the Toronto Star. Wow, these writers travelled the world to bring me fascinating tales of intrigue, war and the unknown!

    The columnists of the Whig I revered even more than the "super heroes" of comic book fame. Now I was reading Toronto writers from the largest newspaper in Canada. 

    Even to this day I hold journalists in the highest regards. People that can write three or four articles every week and have people read them and be enthused about them, deserve a standing ovation.

    Alas though, newspapers are laying off these wonderful weavers of mystic prose. The younger generation is rarely seen with a paper in their hand. Instead all their news comes via an electronic hand held growth.

    Now everyone that writes a blog think they are writers. Right and left wing opinions, frequently written under alias's and nom de plumes; which tells me they are not proud of what they write and cannot back it up with facts.

    But the "professionals" always put their names and commonly their pictures on the stories they write. This to me says they are proud of the effort they put into the story and stand by the facts they have written.

    Long live the newspaper and magazine journalists of this world!