This has been a turbulent year both locally and abroad. US President Donald Trump engaged in international bullbaiting and rabble-rousing. The Brexit saga is looking like an agonisingly long drawn-out national self-immolation. In Spain the secessionist movement is gaining ground. At home, we had an election fought against a background of financial scandals, the Opposition party still floundering to find its feet, the murder of Daphne and its aftermath.

More than ever, it has become vitally important for the public to be informed of the facts to be able to formulate some sort of reaction and opinion on events. Unless the public is presented with the facts – the unadorned facts – in a context which is faithful to the truth, trust in the media will continue to be eroded.

There may be many reasons why public faith in the mainstream media is diminishing – but one of the most evident ones is that people no longer recognise what is being reported as being reflective of the realities they live through and experience on the ground. In a bid to grab eyeballs in an attention-deficient world, journalists prefer to be pundits or activists rather than the conveyors of information backed by diligent research.

Many journalists are now opting to present their pre-chosen narrative to readers, omitting inconvenient truths and facts which do not fit in neatly with their predetermined story. This is happening because many journalists are acting more as activists rather than as communicators.

Guardian writer John Harris wrote of the perils of this approach: “…the idea of journalism as a route to the truth is every bit as worthwhile as it ever was. But it is also under threat. In the Facebook age, outlets that value the idea of dispassionate inquiry and dogged research are feeling the pinch, while a great ocean of polemic, often written for nothing and barely interested in the world’s endless complexities, grows ever larger. The polemicists have a symbiotic relationship with the wider political mood, feeding off all the passion and emotion, and then doing their best to ramp everything up. As all that happens, the distinction between activism and journalism becomes dangerously blurred.”

Unless the public is presented with the facts – the unadorned facts – in a context which is faithful to the truth, trust in the media will continue to be eroded

Because if journalists take sides, militating in one camp or lobby, who is going to speak truth to power and to the people?

There are many corporate charity drives and society fundraising dos at this time of year. And it’s all well and good, and if they raise the millions of euros needed to keep those essential causes ticking over budget-wise, so much the better.

Unless the public is presented with the facts – the unadorned facts – in a context which is faithful to the truth, trust in the media will continue to be eroded

But I still get a warm feeling inside when I hear of small-scale initiatives with a more personal touch – where it’s not just loads of money being raised, but where there is an acknowledgment of what is really needed and useful and how those needs can be met.

The  Bike Lights campaign by the Bicycling Advocacy Group is an example of a simple but effective campaign. The cycling group raised funds to buy front and rear battery-powered light sets, USB-powered lights and visibility jackets to give to open centre residents and migrants living in the community. This will improve safety for the open centre residents who use bikes as the most affordable mode of travel.

It’s a common-sense initiative, not requiring much by way of overheads but still making a difference. Also, it shows that even small gestures can help, encouraging those who may feel daunted by how to begin in the charity stakes. It’s heartwarming.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is reread every Christmas, glowing through hundreds of adaptations – an evergreen tale of the power of redemption and starting anew. The latest adaptation is Michael Rosen’s Bah! Humbug! which manages to convey the power of the original to a younger audience.

In Rosen’s adaptation, there’s a school play of A Christmas Carol being produced. In a contemporary twist, the boy who plays Scrooge is terribly anxious because his workaholic, digitally distracted father is in the audience. His father probably won’t sit through the whole play as he wants to get back to work as soon as possible.

I’m guessing that children and parents alike will identify with the self-imposed distance of digital devices and work overload. This book is a gently humorous reminder of the things that really matter – especially at Christmas.