Opinion | The American public needs to engage with international news
Opinion | The American public needs to engage with international news
America's reputation as a self-centered and country needs a shift; though it is difficult to engage with dismal news reports, being informed about international events is critical.
Most Americans know who the United States president is, but what about the German Chancellor, or the British Prime Minister? Do people realize that Ukraine remains a raging battle ground and that Ukrainians still desperately need international aid? Is everyone aware of the deadly nature of the continued Iranian protests?
Americans are notorious for only caring about the events which impact their day to day lives. Gas prices go down, so most Americans stop worrying about Ukraine. Iranian protests leave mainstream TikTok feeds, and people neglect discussions about personal liberty for women. That makes perfect sense in developing nations where citizens are overwhelmed by domestic concerns, but in the richest country in the world, most residents have no excuse for being internationally ignorant.
American infrastructure provides its citizens with adequate, trustworthy information on the issues which readers are most passionate and interested in. That means that news feeds are filled with the latest celebrity gossip and all things national politics. For Americans to have access to unfiltered and unbiased international news, they need to explicitly state or express a desire for that kind of news. The public interest controls media funding. The press makes the majority of its money on advertisements, and to sell digital ad spaces they need reader traffic on their sites. So, until the public becomes invested in international politics and current events, access to this information will remain limited.
That being said, even with finite sources, there is still more than enough material to inform the everyday American media consumer. That means accessibility is not a sufficient excuse for intercontinental ignorance.
A more common argument in favor of political disengagement is the nature of news. The majority of academically inclined individuals have likely complained about how depressing the news is. There is an essential counterpoint to this argument: the crux of mainstream news may indeed be bleak, but for those willing to consistently dig deeper, hope can always be found. The news stories that get the most shares or retweets are the shocking ones. Therefore, people who only dip their toe in current events will only find the dismal reports. It should also be said that media consumers create a demand for upsetting news stories. As a result, positive news often remains underreported.
All of this is especially true in global media spheres. When international coverage is already undervalued, positive international news goes virtually unnoticed by most. That makes it tempting to tune out all current events without immediate domestic impacts, but this is a terrible mistake. How many people bemoan the polarized, war-ridden international front without even attempting solidarity? The American public may ignore global events because it is easy, but what happens when the United States needs international support? Will the world rush to its aid because it wields significant power, or leave it to self implode because it rarely used that power to benefit the world?