International News Overwhelms Us Internet Types

After reading through different portions of the State of the News Media 2008, I was surprised at first to see the statistics in regards to types of news coverage via online media. Now seeing as how I don't subscribe to any daily newspapers, I primarily receive my news from various online sources (read= free) and would consider myself fairly educated on the goings on in the world. Prior to reading this study, I would used the previous statement with a much different intention but in retrospect, I believe it may point out something I may have not previously considered.

When I consume my daily news, much of it is not necessarily divided in my mind into different parts. In other words, I don't read a story about Barack Obama and place it in politics, then read something about the US economy and put that into a economy category. Rather, I read my news and consume it as a greater whole, i.e. "I'm reading the news of the day, I'm informing myself". However, as this study points out, I may be reading more about one subject than another and come to think of it, I realize I do.

It seems that the major point of this page is to suggest that one who primarily reads online journalism is over indulged with international news. If one is to add together all the news that is centered on the international stage, one would find that nearly 47 % of the reporting done online is based around either international news or US foreign policy. In other words, nearly half of the news that I have available to me online is about foreign issues.

I suppose if one thinks about this, it shouldn't be a surprise. The US is currently involved in two conflicts overseas and as the planet becomes a more global place, the news is going to need to reflect that. Given that the US occupies a single space in the global scene (no matter how large), the rest of the world is going to produce more news. Its going to require a much greater commitment to cover this news and with the internet's ability to instantly pick up and analyze a piece of news, the proliferation of international news seems logical. Still, the survey surprised me. While I recognized the importance of global news, I never really thought of the dominance it plays in the online sphere.

The more I think of it, the more sense it makes. For example, take a local newspaper with a specific regional readership it has in mind when it goes to press each day. Knowing its audience, the paper recognizes the necessity of having a hefty dose of local news in its pages, where as a more national (or perhaps even global) paper such as the NY Times publishes with a much different audience in mind. The Times doesn't need to devote as much space to New York only news. However, on the other hand, take The Hartford Courant. With a considerably smaller readership on a national level, the Courant can devote more space to local matters due to its regional nature.

Now, take an online news source, say MSNBC or CNN, both of which have absolutely no local market attached to them. They exist to serve the national and international news scene. Therefore, with no local market and, in turn, no local news, they can devote more space to the international news of the day. Hence, the stronger emphasis on the larger scope.