Leading up to the Olympics, I was quite surprised at the lack of coverage regarding the Winter Games. Sure, there were reports about whether or not Sochi was ready, but there was not too much regarding the actual games or the athletes. Even after the Olympics started, NBC, in my opinion, has done a poor job covering them. Instead of showing Olympic events, when I turned on the television on a Sunday afternoon, I saw hours devoted to infomercials.
As a result, I have been watching a limited amount of the games; I don’t go too far out of my way to find the coverage I am interested in, simply because that requires extra effort on my part. This has lead me to realize a larger issue at hand – we don’t always put in that extra effort. While this statement may apply to a variety of situations, I’m specifically thinking of the news and current events.
A lot of us probably do not watch the news. I personally choose comedies or a syndicated show on TV over the news. However, even if we do, most of the news tends to focus on local events. While being aware of what is occurring in your community is important, don’t forget that the world expands far beyond your city.
Part of the reason I dislike the news on television is because I would rather learn about a Cargo ship leaving the International Space Station instead of hearing that people are having a hard time commuting during the snow. I mean, isn’t it kind of obvious that snow takes up space on the streets and all of the snow that we have won’t melt in a day? Is that really news?
To read the article regarding the International Space Station, I need to search for the news myself. I’m not perfect, I don’t always do that, but I am trying to be better at it. It’s not that difficult to find actually interesting stories on the internet anymore, and I encourage you to try and find some yourself!
Our understanding of news on the internet may be slightly off. We tend to focus on more lighthearted viral articles that are entertaining. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, I love articles like that myself! Let’s try to expand our horizons, however, beyond this entertainment. Even websites like Buzzfeed and Reddit have newsworthy stories, especially if you dig deeper and beyond just the popular reads.
Also keep in mind that news sources are biased – that is inevitable. Therefore, if you do consider yourself updated and aware of current events, try to seek out additional sources, channels, or websites to hear the story from another perspective. Even some of the most liberal news sources have an agenda, thus it’s important to read between the lines. You could also look at news reports from other countries. That way, you learn about what matters to that country at the moment, and perhaps some of its ideologies.
I would really like to encourage you to think globally. Of course we want to know what is happening around us, but thinking only about the BC campus or Boston is just a start. Look at other states, America as a whole, other countries, their economy or politics, world issues, the Olympics, natural disasters, and more! There are thousands of great stories waiting to be read and shared that are more interesting than what is immediately at your fingertips. Take a look around so we can be active members beyond our community.
Photo Sources
https://www.vitesse.com/images/news_events/blog6.jpg
http://cdn.isciencetimes.com/data/images/full/2013/11/21/5410-celebratin…
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/2-old-globe-bernard…