By Nicholas Proch
For the past several weeks when I log onto my computer and check my regular news spots on the web or my usual blog rolls, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the amount of press and attention that the Egyptian government, or lack thereof, has received.
In this time I have seen more front page headlines about the state of this sputtering nation than our own. I’d like to consider myself worldly, but I can’t help but think: ‘I’ve Had Enough.’ If I’d like to read about the Egyptian government every day, I would put Al-Ahram Weekly or Cairo Times in my RSS feed collector.
I don’t mean to sound shallow, but there are more pressing issues, which pertain to me, happening in my own neighborhood, city and state. Heck, I’d even take a story about something on national level, but no, I have to flip to the bowels of the New York Times to find that.
This country is stuck in two wars, we don’t have a solid direction to take in regards to our health care and we certainly aren’t a model economic nation. However, with all of this going on, it can be easy for us to forget about it when a group of miners get stuck in a mine, there is political chaos in Cairo or an earthquake in Haiti.
Those who are responsible for repackaging the same material over again after every political and natural disaster should do so with caution.
The front page coverage has become a reflection of the readership. This worldwide news has always been available in something like the Times, but you had to search for it. City stories or national stories would have almost certainly been on the front page over an international story. Now it is quite the opposite.
It appears to me that the syndicates in this country are trying to combat and overcompensate against the notion that they are only focused on themselves. In doing so, and even over doing it, they have essentially alienated a great deal of readers.
The negative press is very easy for the writers to hand out when talking about another nation or nationality’s problems, but critically focused stories aren’t found anywhere but a commentary section when referring to the U.S.
It saddens me to say that we might not have the strength or tough enough skin to take criticism as a nation. There’s an overwhelming amount of pride which shines through into our press, making it easier to write about another country’s problems.
While I certainly do sympathize with those in Egypt, Haiti and Chile who have been involved in unbelievably terrible situations, the American press chooses not to cover the problems at home like they should. There is a plethora of issues in which we should be hearing about first, only to be supplemented by those from abroad.
There’s a part of me that loves international journalism, but it’s started to be outweighed by my great distaste for writing to fill space, which is what the majority of the conflict in Egypt has become to journalists.