Sunday, May 08, 2011
Real journalism at its best
What should journalism do? It should tell you what's really happening, and it should tell you something you don't already know, something that breaks up a myth or assumption.
This article by Leo Hornak in UK Independent fills the bill. Hornak exposes the 'miracle' of microfinance in India, which has stirred lots of Nobel Prizes and idealistic frothing.
Until reading this, I'd gone along with the frothing because I hadn't heard anything different.
Hornak shows that microfinance is just a cross between credit cards and loan sharks. Some borrowers do use the money to start businesses, but most use it to buy gold jewelry. Some lenders do operate idealistically, but most are ready to kidnap or injure late-payers. ¶ 1:16 PM
This article by Leo Hornak in UK Independent fills the bill. Hornak exposes the 'miracle' of microfinance in India, which has stirred lots of Nobel Prizes and idealistic frothing.
Until reading this, I'd gone along with the frothing because I hadn't heard anything different.
Hornak shows that microfinance is just a cross between credit cards and loan sharks. Some borrowers do use the money to start businesses, but most use it to buy gold jewelry. Some lenders do operate idealistically, but most are ready to kidnap or injure late-payers. ¶ 1:16 PM
