Lately I've noticed a trend going on in the news site I frequent daily. Ever since my high school days I have patroned the Sydney Morning Herald (smh for short), which I considered to be a high quality newspaper which the intelligent people read. Heck, its a broadsheet, all self respecting newspapers are broadsheets! Makes reading on the train or juggling it with your toast a real chore no doubt.

Yet, despite being away from home, I still frequent the smh, to catch up with the news back in Oz. And in the meantime I have acquired a taste for high quality and intelligent news with respected news agencies such as the Times, Guardian, Financial Times, etc. These are well respected, long standing and have a great tradition of reporting and commenting on the news.

And this is where the comparisons become more and more apparent.

No doubt I like popular culture, and celebrities, and quirky news stories. But I realise that there is an increasing emphasis on stupid and braindead news. One feature that irks me is the emphasis on presenting scantily clad women, no matter what the context of the story may be. There is also alot more allusions to nudity, alot of reporting on pornography, alot of commentaries about sex, an obession to sex, and an over emphasis on reporting affairs of rugby, truly one of the most boring and brain dead sports out there.

ie, I feel that either the SMH is being run by a committe of hairdressers, and beauty pageant contestants or, it rather reflects the crude preoccupations of the Australian society at large. We are talking about a culture that is more and more becoming obsessed with celebrity culture, with the antithesis of this - intelligent discussion, a reporting of serious news, and insightful commentary, being a distant second to the instant gratifications of celebrity, young women, and other stupid topics.

Dare I say it, I am acutely aware of how 'Hollywood' the Australian culture is becoming. There, I put it out there.

No doubt there are other quality news agencies in Australia which focuses on real current affairs, and matters of serious concern - such as The Australian, The Monthly, and thankfully the ABC.

However what saddens me is the apparent degrading of the quality of the news paper that I once held in high esteem, and perhaps, finally seeing the effects of round the clock bombardment of Hollywood into all aspects of Australian media.

Where once Australians of the past were well liked and respected around the world due to the humble, tough and self effacing character of a people who lived simple, gave generously, and fought wars far away from home - now we are becoming a spawn of a hubris culture of Hollywood that would make even an American blush.