I don't think selfishness is what the parent commenter is referring to. A great example of "news" not impacting me in any meaningful way was a week or two ago when there was breaking news about two alpacas on the loose. Meanwhile, net neutrality passed with a 300+ page document the public wasn't allowed to see at the time.

Right. The news that actually has an impact on the world is limited and usually accessible through non-news mediums (this site, Reddit, etc.). In fact, mainstream media often doesn't cover the news that really impacts you (the net-neutrality debate had pitiful coverage).

On the other hand, Obama not saluting some marines or Michel Bachmann saying some dumb thing has no real impact on the world, mine or others.