What’s in the news? Different people will have different answers to that. You may be the type who never watches or listens to the news (I know some for whom it is just over-whelming to do so). You may be someone who gets most of their news from sporadic mentions in other media. Possibly your main source of news is your smart phone or your computer, which can, by the way, be an excellent source.
Then there is the question of “which news sources do you go to for the latest?”. In the US you might sit and watch NBC or CNN on a daily basis. Or maybe you are a Fox News enthusiast. In England you would probably tune in to the BBC; in Italy RAI 1; in Germany possibly ZDF or ARD. Wherever you live, and to whatever degree you follow the news, your perception of the world will likely be affected by the news sources available to you.
As an average Malagasy citizen, you might know less about the 2017 outbreak of the plague than some in other lands, simply because it has been played down in an effort to calm the masses. In Germany, you will have heard much about the difficulties of forming a coalition government since the Summer 2017 elections left no one with a clear majority. And in the US you will have seen reporting on ever-unfolding sexual harassment cases.
Having lived in four different countries at various times in my adult life, and being a keen reader of news, I can say that one must manage one’s news intake carefully. In most lands where I have lived and worked the local and even the national news sources will tend to be very parochial. To be fair, though, I would have to say that the US is most afflicted with this narrow-mindedness.
If one really wants to keep up on the news of what is going in the world, one would need to diversify as much as possible — that is, try to find as many varied sources as possible. Computers and smartphones are a tremendous help in accomplishing that. News channels like Deutche Welle (German), France24 (French), RaiNews (Italian), BBC World (British) and Euro News (European) can be helpful in getting information about what is going on in the world – most of these do have English language broadcasts.
Years ago in the Church we talked a great deal about “watching,” and many referenced that to “watching news.” In the 80s and 90s it was said that the scriptural admonition should refer more to watching to see where we are as individuals spiritually – and I agree that this is crucially important. But, it seems that many thereafter just drastically slowed or stopped their intake of news.
The hope that we have within us is based on God’s promises and His prophecies. May I suggest that keeping an eye on what is happening in the world might put us in a better position to recognize the fulfillment of prophecies. If we have watched the news over the last several months it cannot have escaped us that things can change very rapidly (often over-night).
So… what’s in the news? For you as an individual, it depends on you. What do you watch, what do you see and what do you hear? Listening to a few reputable news sources would be of benefit to all of us.
Cliff Veal
