Update on America's World View

By coincidence, after writing yesterday's blog post, I came across an IPS article covering the findings of the latest Tyndall Report. The report found that "foreign-related news coverage by the three major US television networks fell to a record low during 2008." It also found that coverage of Iraq, the most covered International story, decreased in 2008.

As a young, city-dweller who stays highly informed without watching the nightly news, it was good for me to realize that despite my experience, the average American is still indeed participating in what I thought was a thing of the past. Grab that TV dinner, its time for the evening news!

The Tyndall Report follows ABC World News with Charles Gibson, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and considers these programs the primary source of national and international news for most US citizens.

The decline in International coverage, according to Andrew Tyndall, could be explained by a focus on the 2008 presidential election as well as the domestic effects of the economic crisis. International news coverage could ramp up this year or the statistics could signal a, "turning point in insularity in the mainstream media." Tyndall also mentioned that TV networks may be handing over the responsibility of covering international news to online agencies.

Statistics I found interesting in the IPS article:

- An estimated 23 million US residents watch the 22 minutes of evening news the three networks broadcast on an average weekday evening.

- The Pew Research Centre for the People & the Press, published late last month, found that some 70 percent of the public in 2008 relied on television as a main source for national and international news last year.

- The same Pew Research poll found that the Internet surpassed daily newspapers as a main source of national and international news, particularly for younger adults, for the first time last year.

- Of the top 20 stories in 2008 the Iraq war was the highest-ranked overseas story, ranking seventh on the list. The Next international story on the list was the Beijing Summer Olympics, followed by the war in Afghanistan, which ranked 17th.

- Other top international-related stories included the Sichuan Province earthquake in China, last month's terrorist attack on Mumbai, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the Russia-Georgia conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the situation in Zimbabwe.

Latest Reality Show: "Homeland Security USA"

Beginning in January ABC will debut its latest reality TV show: "Homeland Security USA." As someone who already finds the agency to be an impotent and ridiculous hoax, it should be interesting to see how things play out. The agency itself must be stoked because this show will expand public consciousness on the role of this relatively young agency. What will expanded consciousness do? Possible desired impacts include bolstering public opinion of the agency and scaring or comforting people, based on their profile. As someone who values civil liberties, I would be stoked if this show were a "reality" show with the ability to ask difficult questions about the agency and their actions. But alas, our mainstream media does not wish to do this. In being a reality show, the embedded cameras will be showing us America through the lens of these agents. A lens where terrorists lurk around every corner. It will be interesting to see how the producers emphasize daily missions and frame the people that officers approach. "Cops," with its cheesy theme song, comes to mind. You would think Homeland Security would see the cameras following them around as a distraction, but the benefit of publicity must outweigh the negatives. Stay tuned for further analysis once the show hits the airwaves.

Resource:
Homeland Security Goes Hollywood
Ed O'Keefe