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In an age where a most of the developed world is online, is more or less literate and many of us have access to mobile devices, the majority of first world news at least starts with "citizen journalism".

Add to this the fact that newsrooms around the developed world have made no secret of the fact that they are cost cutting and downsizing.

.... i blame the earthquake

We're lucky in Melbourne. We live in a beautiful city in a pretty good country, we're very rarely affected by natural or manmade disasters. Our leaders are no more or less competent than any others, but at least they are democratically elected, if that's something that means anything to you.

In fact, upon reflection, you could say that Melbourne is a bit boring. I certainly wouldn't say that, as I beleive there is plenty to keep a person occupied here, but in terms of hard hitting sensational or tabloid news, car crashes and very infrequent gang related crime is as exciting as it gets.

even if I had killed a busload of disabled children, I wouldn't have made it to the front page of a Melbourne newspaper today

Catching up on world affairs can be tough on AFL grand final day. The major papers in Melbourne are obsessed at the best of times, but today you could get away with mass murder in the garden state.

If you're after some real news today head to google and click on the News tab. As an international news aggregator, google news categorises stories, so you have to select the sports option to see sport. As sport isn't really news, the news section tends to be more about real news.

For an international flavour try the international version of the New York Times the International Herald Tribune, or NPR (National Public Radio) is always good for some in depth news, a lot of which you can download as podcasts. If you like science and technology try the Nexus magazine website.


Alternatively, read a book! There are a few out there that are not about sport!

Location: Melbourne