Americans embrace a smaller world

S

o Iraq is back in the news. No, not coverage of the war -- but rather news of a love tryst between a pair of paramours and Lara Logan, an attractive CBS News correspondent who recently was complaining to Jon Stewart about the lack of news media's attention to Iraq.

Sure, there's a natural interest in hearing about a blonde bombshell, rather than bombs; about a "steamy Baghdad love triangle" rather than the Sunni Triangle. Who said Americans aren't interested in foreign affairs?

Sex will always sell, after all. And sober reporting on diplomacy can't compete with a titillating affair, right? Yet remarkably, that's precisely what's happening. Americans today are embracing world affairs, and international news coverage is picking up on and feeding the trend -- looking to broaden a growing audience.

Notice the rapt attention paid to French first lady Carla Bruni. CNN has ...