The News Can Bring Us Closer

We are enthralled by the pictures of Japan that are coming to us from Japanese Television, especially the programs that are produced by NHK. You will note that this is public television in Japan and already producing an English language program for distribution to stations in the United States.
It was the most watched tsunami in history and the pictures of mud flows and debris are astounding. We tend to look at cameras that look at everything and wonder who is watching, but all of these cameras in Japan have given us the opportunity to see what is happening and not need to get in the way. I have always been interested in those things that are going on in other parts of the world. Now I can see it from several points of view and see how other people see each other and also see us. You may notice that all the news sources are using the NHK world service because they are producing a constant stream of information for all of us. Many times we see the same picture in several program sources and should know that many times the news programs will share information because only one source has secured the information or just is “lucky” enough to be at the center of activity at the correct time.
Think about it on local television in Los Angeles we have KCET that carries news programs in English from Japan, the Middle East and Great Britain. Yes I did work at the station and do have direct contacts with the station. They have also used programing from Russian television (RT English language service is produced in Washington D.C.)

One day I was looking at these programs as they all covered the same story and you could see not just the difference in coverage, but the different attitudes toward the story. They were telling the story of the events in Egypt as they progressed. It was very enlightening to see this different point of view.
We have made the world smaller, but not yet have we made it better by using all of this information to let us better understand that all people may want the same things in life but not always in the same way. In Japan today, they all want the same things that we would want in the same situation. Food, water and shelter are the same all over the world. It is just that local customs must be considered. When we see that the Japanese Government is requesting assistance, we know that they are doing it despite the fact that they would really rather help themselves.

They really do need this help.