The American media leave a lot to be desired whether you want news about the media, the war on terrorism, global trade, or just general information and understanding of the 95 percent of the world's people who are not Americans (as well as, all too often, more insightful reporting about the 5 percent who are!).

Fortunately, In this age of the Internet, many of the world's newspapers are just a mouse click away. Are they "the truth" and the U.S. media "a lie"? Of course not. All media have their perspective -- in some cases driven by a measure of governmental control and propaganda, in other cases by the capitalist interests of advertisers. Like anything else on the Internet -- or in print for that matter -- the world's newspapers have to be evaluated for source, independence and motive.

What's a reader to do? Read as widely as possible. Get a range of perspectives. And then try to come up with your own synthesis; what makes sense to you. Here are some resources to provide you a start. It's not a complete list, or "the best" list, a liberal list or a conservative list. It's a beginning.

Objections, suggestions, comments, or proposed additions? Please e-mail them to me: 

-- Nicholas Johnson, Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A.
First posted November 12, 2002, revised 20030215, 20030404, 20030515, 20030910.

And international headlines and stories from The New York Times: