And I do. But, a lifetime later, I still marvel at how idiosyncratic – nay, fickle – it can be.

Two examples from contemporary issues illustrate my point.

Someone tosses rubbish into an industrial dumpster and the dumpster says “ouch!” The dumpster has been made a quite comfortable hideaway for three kids aged from four to nine.

People from a nearby retail store have a conversation with at least one of the kids, and word soon spreads.

Police asked the Mercury to stay mum on the topic until the kids could be found and their welfare assured.

And we did – for a day. After all, if harm or even the threat of it came to these kids, no one in this newsroom wanted to be on the sharp end of an accusing finger.

But something like that is not going to stay a secret for long, and within 24 hours media helicopters are circling in airspace above High Street east.

In the absence of hard facts, but with such an evocative topic as “kids living in bins”, conclusions would inevitably be jumped to – and they were.

People talk, and the media does try to inform that talk, even when no facts exist. And the usual commentators queue to add their quotes.

The kids are fine, we now know, but they’ve lost their cubby house.

The story evaporates and the media moves on. Homeless youth isn’t sexy any more.

The routine becomes news when the context changes, and this is the problem for Qantas these days.

First, a hole in the hull and, before you know it, a blown fuse is “another incident”.

Raised public consciousness means the tiniest issue finds its way to the ear of a reporter.

After eight years of flying around the country for work, I’ve known delays and checks.

And most passengers shared my attitude that I don’t want to be a metre off the ground if there is a modicum of doubt about my plane’s airworthiness.

This has been shown in airport interviews with passengers that I have seen and heard broadcast. They are typically complimentary of the airline and its staff.

For the media, reasonable care becomes a question about maintenance and reliability; which they simply are not.

The world falls into two categories: those who don’t fly because they fear it, and those who fly it despite the fact that it is sometimes scary.

The media knows this, and readers are always happier to have their fears played out in a living room armchair rather than on an airport tarmac.