On Sep 10, 2004, at 4:46 PM, Dave Land wrote:
Alberto and Warren are both right: it is a cynical ploy by "news" outlets to drive up ratings, but the justification that it makes it closer to the viewers is also true.
I don't think I'm being excessively cynical. It's sad but if you tell an American about an airliner crash that kills a lot of people he'll likely make sympathetic noises. If you tell him several of those dead were Americans his noises will become more pronounced. And some, if they hear no Americans were involved at all, will simply pass right by the news. (Look how many Americans were distant from the realities of terrorism ... until it hit on US soil.)
This is not a typical sample group, by which I mean that however much list members here disagree with one another, those of us who are in the US probably truly do give a damn about events overseas. I honestly think a significant minority of Americans -- perhaps even a majority -- are nowhere near as globally involved, intellectually, emotionally or ethically.
-- WthmO
I've never held an opinion. I give them away freely. --
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