Back In The Saddle....

Although I live in New York City, I've certainly traveled enough to know that this place is in no way representative of the way 99% of the people on this planet live. That's easy to forget sometimes, particularly because of the almost jingoistic orientation of the media in the U.S. To get any real news about the rest of the world---particularly about the third world---I've mostly had to use outfits like the BBC, which offers excellent coverage. Lately though, there have been flickers of life from some of the most unlikely of sources. Over the past few weeks, Yahoo has carried a series of excellent articles and accompanying video segments by a reporter named Kevin Sites. Datelines include Somalia and the Congo, so these reports are not pretty. Interestingly, Yahoo has been placing them on its homepage in its listing of top news stories---an area that traditionally has included fluff stories about movies, celebrities and sports. Yahoo obviously knows the user click count of everything on its homepage, so it's both interesting and encouraging that this new segment continues to be featured prominently. If this indicates that Americans at least on the margin are becoming a bit less interested in Paris Hilton and a bit more curious about the rest of the world, that would be a good thing.

The link to the list of recent reports is here. Something to watch.