Has the mainstream media in the US replaced serious coverage with "junk news" and tabloidism? Especially in foreign affairs, are Americans less informed than ever? Who is shaping their perceptions of the rest of the world?

Since a devastating earthquake rocked Haiti on Tuesday -- killing tens of thousands of people -- there's been a lot of well-intentioned chatter and twitter about how to help Haiti. [...] I hope these donations continue to pour in, along with more money, food, water, medicine, equipment and doctors and nurses from nations around the world. [...] But it's also time to stop having a conversation about charity and start having a conversation about justice -- about recovery, responsibility and fairness. What the world should be pondering instead is: What is Haiti owed? Haiti's vulnerability to natural disasters, its food shortages, poverty, deforestation and lack of infrastructure, are not accidental.

A disturbing decline in global liberty prompts some hard thinking about what is needed for democracy to prevail.