posted on October 1, 2001 01:06:47 AM
Originally published in the L.A. Times on Thursday, this goes to the general ignorance on the part of the American public of the widespread effects of U.S. policies which have helped to engender anger against this country and which has resulted in surprise and shock that any person or group might commit such things against us as the recent attacks.
The U.S. media acknowledges that 'some' of the cause lies with it for having succumbed to the pressures for profits.
"Coverage of international news by the U.S. media has declined significantly in recent years
in response to corporate demands for larger profits and an increasingly fragmented
audience.
Having decided that readers and viewers in post-Cold War
America cared more about celebrities, scandals and local news,
newspaper editors and television news executives have reduced
the space and time devoted to foreign coverage by 70% to 80%
during the past 15 to 20 years.
Several prominent journalists say these cutbacks might have
contributed to the uncertainty and confusion among many
Americans about why terrorists committed so heinous an assault
on Sept. 11. "I think most Americans are clueless when it comes
to the politics and ideology and religion in [the Muslim] world
and, in that sense, I think we do bear some responsibility," says
Martin Baron, editor of the Boston Globe.
James Kelly, managing editor of Time magazine, says even
"relatively sophisticated Americans could be forgiven for thinking
that the world was becoming more like us. After all, how many
stories have we read in recent years about yet another
McDonald's opening in Ulan Bator? But much of the world was becoming angry at America
and turned off by these exhibitions of American power."
This is not to suggest that the U.S. news media completely ignored either the hostility
toward the United States in much of the Muslim world or the possibility that these attitudes
could lead to terrorist attacks here."
posted on October 1, 2001 01:22:01 AM
KRS, I was in the check-out line (the bulk of my social life aside from here) at the Dollar Store today when the subject of the Taliban came up. The conversation deviated after a while to chemical and biological warfare. I added small pox to the growing list as a potential terrible thought. Then, to my complete amazement, I stood there for 10 minutes explaining what small pox is to a 40-some-odd year old man who is the store manager and a (upper) high school cashier. Neither one had ever heard of it.
How much dumber can America get?
T
Have I mentioned that my house if for sale? I want to move somewhere where the store employees are a notch more informed. I feel unchallenged.
posted on October 1, 2001 04:44:23 AM
jt - I don't know where you are going to move. I watched "The Weakest Link" last night with the wife for a bit and the guests were celebrity guests playing for charity. These people could answer any obscure question about who directed some old movie, but any question having to do with the real world was passed by as impossibly difficult.
They could not even connect Sir Isaac Newton to the theory of gravitation.
I go to dinners with my wife at the home of the President of the University where she works, and find that professors are much the same. They may know the history of the Civil War or a field of mathematics, but the fact that Chinese is a tonal language with distinct dialects, or where the Coffee that they are drinking originated are not in their education.
I would say that if those people are not familiar with smallpox they can't have a very good understanding of the history of health care/the history of Europe/or the United Nations. Sad.
posted on October 1, 2001 05:30:51 AM
[quote]After all, how many
stories have we read in recent years about yet another McDonald's opening in Ulan Bator? But much of the world was becoming angry at America and turned off by these exhibitions of American power.[/quote]
Can you blame them. That clown scares me too. Scary stuff Ronald McDondald.
posted on October 1, 2001 05:47:11 AM
I never realized how limited our news coverage is until I began regular business trips to London about 7 years ago. It was quite interesting & informative to watch their news broadcasts. Their coverage was quite global. And from the co-workers I had there, as well as, the people I met on my flights to & fro', it was certain that Europeans are MUCH more in touch with the "world" than we are. I still try and catch BBC reports on TV here to gain a much wider prospective of current events.
posted on October 1, 2001 06:30:45 AM
I'm not sure this is so abnormal. Living in the Netherlands and speaking several languages I often watch and read several news reports in a day or week, BBC, Telemundo, and Local Dutch. I find that each country does report more broad stories, however, I also think they are often still reported from the point of view of their country. BBC reports the news from a UK perspective; how it will affect the UK population, economy, involvement. The same with local dutch news and spanish telemundo.
That said, my childhood friends (who live in Florida) and I have little to discuss on a global level because they do not watch or read global reports and can not contribute very much. I on the other hand often have a hard time contributing to US politics discussions because these reports are often skewed to the local thinking of whatever US political situation is at hand. Before the events of Sept. 11 I don't remember reading more than 1 or 2 positive articles regarding the current administration or their policies. My opinions of the administration aside, I felt most of the reports were (prior sept 11) were negative simply to support this governments feelings of the US administration. In other words, one sided and deffinately biased.
posted on October 1, 2001 07:22:29 AM
Yeah, I've heard this before recently, and I clicked on the link and read the article. What a lot of wailing and hair pulling from the news people. And, a bit of smugness too, along the lines of - We always wanted to provide more international news, but no one wanted to hear it!
And the linked article quotes CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson as saying: "the attacks helped his network rediscover its 'true mission and the vital importance of what we do . . . to be reasoned and calm and to cover international news in a serious way.' "
Well, isn't that great. The only problem I can see with Isaacson's gushing - We've seen the light! type remark is that I've been watching CNN a lot since Sept 11, and there's no international news on there. There's "America's New War." There's daily press conferences by Rudy Guiliani. There's endless repeats of "Behind the Veil." There's the same old clips of Bin Laden and the Taliban guys, over and over... Is anything else happening in the world at all? Doesn't look like it. This is coverage of international news? I don't think so.
posted on October 1, 2001 08:45:46 AM
I stopped watching standard newscasts years ago, because all of it was regurgitated, pre-digested news(sounds like a McDonald) ...I too, like julie321, do listen to real World News. One particular TV station (Channel 32, a California-only station, I believe), broadcasts news from Italy (Telmundo), Germany (DW - Deutch Welt), and England (BBC) and I can see how diminished OUR (in the US) World news are...Yes, those countries do focus on their own news more...after all it is THEIR news...However, they DO see the world with more intuitive eyes. Perhaps it is BECAUSE Europe and the UK have been through such devastation, that they are able to report it like it is.
As to McDonald, et al, in Greece at least, in Crete in particular, the locals would be much happier if they never saw another American fast-food stand or another Coke bottle thrown carelessly on their beautiful beaches and streets...and that in just in the villages...The CITIES are a disgrace. They would be much happier if tourist would not turn the beaches into nude-beaches. While this is perfectly acceptable in various countries, it is the foreign tourist's responsibility to respect local customs. One comment I have heard many times in Crete was that, although they have no love lost for Germany, they do say that, of all the millions of foreigners who invade Greece summer after summer, the cleanest are the German tourists...the sloppiest and most rude are....sorry the American tourists.
And that is only a tiny fraction of the damage the outside world economy causes to countries where tourism is a necessary evil...
Eventually, their local government will finally say "ENOUGH!"...
posted on October 1, 2001 09:37:01 AM
"Originally published in the L.A. Times on Thursday, this goes to the general ignorance on the part of the American public of the widespread effects of U.S. policies which have helped to engender anger against this country and which has resulted in surprise and shock that any person or group might commit such things against us as the recent attacks."
The general consensus of opinion here is that terrorists were just born that way...wild and dangerous. A consideration that there might possibly be reason for their anger is simply outrageous and beyond consideration to them.
The truth is that we will get nowhere with terrorists until we understand their anger
and deal with it.
posted on October 1, 2001 09:43:44 AM
The US has always been on the insular side. Usually the only foreign news we get are any disasters or problems that have occured in another country. If we want foreign news we have to go looking for it. The Internet is very helpful. So are large bookstores or newstands that carry foreign papers.
It is not a case of being "dumb" or "stupid" but rather of being ignorant.
JT: Actually, it is not surprising that your had to "explain" smallpox (although in the "40+" fellow it's a bit odd). Since the disease has almost entirely been eradicated most people aren't aware of it. 9 out of 10 doctors today wouldn't know it if they saw it. I speak all the time to young people who have no idea what polio is. Or diptheria. Or many of the other dread diseases that are rarely if ever seen here in the US anymore. They've never seen these diseases or heard them talked about. They are not mentioned by their parents or in school. On the other hand, the Black Plague is known to all because it *is* covered in school.
edited to add "n't" where it would do the most good
[ edited by bunnicula on Oct 1, 2001 10:02 AM ]
posted on October 1, 2001 09:47:53 AMShoshanah: sorry, but it is not the tourist industry that supports crap like McDonald's around the world. It is the local populations. Same with all the other fast food giants. If the locals did not eat there, they could not survive.
As to American tourists, you are right. I have often been embarassed by fellow countrymen who are loud, pushy, and rude.
posted on October 1, 2001 10:07:05 AMdeliteful: sorry, but recognizing a fault and commenting on it does not equate with "being ashamed."
I am very proud of being an American. I wouldn't trade my nationality for any other. Most feel the same way. You may notice that while millions flock to the US to become Americans, very few Americans do the opposite.
posted on October 1, 2001 10:14:39 AM
Morning bunnicula
I tend to disagree a little with the fact that the locals support fast food chains.
Of course, there will always be a small percentage who will buy, but they definitely are not the majority. For once thing, come fall through spring, Greece "closes down" It is like going through a ghost country. The locals leave the city and their summer businesses, for their Island where very few fast food places are to be found, and even fewer people who will avail themselves.
Those livingand working in the cities much prefer to eat local food in restaurants, which gives them the opportunity to gather news from their next-table neighbours
Greek food is healthy (the lowest cholesterol level in the world, supposedly due to the extensive use of olive oil), and much more affordable than a delicacy such as a McBurger... The majority of the work force is imported from the neighbooring Islands during summer.
Those of course, are my personal observations, having spent some time there, both in summer and the dead of winter..I cannot speak for eating habits of other countries. Gosh Shosh Pottery Restoration
What you say is true, of course. Glad to hear you say you are proud to be an American. Sometimes in our zeast to find faults we forget that praise is another form of teaching.
posted on October 1, 2001 11:43:35 AM
Perhaps we should all make a loyalty oath part of our sigs, appearing under each of our posts. This might streamline our discussions, as our current exchanges seem to get bogged down every few posts with accusations of un-Americanism and consequent protestations of National pride.
It is like going through a ghost country. The locals leave the city and their summer businesses, for their Island where very few fast food places are to be found, and even fewer people who will avail themselves.