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How to Improve Your Knowledge of World Events

With the constant political, social and cultural changes taking place around the world, it can be hard to keep up with current world events. However, improving your knowledge of what is going on internationally is important to having a balanced and informed view of modern society.

The following article explains the importance of staying abreast of current events while analyzing the pros and cons of the various news sources that provide us with information about the world.

Following World Events
Unfortunately, a large portion of American society is more concerned with national events or pop culture than international affairs. In fact, a recent study showed that young Americans know and care less about what is going on in the world than previous generations. In 1995, the Times Mirror Center for the People reported that, "On average, only 20 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 paid close attention to the stories covered in the News Interest Index (an index of top news stories)."

In general, people who are consistently exposed to newspapers and current events from a young age are more likely to grow up seeking out knowledge of world events around them. However, with the hustle and bustle of modern life, finding time to learn about current events can be difficult. Between work, school, taking care of your family and a number of seemingly endless errands, staying up-to-date on international affairs is another task that often gets pushed to the wayside.

Staying Up-to-Date on World Events with TV
Generally, most Americans get the news from television, usually from the five, six or eleven o’clock broadcasts. Because television is one of the fastest ways of reporting, events (such as the 9/11 World Trade Center Bombing) can be reported live, shown exactly as it happens.

Most people trust television news because it is a faster, more entertaining way to learn about current events. Networks tend to squeeze images and stories into two-minute, easy-to-follow segments.

However, if you use TV as your primary news source, keep in mind that the brevity of the news stories and the limited air time can seriously confine your understanding of a single event or awareness of other events not aired. Similarly, because some news networks have their own bias, relying on one media source can mislead your understanding, providing you with an imbalanced view of an event.

Still another drawback to television as a news source is the fact that occasionally producers choose to air stories based on commercial sponsorship or affiliated companies. While they may not be specifically endorsing a product, they can be presenting an event, corporation or issue in a skewed light. Keeping each of these disadvantages in mind as you get your news of world events from TV is important to gaining a comprehensive, balanced understanding of the modern world.

Improving Your Awareness with Print News
Newspapers and magazines are still one of the best ways we can learn about the news. Unlike television news that tends to rely on images and few words, print media takes the opposite route: It relates world events primarily on words and only a few pictures. People who take the time to read articles generally reap a much deeper, comprehensive understanding of the world news than those who just get their information from TV.

However, reading the newspaper or news magazines does come with its own set of drawbacks. While the element of bias isn't as prevalent as it is with TV, reading the news is far more time consuming than watching it. For those who already find themselves hard pressed for extra time, they may not want to commit an hour per day to reading up on world events. Another con to newspapers is that the international sections for some of the regional newspapers may be remarkably sparse. Consequently, subscribing to the appropriate paper may turn out to be an issue.

The Internet and Radio as News Sources
The Internet is another powerful tool for helping us stay informed. Generally, articles can be uploaded as fast as they happen, giving the Internet the same edge of immediacy that the TV has. However, like TV news, reports on the Internet can be loaded with bias. As a result, determining the source of the poster is a key part of gaining accurate information from the Web. To avoid be misled, stick to credible news media web sites, such as CNN.

Internet news sources tend to a hybrid of TV and print media: While the web sites are as immediate as TV, they are far more extensive in their coverage, placing them more in line with news magazines. However, web sties usually keep their articles shorter than news magazines, making them more appropriate for those pressed for time.

Radio is also another way to keep up with world events. Many radio programs are devoted to discussing issues at length, allowing the public to hear all sides. However, radio news can get bogged down in certain topics, limiting their coverage. Similarly, radio news has to grapple with the same air time constraints as TV news, another factor that can seriously confine a full, balanced coverage of world events.

What is the Best News Source for Knowledge of World Events?
No single source should be used alone to get a comprehensive understanding of international affairs. Because each news source comes with its own set of drawbacks, different sources should be used to check and balance each other. While you may want to watch the nightly news, try scanning the newspaper and Internet to get the full story or to catch up on stories left out of the nightly broadcast.

One of the best methods for improving your awareness of current events is to consider the news from a variety of sources and to recognize the bias in each.

Why It is Important to Keep Up With World Events
Of course, most of us do not have the time to follow up on the world events that may or may not be reported correctly. However, taking even 20 minutes per day to understand current events is not only important to understanding the world today but also to predicting what the future holds for us.

Many events reported in the news have lasting consequences that lead to other serious events. For example, the coverage of the 9/11 tragedy so dramatically affected the public that the uproar for retaliation eventually caused George W. Bush to declare war. However, persistent coverage of the war then led the American public to believe in its inefficacy, triggering a major social backlash for President Bush. Without this coverage, would the US have gone to war? Or, would the President have subsequently found himself the target of such public disgust.

Simply put, we can tell where the world is going is if we know where we are now.