U.S. News Outlets Shrug at APEC
WASHINGTON — APEC may be defeating any sense of normalcy on Oahu this week, but the country’s major news outfits are paying relatively little attention to the economic conference thus far.
(Read a related article by Civil Beat columnist Richard Halloran, who took a look at the skimpy APEC coverage among member economies.)
This may have something to do with the rush of major international stories this week. Some of the news that is garnering more national attention: The economic crisis in Europe — that includes , and Italy’s prime minister .
A new about Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations that has been the subject of much national scrutiny. On top of it, Tuesday was election day. Major stories came out of Ohio and Mississippi for voters’ handling of and , respectively.
Even the sports world is being rocked with news, as long-time Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno is in the wake of a sex scandal. And we haven’t even gotten to allegations of sexual assault against GOP presidential candidate yet.
That’s not to say that news of APEC is altogether absent on the national and international stage. The Wall Street Journal published on Tuesday suggesting that the summit is indeed being “overshadowed by ongoing fears of contagion from the European crisis.”
Several news outlets across the globe about a federal agent in Honolulu for APEC charged with fatally shooting 23-year-old Kollin Elderts in a Waikiki McDonald’s.
A Tokyo-based reporter for the Associated Press explored Japan’s attitude toward trade with the U.S. in the context of APEC in picked up by several news organizations on Tuesday.
Other reporters have focused on that the Obama administration’s APEC goals — especially those related to — are “too ambitious.”
One China Daily columnist appeared more focused on China-Vietnam relations, and for a tendency to “sensationalize” the details of an oil deal between the two countries ahead of APEC.
On Wednesday, the wrote about a new report that examines the cost of trade in the APEC region.
It’s reasonable to expect that national interest in APEC will pick up as the week continues, especially as President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and other world dignitaries arrive in Honolulu later this week.
White House reporters were briefed on the Obamas’ trip to Hawaii on Wednesday afternoon. In other words, for many of those outside of Hawaii, APEC hasn’t even started yet.
