I am in complete agreement with Jyothi Karthik Raja's Sept. 30 column. I moved to the United States from Geneva, Switzerland. The news coverage in Europe is a lot more extensive than in the United States. Even CNN, an international news broadcast company, doesn't cover world news as intensively as I believe it should. Many times, when I am watching CNN, important news is shown at the bottom of the screen, but never actually mentioned by the reporters. Other TV news channels pride themselves on being able to go "around-the-world in 60 seconds." They then return to covering stories "dedicated to celebrities and wannabe celebrities," as Raja points out.

I agree that "the level of consciousness towards worlds outside our own has to be raised." I feel like I live in a bubble in the United States even though I watch the news daily and read the papers. Americans need to become more aware of the outside world and the issues that are arising abroad. The general attitude in this country seems to be that the only important news is national news. The world is connected in many different ways and it is ignorant to believe that what is happening in Europe, Asia, and other areas of the world is unimportant.

The media needs to stop focusing on petty issues that are basically gossip and cover more international issues so that the American public is better informed about the world around them.