Do You Read the News While Abroad?
 

When traveling, do you still stay abreast to the news back home, as well as the news where you are traveling? Have you ever found the views on the news completely different from how it is reported at home?

Yes. Each and every day. CNN.com, the International Herald Tribune and when all else fails, the international issue of USA Today.

I find that the Herald Tribune, not surprisingly, has a much more global outlook. Unlike the news in the US, the IHT assumes a greater understanding of world issues.

The IHT has the same news as the New York Times...that is the owner,

Well, not really the same as the NYT. I always try to find the IHT, and I remember in 2000 in Athens coming across fascinating articles both about the Greek Orthodox patriarchs (some sort of internecine fight) and the upcoming Olympics.

I steep myself in local news when I travel, but if I am gone for longer than a month, I try to occasionally find out things on-line. I am so disappointed in the news, though, that it just isn't interesting anymore.

Nope. I probably would if I had time, but I am usually busy with other things. :)

Reading the news can distort reality even at home. I visit CNN.com or other sites occasionally and pick one or two interesting stories to read, and I ignore the rest. Most news articles are about things that cannot affect you and over which you have no control, so there's no reason to spend much time reading the news, unless you like to live your life in a permanent state of fear.

Only to see if Bush hasn't declared martial law and is locking up citizens. Then I will know not to return!

No news. No cellphone. No internet. Don't call back home to "check up."

I sometimes try to catch BBC or CNN on the TV while getting ready for the day.

Sometimes getting ready and waking-up, I do the BBC and CNN thing and sometimes I enjoy the IHT's cross-word puzzle (I'm a rabid fan of those) and sit at a cafe' and work it...

I definitely prefer BBC over CNN and also pick up the IHT.

I am a believer that WE make the news happen and that there is no reason to "fear" those things which we ultimately DO have control over if we choose to exert it.

>Do You Read the News While Abroad?<

Why?

It never changes.

((I))

I buy the local daily newspapers if I can understand them. You not only learn a lot more background about the country you're visiting, but there is practical information such as the weather forecast and news of events.

Every morning, as part of my official get readin in the morning procedures, I try to hit the internet at an internet cafe (I'm too lazy to cart along my laptop to Europe and rely on wireless connections)....as part of this official procedure, in this order and it must be in this order according to the official procedures, I check my e-mail and then I read my home town newspapers (New York Times, New York Post, New York Daily News, Newsday) followed by USA Today, CNN and after that I finish off by checking my credit card purchases on the net to make sure there's been no fraudulent activity. Takes about an hour each morning to do it the right and offical way.

Read and watch local newspapers and tv if possible. There is rarely Canadian content abroad but if I want Canuck info, go to an internet cafe.

Depends - in Europe I typically try to grab the Tribune, in the Caribbean, not so much.

Yes - can't live without the news. Always check CNN, BBC and Herald Tribune if we can find it. And yes - the views are very often different from those at home - since most of the media in europe is not conservative as it is in the US - there is a much broader range of views.

(And on trips have seen Mt St Helens erupting in German, the OJ slow speed chase in English and the OJ verdict in Italian.)

The IHT is not exactly the same as the NYTimes, especially its opinion sections.

I find CNN International very much different from CNN domestic. It's much more sophisticated and far less jingoistic.

Nope, I read nothing and I watch nothing. We like to go, go, go on vacation so I don't usually have time. Plus, I just want to forget about home and everyday life when I'm away. Sometimes I'm shocked when I get home to see what I missed.

Yes, I love stopping at the International Presse shops at the train stations. My favorites are:
The Economist magazine. Published in Britain, great news articles, letters to the editor, book reviews, etc. All with a British turn of phrase & sense of humor.
The Financial Times, also British.
If you're in Britain, The Evening Standard.

I have also found international versions of Time & Newsweek magazines.

I like reading a different point of view on world issues.

I'm with you, Travelinsue!

One advantage to reviewing the foreign press while overseas is that one can get a European (or Asian) viewpoint on an event, which can often differ radically from how the same story might be reported in the US press.

News priorities overseas are different, as well. A traffic jam or inner-city drug problem that might get columns of coverage on the front page of one's local paper at home is of course of no interest at all to the citizens of Berlin or London.

Both differences (view and emphasis) can help dislodge one's provincial leanings a bit, and bring better understanding of the global human condition.

Not a bad thing, and well worth making time for, my opinion. For me, being on vacation means having the opportunity to increase my understanding of the world and its citizens -- in addition to having a fabulous meal or two!

Fritzrl

To be honest, we don't. We are usually so busy, and I never get online when we are on vacation. Since I am on the computer all day for work, vacations for me involve no computers whatsoever! We do usually watch the news if the TV in our room has BBC or CNN.

Tracy

You don't have to watch or read the foreign news while on vacation to find out how world views differ from those in the USA.

Using this thing called the internet, one can read various versions of the daily news from all over the world every day.

Hi
I usually pick up a IHT when in europe. The places we've visited might have a copy a couple of days old but ornone. If the hotel has BBC or CNN I'll watch it. As we go away at the end of September, what interests me most are the baseball scores, which both CNN and BBC usually don't carry.