Last night I read a good portion of Hilaire Belloc’s essay, The Free Press. The purchase of the Kindle has proven its worth in this one piece of writing as I wouldn’t have discovered or bothered reading it without that wonderful piece of technology – but because it was free and written by a name I respect for other reasons, I downloaded it and started to read.

I haven’t finished reading the essay but already, Belloc’s critique of the media is strikingly relevant even though it was written in 1917. Belloc’s misgivings are completely on show now in the unfolding saga of Rupert Murdoch and News Corp.

The Free Press has affirmed to me why solid independent media is so important and has driven home my love for New Internationalist as my favourite, non-corporate, international magazine.

If you’re someone interested in the state of news and the media, how it operates, what’s wrong with it and what we can do about it – this essay is for you.