The Echo Chamber

[mayaknife]

I've been watching a lot of American political news lately where the left-wing commentators are characterizing the right-wing commentators as "The Echo Chamber", the implication being that they are all just talking to themselves and repeating the same, worn out talking points, over and over.

There's a bigger "Echo Chamber" though, which seems to enclose almost all of American society. To see it, take a look at a list of the ten most recent stories which Associated Press has posted to its YouTube channel:

• Airlines' Quality Rises; More Challenges Ahead
  
• Media Witness Arrival of Soldiers' Remains
  
• Obama Honors Founder of Modern Turkey
  
• U.N. Considering Options After NKorea Launch
  
• Earthquake Rocks Italy, Several People Killed
  
• Tar Heels, Spartans Ready for NCAA Title Game
  
• Sports Monday: Baseball's Back, and More
  
• First Person: Analyst on NK's Launch Future
  
• Binghamton Mourns Victims From 8 Nations
  
• Michigan St. Beats UConn in NCAA Semifinal

From that list, what important things would you think are going on in the world outside of the United States? North Korea launched a rocket. Italy had an earthquake. Obama is visiting Turkey. That's it.

Now let's look at the ten most recent stories which Al Jazeera has posted to its english YouTube channel:

• Inside Story-Netanyahu's cabinet meeting
  
• Egyptian bloggers face risks and repression
  
• Accused general eyes Indonesian presidency
  
• Outcry as North Korea launches rocket
  
• Protests greet Obama's Turkey visit
  
• Jordan's refugees live in despair
  
• Afghanistan cricket qualifiers
  
• Witness - Baghdad City of Walls
  
• Bolivia eyes lithium deposits
  
• N Korea aims high with rocket launch

Again, we hear about the North Korean rocket launch and Obama's visit to Turkey, but we also have stories from Israel, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq and Bolivia. There's even a sports story from Afghanistan. When was the last time you saw American press coverage of Afghanistan which wasn't about the war?

All of this variety comes from a relative newcomer to the news industry, as compared to the Associated Press which many North American news outlets rely on for a large percentage of their material.

I know that this is not an original observation, but is it any wonder that Americans know so little about anything beyond their own borders? They are being terribly served by their press.

Not that I'm being smug: the average Canadian's knowledge of world events is only marginally better.