Herald Tribune (International Herald Tribune)

Member Name: polydeuces

Product:	International Herald Tribune
Date:	10/08/08 (3 review reads)
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I spend many days of my working life in hotels in Europe. At one time it was almost impossible to keep up to date with the News due to the absence of English newspapers and of course typical of many English abroad my grasp of French, Flemish, German or Italian is not sufficient to follow things in detail. Things however have changed quite considerably. Many hotels have BBC through satellite or failing that CNN. Some hotels even now have English papers such as the Times which have special editions printed locally. Finally there is the American papers like USA Today or the International Herald Tribune which seem to be there to satisfy disorientated Americans unable to function without news with an American accent. As a passing though if we British believe we are bad at languages - listen to an American.

The International Herald Tribune is published by the same publishers as The New York Times and The Washington Post. The front page is devoted to the latest international news and is written in a very matter of fact way. There is little editorial or added attitude and certainly no apparent bias which is so prevalent in English newspapers in England. I actually found coverage of the current conflicts in Macedonia and Israel refreshingly frank. Inside the International Herald Tribune does devote a lot of space to American issues including government and social issues. As someone who likes to read about different cultures and the way issues are dealt with abroad I found it very informative to read US news presented as domestic issues.
The editorial opinion page contained lucid and well argued views on South Africa, India and Missile defence. The business and finance section also has a large proportion of it devoted to US matters but again the reporting is well written. This section includes the latest New York Stock Exchange prices as well as many world and European stock markets.

The sports page carries all the latest baseball results at present and this week has comprehensive coverage of the tennis at the US Open. Finally as if there is not enough to sate the appetite for the good ole USA America's favourite cartoons like Garfield, Doonesbury, Dilbert and Calvin and Hobbes are syndicated as well. In fact there is so much to remind them of home I am not sure whether Americans will get home sick reading the International Herald Tribune.

Although the target audience for the International Herald Tribune is clearly the American tourist or businessman travelling in Europe there is a lot to commend it to anyone seeking an English language newspaper whilst in Europe. It has good coverage of a varied number of topics and the writing style is very good. As it is usually provided free it can only be considered excellent value.

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