Where do you get your news?

In a recent conversation with friends from several different countries, I lamented that fact that local newspapers in my home state in the US had little international news content. A follow-up comment from a friend suggested that the same was true here in Auckland. Not seeing quite the comparison, I asked her where she went for her international coverage. She, and others in the conversation, said they went to the webpages of the major broadcaster in their country of origin.

In teasing this out a bit, and in ruminations thereafter, we've decided that we are often more comfortable with news presented in tandem with our own worldview. We are interested in and process news as it pertains to us. Might be an obvious conclusion to make, but it is interesting, I think.

Expatriates often seek out familiar sources for news, subliminally choosing an ethnocentric filter through which they'll receive and process input. That is why so many international websites offer personalised search features. I can search primarily through New Zealand specific Google.co.nz or in the larger pool of Google.com. That s why the BBC offers an international version of it's site.

When I lived in Africa I was very dependent on the BBC for a version of the international news that was not filtered through the Zimbabwean censors or agenda. In the last few years, Zimbabweans have been even more desperate to hear news that was balanced and not driven by the politics of that country.

In countries where the press is either a tool of or heavily censored by the government, people have often sought news from "outside".

Where do you get most of your news? If you live close to "home" you may not need to choose your path to news. If you live in a different cultural context or in a multi-cultural city, your choices will be many and varied. How do you decide what to read or listen to in this info overload era?

Check out World Newspapers to feed your selective info cravings.

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