Normally my life is pretty busy, but I do take the time (as often as I can) to check out the newspaper to get a glimpse of what happens outside of my own busy world. I have to admit that although I live in the United States, I still read a German newspaper called Die Welt (translation The World). However, it is an international newspaper, which doesn't only give me some basic information on what is happening in my homecountry, but also the basics on what is happening in the world. Here is the website http://www.welt.de/.
One thing that astonishes me again and again is the amount of information about US politics that you can find even on the title page of this and many other European newspapers. I recently asked my Dad, who lives in Germany, who he would vote for in the upcoming US election, if he was living in the United States. The answer he gave me almost made me fall off the chair. He argued for about 5 minutes on why he would vote for Obama rather than McCain and he gave me facts that I never thought any German would be informed about! He said that you don't even have to be very interested in US politics to get a good amount of information about these issues in Germany, because every night German newscasts inform their viewers on what is going on in the world's biggest nation. There is almost no possible way around it other than not listening, watching or reading news at all. Not only is this more than I think the American media informs the people about the US election (I know many people who unfortunately do not even know if Obama is a democrat or a republican), but it is also more than any American news outlet informs you about any other nation's politics. My roommates were even surprised to hear that the German chancellor (we do not have a president) was a woman and not even just a woman but a woman who was voted "most powerful woman in the world at the present time" by Forbes Magazine.
I think since the world has become more unified than in ancient times when travelling was expensive and not very easily accessible (some continents were not even discovered), there needs to be better coverage on affairs in other nations. Sure, America is big and has a lot of things to deal with, but in my opinion people should be better informed about other nations, especially about those in the UN to have a better appreciation on their own country and the countries that work together in world affairs.
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2 comments:
I agree with you. I don't think U.S. media does a very good job of covering news in other countries. Sure, there might be a one minute update of news around the world but I don't think that's nearly enough. There is so much going on outside of the United States and I think many Americans are ignorant of this. The best way to spread news to everyone is by educating them. Therefore, I think American media really needs to focus on larger issues occurring in countries all over the world.
Ha, America care about the rest of the world. America can't even get America to care about important issues in the United States. I was so embarrassed when Anna Nicole Smith died. People outside of America probably thought she was the First Lady. Sure, people "care" about the United States now because there's an election. In two months, Americans will go back to the celebrity world. I don't know who this Hudson girl is, but why is it breaking news when her nephew dies? I agree the media should focus more on world news, but good luck getting Americans to care.
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