Outside Voices: Camille Elhassani On Circular Logic And Foreign News
Other contributors have written on "Outside Voices" about the need for more international news on CBS. But the point is worth saying again.
I spent time this week watching different CBS News programs and came away feeling ill-informed about the world. I learned what's happening in Congress, the White House, with schools and the Super Bowl… but I didn't get a sense of what's happening in the world. Events overseas affect Americans and our interests abroad – economically, politically, and increasingly, militarily.
The only international stories I saw on CBS this week were about Iraq, terrorism, or global warming. Certainly Iraq is the biggest international story for the American audience, with U.S. troops in harms way and a massive financial and political commitment by our government to Iraq. CBS covered Congressional response to the war in Iraq thoroughly. And the "Evening News" went further than Congress. Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer traveled to Syria to bring more analysis and context from the region, to the network's credit. Her pieces about Syria's role in regional diplomacy and the insurgency were informative and exclusive. I would have liked to see Katie Couric talk to a guest after Palmer's pieces to discuss Syria's role in regional diplomacy. More reporting is needed from the region – and Iraq when possible, taking into account how unsafe it is for journalists, a reality to which CBS's Kimberly Dozier, nearly killed in an attack in Iraq last year, can attest..
But there are other stories that affect America. I didn't see anything on CBS this week from Africa, Latin America, or Asia. There's a bevy of excuses used by news management as to why there is less international news coverage than 20 years ago, including not enough airtime, Americans don't care about events outside the lower 48, international coverage is too expensive, and news can be covered using sharing agreements with other networks.
But these excuses allow news organizations to abandon their fundamental responsibility to inform. Clearly, time is an issue – it's hard to get enough context and analysis on multiple stories in the half-hour CBS "Evening News." But there are other outlets - the "Early Show" is two hours long. When Americans wake up, Europe, Asia, Africa have been awake for hours, and news that affects the United States is happening. To say Americans don't care about international events is circular logic; the less they know about international news the less they will care.
Undeniably, international coverage is expensive. But there are alternatives that minimize the cost of newsgathering– including videojournalism, podcasting, and a network of knowledgeable stringers. And the sharing agreements with other networks recycle news across the globe. They don't push the news agenda.
But CBS can reject insular news. The network should commit itself to helping Americans be informed citizens of the world. And there may be an added benefit other than good journalism - a new global commitment could increase viewership lost to cable, satellite TV and the Internet. The CBS "Evening News" and the "Early Show" are last in the Nielsen ratings, and can afford to make a radical change, to do things differently – like covering the world. For example, according to the Census Bureau, there are 42 million people in this country of Hispanic origin, and all of them are potential viewers, interested in news from Latin America.
Here are a few stories that affect Americans not covered by CBS this week: Venezuela's president gained more political power this week, which he says he will use to nationalize the oil and gas industries. Venezuela is the fourth largest oil provider to the U.S., and nationalization of the Venezuelan oil industry could affect prices at our pumps.
CIA operatives have been charged in Germany for allegedly abducting and interrogating a German Citizen as part of the War on terror. The U.S.'s program of extraordinary rendition has angered U.S. allies and contributed to plummeting global public opinion of the United States.
Also this week, rival Palestinian factions brokered a brief ceasefire that was shattered by more violence ahead of a major diplomatic meeting on Friday in Washington meant to reinvigorate the peace process. Middle East peace has been the focus of U.S. diplomacy for half a century -- and yet there is still no peace.
So I say to CBS, enough "deer caught on tape" stories, enough Super Bowl commercials. Keep reporting about Iraq -- more than just what Congress and the White House have to say about it. But also, let the American public know why Venezuela's plans for nationalization may affect our wallets, why America's allies are pushing back against some aspects of the War on terror, and why Middle East peace is so critical to global security. Viewers will turn to CBS News, and at the end of the program, they'll be better citizens.