What don't we hear about?

This past week I have been thinking about what I personally do not hear much about in the news, locally as well as globally. I think that the local Tribune does a fairly good job in reporting the hard news along with the soft news. However, for my public relations class we have to do a campaign. One of my fellow group members thought it would be a good idea to work with Greek Life to help restore their reputation. I am one who is very much tuned out to sororities and fraternities, but now having to be involved with this campaign, I have noticed that we often hear about all the bad that goes on with fraternities and sororities and the good is overlooked. I know that they do well for the community and there should be balance between the positive and negative. They should not be reported only on the stuff they do that is looked down upon.

When I was reading the Sunday paper the other day, all the way in the back, was the environment section, which contained two very important articles about global warming. Why is this not big enough news to be in the front of the newspaper? Global warming is a big deal and too many people are either not aware of how important this issue is, or does not think it will directly hurt them. We see stories about Global warming every now and then, but often the issue is pointed out as a liberal concern and should not be a main concern. The facts and statistics are there to prove that it is serious, it is newsworthy, and it should be in the news consistently.

I think that this country does not hear enough about international issues. A lot of the time when I pick up a newspaper I read about issues that pertain to the United States. There is a world news section in every newspaper, but much more is going on, than what is being reported. We lack an international news channel such as BBC, where they report world news. Though I realize that a lot people may brush over news that does is not relevant to them, I still believe it is just as important to be educated on what is going on around the world, rather than just in our bubble. Sure that news is out there, especially on the internet, but I think we need a basic cable channel, such as BBC that reports the hard news around the world.

Finally, the war in Iraq is not reported nearly as much as it should be. I just watched a documentary titled, Why We Fight, and I got a little taste of what the war over there is really like, and it is nothing compared to what we hear about. What do we hear about anymore about the war, besides how many American soldiers have lost their lives? What concrete detail do we hear about that war? Again, the information is out there, but it is not reported nearly as much as it should be. I think in this case the government my feel that it is in the best interest of the American public to know as little as possible and journalists are limited to what they can report on, but do we not have the right to be exposed to the real news?

Is there ever too much information?

I am one of those students who have not taken time in the past to inform myself about what is going on around the world. Out of ill-informed, under-informed, and downright uniformed, I am fall into the category of under-informed. My fault. I am not getting enough information from the news media because simply I never paid much attention to it. There is plenty of information available to me and my excuse for not absorbing it is I cannot find the time. Lately it has started to come more natural to pay attention to the news and it is only going to get easier.

There is not too much information in the media today. People do tend to feel overwhelmed with the feeling of unlimited sources, but no one ever said that they had to look at all of them. We have many options of which kind of news we want to look at and comprehend. Choosing the right one, can sometimes be the problem. As I read, watch, or listen to the news, I try to do it as critically as possible. It is important to be informed on not only what the top story is, but where the information is coming from.

With newspapers for example, you have to watch out about which paper you are going to read. Papers such as the New York Times, is known to be a liberal paper and you have to know that there will be liberal opinions residing in it. The only problem with newspapers and magazines these days is that they are not the most instant source of news. Conversely, for the elderly who have not adapted to today’s technology, newspapers continue to serve as the best possible form of information. For others, they still cannot start their day without reading the paper, and though it is not the most instant form of information, it is still legitimate.
Though magazines are not the most prompt form of news, they provide a more in depth analysis of what is going on. The articles in Time Magazine, for example provide a different perception then what you may hear on the news of read in the newspaper.

Local TV news channels are probably the most distracting. Reporters cannot go into depth on the story. Viewers are provided with the highlights of the tops news followed by commercials, which can be a big distraction.

The internet is the quickest way of getting information, but you have to pay attention to where the information is coming from. The best part of the internet is the opportunity of having various sources at the click of a button.

I have six sources right now where I get my information: CNN, BBC, The Week, Time Magazine, The Tribune, and The New York Times. I do not look at each of them every day, but these are the sources I chose to look at. I think if I did not narrow them down I would be one who feels overwhelmed with too much information. The best I can do right now, is focus on these and then broaden my endless sources of information in the future.