In many U.S. news organizations, international coverage is accorded minimal importance. The conventional wisdom seems to be that international reporting costs too much and does too little to win and keep an audience, and thus only sensational or government-highlighted incidents are reported. But does this meet standards of professional responsibility? Philip Seib says no. This provocative book argues that not only do U.S. news media have the duty to cover international events that affect the interests of the public and the government, but they also should 'shake awake the world's conscience' by bringing more attention to international conflict and suffering-in hopes of spurring humanitarian action or intervention to help those in need.

Philip Seib is a professor of Journalism and Public Diplomacy in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He is also a veteran television and newspaper journalist.