" ... what is going on in the world, from famine in Africa ... " (Paragraph 4)
The underlined word means lack 'of
food
Discussion:
It informs us of what is going on in the world, from a famine in Africa to a local politics and fashion. It helps us understand how people live, work, and struggle. In 1961, Newton Minow, a government official, called prime-time schedules "a vast wasteland." Even though Minow said that over thirty years ago, many feel that it is still true today. Television is credited with being a great teacher, but it is also blamed for the poor reading and writing skills of our population. Television gets praised for helping us understand the people of the world. But it has been accused of helping to destroy family life. Television keeps us informed about the political issues of the day. Experts will probably continue to argue about television's value. But everyone agrees that it is one of the most significant inventions of the twentieth century.