And while I'm wearing the Cynical Cold-Hearted Bitch hat... let me just say can the media take a fucking chill pill when it comes to these horrific bushfires in Victoria.

I'm fairly sure we're all reasonably aware of the situation and we've all given what we can.

Is it just me or was there a note of disappointment in the newsreader's voice when he stated that the death toll is unlikely to rise above the current figure of 201?

Can I unkindly suggest that should my house burn down and we were found to be uninsured I'm fairly sure no-one would give a flying fuck and blame us for our own stupidity? Not sure why this sentiment doesn't apply in these sorts of situations. Would there be a telethon for us?

Will the media claim ownership should the arson suspect currently in protective custody be torn limb from limb either by fellow inmates or by the public upon his release? Has the concept of innocent until proven guilty lost all meaning? From my point of view we know almost nothing about this man and the situation (apart from the frenzied hype we're getting from the media - the "journalists" I so highly esteemed in my youth) yet my own husband is ready to rip his arms off and shove them where only a proctologist dares to go.

I don't begrudge the victims of these terrible events a cent and I feel for those who have lost lives and property in this disaster. But I feel we are somewhat like Pavlov's dog, responding because it is on our tv screens. The world is full of tragedies which we are happy to ignore because they are not being fed to us on a minute by minute basis, the awful images rammed down our throats with no reprive. I guess it is unfair of me to expect things to be different. I am just thinking out loud really.

I used to want to be a journalist. As a precocious young reader I admired writers above all else. When I was 11 I sent away to Yale University's Journalism School for their scholarship package because that was my dream.

Something terrible has happend to this noble profession in these past 30 years since that dream was so meaningful to me. I can barely watch a news bulletin or read a newspaper article these days. My blood boils and an awful desire to throw a brick through the tv and/or shove the newspaper into the specific editor's back passage overwhelms me.

Not only is the grammar and punctuation horrible, the use of apostrophes beyond belief, but the sensationalism used in each and every article and news story is truly pathetic and degrading.

I could write a daily post on the subject. I won't. But here is an example from the weekend. I was watching one of the many news updates about the Victorian fires on Saturday when the reporter said: "We were expecting the worst day in bushfire history but it was even worse than that."

I'll leave you to ponder that particular combination of words.