No, that is not a catchy head line with a witty turn. It is the truth.
And there I go breaking my own rule of keeping content on my blog "in the happy zone" believing as I do that concerned engaged busy people, (i.e. my blog followers - all two of us!), have enough serious stuff to deal with in life, that they don't need to deal with anything less than happy in the few minutes they might 'pop in' to visit my site.
But like I said, its my web blog, and I can make the rules. And I can break them!
This week I received an e-mail from a gentleman called Louie. He is an engaged, concerned and very patriotic American. - He served his country in the armed forces. His email's content was about the 'upside down-ness' of the American media. For example, one recent week it was flooded with 'news information' on the activities of two Hollywood stars having very public 'personal melt downs'. That same week many media sources had nothing too much to say about the brave individuals who lost their lives in combat in Afghanistan and other war zones. What ever one's thinking is about America's involvement in the wars, nobody but nobody can question the service of the people who lost their lives (RIP), in these war zones. Louie's e-mail was right; we should be hearing a lot more about the latter than the former.
Yes, there is indeed a lot of rubbish to be seen, heard and read in the media offerings of most every country. But there is great, going on to excellent, media resources to be found in America, and elsewhere. One just has to look in the right places. Here is a list of my own personal favorite, but hopefully impartial, media offerings.*
And time, or the lack thereof, is no excuse. Five options, one hour a week and you can be informed, at least a little informed, on what is going on in the world today. Another thing you will find with these media sources: not all news is bad, a lot is, but not all. There is indeed much to be hopeful about in this little part of the universe we call "world" - as you will see, should you check out the media resources mentioned below.
1) The Christian Science Monitor www.csmonitor.com
‘The Monitor Rocks". So say I!
The is 'the little newspaper that could'. And does. The writing is balanced and thoughtful. The topics may not be the top themes in your local area, but they can be of importance and interest globally.
Do not assume the paper’s content will have a ‘Christian Science’ leaning. It does not. Back in 1906, the founder of the paper Mary Baker Eddy, (also the leader of the Christian Science denomination) was so disturbed by the mis-information written about her in the newspapers of the day, she decided to publish a newspaper that offered impartial news coverage. She passionately believed “truth is the beginning of solutions”.
(Full disclosure: I am a shameless plugger of the Christian Science Monitor. They do a great job at a world class level and this with a circulation of less than 100,000 so you know they are not in it for the money! And I am not a Christian Scientist; I don’t believe I even know anybody who is).
Founded: 1908.
Head Office: Boston U.S. A.
Owner: Christian Science Publishing Society.
2) NPR www.npr.org
Formally National Public Radio. The blurb on their website says “We produce, acquire, and distribute programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression”. They do all that and they do it superbly. I am particularly taken with anything from Democracy Now with Amy Goodman.
Launched: 1971
Head Office: Washington D.C.
Owner: NPR is a membership media organization that is privately and publicly funded.
3) Al Jazeera English (ALJ) english.aljazeera.net
Al Jazeera English is the Middle East’s equivalent of CNN. It offers 24 hours day news and current affairs programs. All in English. Although they offer news from all parts of the world, they really have ‘an insider perspective’ on life in the Middle East. Anyone reading this article that might be aghast that Al Jazeera sounds ‘too much like THEM and not enough like US’, should bare in mind Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice all choose to be interviewed by Al Jazeera at one time or other. (If you don’t know who the above mentioned people are, then you definitely need a serious catch up on current affairs!)
Al Jazeera English Launched: 2006.
Its parent company, Al Jazeera was launched in 1996.
Head Office: Qatar.
Owner: Qatar Media Corporation.
4a) BBC World www.bbc.co.uk/news/world
British Broadcasting Company – World Service. Launched: 1932.
Head Office: London, England.
Owner: The English tax payers. In 1922, the B.B.C. received a Royal Charter from the then English monarch George V.
4a) Cable News Network (CNN) www.cnn.com/world/
Launched: 1980.
Head Office: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Owner: Turner Broadcasting System Inc (a Time Warner Company).
CNN, and BBC, you just can’t beat for being there - where ever ‘there’ is on any given day. Their journalists and reporters are on the ground when ever and where ever breaking news is happening. (Full disclosure this writer is somewhat biased towards Anderson Cooper on CNN - How can one not be?)
5) Sanfrancisco Link TV www.linktv.org/
Sanfrancisco Link T.V. has a very global take on the world. And that is their stated aim. The TV channel and website offers “a global perspective on news, events and culture” They draw “on varied reliable news sources from all over the world for its content”. They also offer news and cultural programs for non-English speaking audiences. They really do live up to that, for example, you can see Al Jazeerea on Link TV when you cannot receive it in your own cable network area.
Launched: 1999
Head Office: San Francisco, U.S.A.
Owner: Media Link.
If one took 10 minutes a day 6 days a week to inform oneself on news and current affairs – just one hour a week, I suggest, that would give you at least a sense of “what is going on in our world now.”
Note: I am not financially or in any other way connected with any of these news outlets, save I have a very great respect for people and news sources that strive to offer relevant impartial news coverage.
* I only speak English fluently so I can only comment on English language media. But several of these media resources also offer excellent non-English news program options. This is a quick overview; you can find out more about every news source mentioned above on their website.
* I only speak English fluently so I can only comment on English language media. But several of these media resources also offer excellent non-English news program options. This is a quick overview; you can find out more about every news source mentioned above on their website.
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