The Most Underreported News Story of 2012 Is...

It's easy enough to compile a "best" and "worst" list, but what about bringing attention to important issues that went largely unreported in 2012?

That's the challenge we posed to editorial leaders from Alternet, Truthout, The Root, Common Dreams, and TomDispatch when we asked them to share what they consider the most underreported issue of 2012. Some of the answers will still surprise you.

See excerpts below, and visit the latest "Group Think" at BillMoyers.com for complete responses, and to share your own suggestions.

"The great underreported story of 2012 is the accelerated spread of poverty and concentration of wealth in the United States."

-- Don Hazen, Executive Editor of Alternet

"As the unconventional oil and gas drilling rapidly industrializes rural areas across the nation, the lessons of Bayou Corne will be crucial to draw upon. The full story of America's current oil and gas rush cannot be told without the voices of the people living in areas impacted by the industry."

-- Maya Schenwar, Executive Director of Truthout

"If you asked me 25 years ago how people would react when we found a way to prevent HIV infection, I would have predicted dancing in the streets and widespread news coverage."

-- Sheryl Huggins Salomon, Managing Editor of The Root

"As long as meaningful action on climate change will hurt the short-term profits of the fossil fuel industries, the media conglomerates and Wall Street, we can't expect the media blackout to end..."

-- Craig Brown, Founder and Director of Common Dreams

"The real reporting crisis involves the inability of the mainstream to connect the dots, almost any dots, or display any kind of historical memory."

-- Tom Engelhardt, Editor of The Nation Institute's TomDispatch