The Internet has quickly become the first place to look for information on nearly any subject. In an age when it is not uncommon to hear the suggestion, “Why don’t you Google it,” it is no surprise that many students are point-and-clicking to their daily news.
With nearly every major newspaper and publication providing online access to the bulk of their articles, many students no longer have the need to refer to more traditional news media such as print and television.
“The Internet is pretty much my only source of news—I don’t watch TV, and as far as paper goes, I only read The Poly,” admits Steven Morris, a second-year chemical engineering major.
This seems to be a common approach to news consumption on campus. “For world news I usually just go to MSN’s homepage,” he added. Those interested in current events can choose from plenty of trustworthy and reliable websites, such as http://www.cnn.com/, http://nytimes.com/, and http://reuters.com/. CNN’s website is one of the most popular online news sources thanks to the depth and diversity of their articles, as well as allowing users to read the articles without signing up for an account.
Google, also interested in providing an online news source, offers a handy condensed one-page news summary, called Google News (http://news.google.com/). Their automated scripting culls and sorts news headlines from over 4,000 major news publications. Organized and updated regularly, Google News is an excellent starting point for information on current events.
“The Internet is so accessible—it’s just right there… I don’t have to go read a paper,” Morris pointed out. It seems to be a matter of convenience for some students. Most are already online daily, and for those interested in the news, there could not be a more convenient location than just a few clicks away.
“I read about the latest in technology from warp2search.net,” he went on to say, “They have new video cards, sound cards, and motherboards—pretty much anything computer-related.” He makes a hobby of building his own computer systems from high-end components and wants to keep up with the latest innovations in technology. “It’s news I just wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere, if it wasn’t on the Internet.”
Diverse personal interests along with the relatively low production costs of online publishing have resulted in the establishment of thousands of online news providers dealing with topics of interest for various niche communities. From vegetarians to conservatives, nearly all special interest groups are represented with their own news-oriented websites. “There are so many places for niches in the Internet community that news can be so specific, and you’re not going to go looking for something that isn’t what you want to see,” added Morris.
Kaydi Linn, a first-year chemistry student, has a few unique interests of her own, which she is able to pursue on the Internet. “I get German news in a newsletter in my inbox,” she says, “I have a friend in Germany that I’m going to visit in the summer, so I want to know what is going on for her.”
Linn is subscribed to an email newsletter provided by the American German Embassy, which keeps her up-to-date. “I can keep up with her without going far out of my way,” she added. While Linn is interested in world news, Morris finds more of what he likes at “DAPreview.net, where DAP stands for digital audio player,” he describes. “Actually that is how I found out about the mp3 player that I bought.” Computer components and digital audio players have become his focus, whereas without the Internet, he wouldn’t be nearly as proficient.
There are a plethora of news publications available on the Internet, some of which are bound to coincide with your interests, being as broad or specific as they may be. These days, a little clicking around and some “Googling” is all one needs to do to stay informed with news of nearly any variety.
