It was only 'yesterday' that journalists wrote from the security of the newsroom and perceived authority of the profession. 'I report, you accept'. Readers were somewhat invisible.

However, with easy access to diverse online news sites and journalists' email addresses, readers today are increasingly saying: 'You write, we react'. And so it should be if we are to see better standards of reporting in our mainstream papers.

Journalists' arrogance is now old-fashioned. Disconnection from their readers in the digital medium is, professionally, unwise. Critical online readers, who choose to be part of the news- making process, will dismiss uncritical reporting. Biased commentaries will most likely attract equally biased reactions.