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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 13, 2005
/ 3 Shevat, 5765
Is public indifference to foreign news a myth?
By
Edward Wasserman
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I have never understood the complaint you always hear about drivers who
slow down to look at an accident scene. Is it better to zip by at
highway speed without a glance? Are we supposed to disregard the
misfortune of others?
I don't think so. I think the impulse to look and to pity is part of
what makes us human. That's why the extraordinary media coverage of the
extraordinary destruction on the shores of the Indian Ocean wrought by
the Dec. 24 tsunami is so impressive. From the most glittering
network — news stars to the scrappiest reporters from the provincial
press, U.S. journalists have poured into Sri Lanka, Sumatra and
Thailand, to places that they, their editors, publishers and readers
would have had a hard time finding on a map two weeks ago.
And that's the problem. It isn't just the sensitivity of the coverage or
the poignancy of the stories that is remarkable. Nor is it the
activation of new networks of Web — based reportage, which have brought a
fresh dimension of direct experience and observation to millions of
people worldwide.
What's truly notable is that the attention lavished on the tsunami
aftermath reminds us how rarely we pay any attention whatever to most of
the rest of humankind. Despite the miracle of real — time global
communications, we share the world with billions of people who enter our
fields of awareness in one of only two ways: as threats or victims.
Shouldn't these people have had some reality for us — lives, hopes,
faiths, histories — before they became grieving supplicants?
Suddenly we're flooded with images of Sri Lankans as desperate, bereaved
people whose homes have been swept away and their children drowned.
We're aware of south Indians, people of coastal Thailand, Sumatrans and
others, all in the same way. We are moved to help, thank heaven. Our
celebrity culture is mobilizing to insist that we give, and if Americans
had more confidence that their donations wouldn't be misused or stolen
the contributions might even be more generous than they have been.
It seems apparent from the passion and scale of the response that people
in comfortable, metropolitan countries are not necessarily apathetic
when it comes to happenings on the other side of the world. We can care.
The number of Americans watching cable news jumped sharply in the wake
of the disaster. British newspaper sales spiked.
Naturally, this was a searing, dramatic event. A staggering number of
people, upward of 150,000 were suddenly wiped out. Our fascination with
that doesn't readily translate into an equivalent interest in the
slow — motion tragedies in the poor world where, as Nicholas Kristof noted
in a New York Times column, malaria kills 160,000, AIDS 240,000 and
diarrhea 140,000 people each month.
But the surge of interest may suggest that something is flawed in the
universal assumption among U.S. news media that Americans really can't
be bothered with what happens overseas. That conviction has led news
organizations to shut down foreign bureaus and cut way back on space
devoted to reporting from abroad. That phenomenon was chronicled in
veteran correspondent Peter Arnett's memorable 1998 American Journalism
Review article, ``Goodbye World,'' when he wrote: ``International news
coverage in most of America's mainstream papers has almost reached the
vanishing point.''
Since then things have only gotten worse, as TV — news networks retrench
and print media redirect their energies to such proven crowd — pleasers as
celebrity break — ups and market — driven inserts. And we're left with the
paradox that the people who live amid the greatest abundance of
informational resources in human history are shown, time and again, to
be profoundly uninformed about the world around them.
Lamentation about the steady decline in the numbers of Americans who
watch news or read newspapers has become a reliable motif in any sizable
gathering of media people. The proportion of people ages 18 to 34 who
read the paper regularly plunged to 26 percent in 2001 from 39 percent
four years earlier.
No responsible media executive would believe that the audience is
melting away because of a lack of foreign news. But it's a big world out
there with a lot of great stories that nobody is even trying to tell.
And the fascination with this calamity — unmatched since 9/11 — might
suggest that the U.S. news audience is being underestimated by the U.S.
news business.
At least we can hope so.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Edward Wasserman is a writer and consultant who lives in Miami. He wrote this column for The Miami Herald.Comment by clicking here.
12/14/04Your record now is eternal, imperishable
11/18/04 Resurrect local radio
11/03/04 Election 2004 will become a media milestone
09/28/04 Give me truth-telling over more transparency
08/27/03 Product placement as a cultural hijacking
© 2005, The Miami Herald
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
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