Call me a dreamer, but I am passionate about the key role of independent media in sustaining a vibrant community. Big ideas, creative ideas, out-of-the-box ideas rarely find their way into the mainstream media. They are strained out - or tamed - long before they hit prime time.

Several years ago I interviewed for a national magazine one of Australia's most favored sons, Tim Winton. Winton is a novelist who was nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize twice before he turned 40. When I interviewed Winton, he had just written Cloudstreet, perhaps his signature novel.

"Are you afraid?"

A journalist from the travel industry asked me that simple question recently. She was exploring the impact and aftermath of terrorism on business and culture.

She spewed off a litany of scary sources of anxiety. Three and a half years after 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security issues periodic warnings to inform us that we are at a heightened risk of terrorist attack. We are embroiled in a war in Iraq that still has no end in sight. On the economic front, the U.S. budget deficit soars out of control, the value of the dollar is dropping, and we're told that the Social Security system is about to implode. In sum, a person does not have to be paranoid to feel a bit frightened these days.

The dead-end job. No one wants to end up there. It's a cul-de-sac where the neighborhood only gets worse with the passing of time.

That's exactly why once you are in a dead-end job you must plan your escape. Too many people stick around waiting for fairy dust to descend over a hopeless situation. Mind you, no job offers eternal bliss. But there are red flags that can help you sort out whether you are traveling on the rough road or are stuck.

Due to the controversy swirling around Medicaid, I am surprised that one story I broke open in Saving the Corporate Soul never received national attention. I'm still waiting for 60 Minutes to call me about Zachary Bentley.

Zachary Bentley says he's no Ralph Nader. The business manager and corporate officer of a drug infusion service, Ven-A-Care, based in Key West, Florida, is shaking up the pharmaceutical industry all the same.