I’m returning after a brief but pleasant vacation with a theme or two in mind, specifically the notion of ubiquitous media as an industrial pollutant and the need to create support systems for serious journalism lest self-governance ends up getting smothered by fluff.

These are hardly novel concerns but there’s nothing like unplugging for a few days to refocus on the essentials. Media are not. Downstream media — the stuff we buy, download, hear and view — is more a habit than a necessity, more a distraction than an assistance. I once took a stab in this general direction in a magazine article but that was hardly the definitive piece and I’d like to explore this angle more completely.

The distinctions between serious and fluffy media is another perennial complaint. So much of what we see and hear consists of gossip or personality, and relatively little comes in the realm of substance or politics. How can we ever hope to keep up with the topics in technology, demography, national and international policy if media don’t give us enough understanding so that we can aspire to control our government, a concept called political efficacy.

In any event I’m back in my routine and slowly warming up to making myself useful again in the pursuit of these and other topics of interest. Thanks for your continued attention.