CNN Interactive

This is a great source of news information. CNN Interactive offers major news stories for the U.S. and the world, including sound clips and pictures. It also offers a compilation of articles for long-running stories and news events.


Web:

http://www.cnn.com/


Columnists: Collections

I find that, once in awhile, I enjoy reading an opinionated newspaper or magazine article. There are many columnists whose work is available on the Net. Here are some Web sites where you will find many different online columns, making for a lot of interesting reading as well as widely diverging points of view.


Web:

http://www.blueagle.com/
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/columnists/
http://www.headlinespot.com/opinion/columnists/
http://www.newsmax.com/commentmax/commentmax.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/columns/
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
http://www.postwritersgroup.com/commentary.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/columns/


Columnists to Discover

Do you need to kill a bit of time? Take a moment to explore this short list of witty, intelligent, skillful columnists: Andrew Sullivan, Ariana Huffington, Bill O'Reilly, George Will and Thomas Friedman. If you don't know them, you should. You may agree with their opinions; you may disagree but, politics aside, I guarantee you will be stimulated.


Web:

http://www.andrewsullivan.com/
http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/columns/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/columns/wi...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/archives.asp?AUTHOR_I...


Current Events Talk and General Discussion

There are two important aspects to the spread of news. First, news organizations gather the news and present it to us (through television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and so on). Next, we discuss the news with other people. Public discussion is crucial to our culture, because it allows us to formulate public opinion. We talk, we express opinions, we listen to other people's opinions, and we debate. In doing so, we not only work out long-term social problems, we develop a personal feeling of belonging to our society. On the Net, there are specific Usenet groups devoted to discussion of the latest happenings. These groups have names that begin with alt.current-events. I have listed a few of them here. Others -- for more specific topics -- are created and removed as the need arises. For example, if a major conflict were to arise anywhere in the world, you can be sure that a Usenet group devoted to the topic would be created quickly.


Usenet:

Google Newsreader alt.current-events
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.bosnia
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.cc-news
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.clinton.whitewater
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.earth-changes
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.haiti
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.massacre.high-school
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.oj-simpson.boycott
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.russia
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.somalia
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.ukraine
Google Newsreader alt.current-events.usa


Drudge Report

The Drudge Report Web site is useful in two ways. First, it offers an easy-to-use comprehensive list of Internet news sources and columnists: an excellent place to start when you are looking for information or commentary. Second, the site is the home of Matt Drudge, political gossip columnist extraordinaire. Drudge collects news, rumors and opinions, and publishes them on the Net, usually before anyone else. It was Drudge, for example, who first broke the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal. (And when you get tired of Drudge, as we all do sooner or later, you can entertain yourself by looking at parodies.)


Web:

http://www.drudgereport.com/
http://www.drudgeretort.com/
http://www.ez-websites.com/grudge/
http://www.smudgereport.com/

Usenet:

Google Newsreader alt.journalism.drudge


Email the Media

Do you like to sound off? Have you ever thought about writing a letter to the editor? If so, you'll love this site. First, choose a publication from among a large list of magazines, newspapers and periodicals. Next, use the handy Web-based interface to create your own personal letter. Then, with a click of the mouse button, your letter will be emailed to the appropriate address. (And since you are one of my readers, your letter will no doubt be published quickly, with the full respect it deserves.) In order to test the service, I sent a letter to Time magazine. The letter began as follows: "Dear Editor: I never thought I would be writing one of these letters to a magazine such as yours. I am, by trade, a writer and, to tell you the truth, I always believed that the first-hand personal accounts I read in your magazine were invented by your editors. However, the experience I had last week showed that such experiences can happen to people like me, and I felt that I just had to share the details with your readers. It all started when the young widow next door asked me if I would help her carry in her groceries. She was wearing a low-cut blouse, a tight, very short miniskirt, and black high-heeled pumps. As I deposited the groceries on the kitchen table, she asked if I would like to visit and have a drink while she changed into something more comfortable..." (So, anyway, that's the beginning of what I sent as a test of this Web site. I don't have room for the whole thing here, so if you would like to find out how the story ends, you will have to find the back issue of Time magazine in which the letter was published.)


Web:

http://www.mrsmith.com/


Fox News

When you are looking for up-to-date news with an attitude, head over to the Web site of the little-network-that-could, Fox News. Although I don't watch TV, my favorite show is "Hannity and Colmes", because Alan Colmes is an old friend of mine. (Now, I'm waiting for Alan to write a book, so he can mention me.)


Web:

http://www.foxnews.com/


Free Clipping Services

There's a lot of news, and it can slip by faster than a greased pig on a turbo-charged skateboard. When you start to get the feeling that the current events portion of your life is passing you by, why not let a computer do the work? Sign up for a free tracking service, and have the news of your choice delivered to your electronic doorstep with monotonous regularity.


Web:

http://alertwizard.hoovers.com/
http://www.crayon.net/


Good News and Bad News

The bad news is, there isn't all that much good news. The good news is, the bad news isn't all that bad. No matter what your preference, I've got something just for you. One of these Web sites is the Positive Press, a site with only upbeat news, featuring human interest stories and news items from various newspapers, journals and periodicals. Every time you visit you will find great stuff that will make you happy. The other Web site is the Daily Outrage, a place where you can always be sure to find something bad enough to put you in a foul mood. Good or bad? The choice is yours. (Close your eyes and see if you can figure out which is which.)


Web:

http://www.positivepress.com/news/
http://www.theoutrage.com/2002_outrage.html


Los Angeles Times

The online version of this well-known southern California newspaper has all the typical newspaper stuff you would expect as well as lots of local information. The Los Angeles Times is one of the few nationally read newspapers in the United States. Not only is it respected for its coverage of national and international events, but it offers in-depth coverage of southern California happenings including the West Coast financial markets and the ever-present entertainment industry.


Web:

http://www.latimes.com/


MSNBC

MSNBC is a news-oriented cable TV and Web site created by a partnership between Microsoft and the NBC television network. There is lots of news: world, commerce, sports, science, technology, life, opinion, weather, as well as some local news. As you travel through MSNBC, you will find various interactive resources and Internet links scattered throughout. You can also personalize this site for local information, traffic reports, specific stock quotes, customized news, and so on.


Web:

http://www.msnbc.com/


New York Times

You can read the main guts of the New York Times for free (but you do have to register). You can find a bit of every type of news: current events, cybertimes, politics, business, editorial, op-ed, arts and leisure, travel, real estate, classified ads, trivia and the famous crossword puzzle. There are also forums in which you can discuss news and events.


Web:

http://www.nytimes.com/


News Headlines

Do you only have a minute? Quick, check the latest headlines. Do you have two minutes? Read one of the stories. Have lots of time? You won't get bored -- there's always news to read. Start with the headlines and read, read, read until it's time to get back to work.


Web:

http://www.newshub.com/
http://www.newsmax.com/
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
http://www.worldnews.com/


News Search Engines

You want to read about a particular topic, but how do you find the relevant news stories? Easy, just use one of these news search engines and you can find the news you need when you need it. In fact, one day, the Net was so fast that I was able to find the news I needed before I needed it.


Web:

http://www.newsindex.com/
http://www.newstrawler.com/
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/links/news.html
http://www.totalnews.com/


Newspapers Around the World

Just about every newspaper you can think of (and many you can't think of) have Web sites. These tools will help you find the Web site for any newspaper you want. Just the other day, I found Web sites for three newspapers I could think of and six newspapers I couldn't think of (and all before breakfast).


Web:

http://www.dailyearth.com/
http://www.findnewspapers.com/
http://www.ipl.org/div/news/
http://www.nettizen.com/newspaper/
http://www.newsdirectory.com/
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/
http://www.thepaperboy.com/


OneWorld News

This is world news with a slant toward "global justice". The articles offer a global perspective. Although the coverage can be a bit superficial, they do a good job of highlighting important events around the world -- events that relate to stories that don't always make the news. You can read about humanity and freedom issues, migrants and refugees, underdeveloped countries, people who are politically oppressed, and so on. Generally speaking, the stories are well written, not at all "bleeding heart". OneWorld offers some multimedia reports with pictures, audio and video, as well as a discussion area to which you can post messages. The news service is part of a larger project called OneWorld Broadcasting Trust whose goal is to "create greater global understanding through broadcasting".


Web:

http://www.oneworld.net/news/today/


USA Today

Tired of recycling? Stop getting the newspaper and just get your news online. It's clean, it's neat and best of all you don't have to store a bunch of newspapers around the house until recycling day. USA Today has lots of interesting news and entertainment online. There's so much distracting stuff to read here, you might have to have a second cup of morning coffee just to get through it all.


Web:

http://www.usatoday.com/


Washington Post

The Washington Post Web site is one of my favorite places to read the news. The Washington Post is a major American newspaper, published out of Washington, D.C., and is the principal voice-to-be-reckoned-with in the nation's capitol. I check in at least once a day: not only for news, but for the columns, human interest features and comics.


Web:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/