| Vol.
I, No. 2 | Thanksgiving | Nov.
17th, 2000 |
Links
to Radio, Film & TV On-Line The
amount of info on the web is enormous, as anyone who's ever tried to run a
search can attest to. And, to put it all in context, best estimates say
that only a fraction, maybe 20 - 40 % of what's out there is actually making its
way to the search engines.
Well ...
Here at DownStreet, we'd like to try
to help. So each issue, we post a few links in Film, Radio & TV to
sites that might interest you. Sometimes the links will be related to one
another ... sometimes we'll just offer up a somewhat random
sampling. In either case, we think we might be able to help you find the
kind of site you've been looking for.
Of course, while we
can't vouch for the fact that every link we provide will be of interest to
everyone, we do our best to filter out the noise and the bustle. ...
News,
News ... and More News There are a lot of news sources
out there. The Free Press, the Times-Argus. the Hearld
are all on-line, as, of course, are the NY Times, the Boston Globe,
and the Washington Post. But we'll try not be redundant here.
... Of course, with the handling of the recent election, you may be a
little hesitant to consult them. But then, we all make mistakes. And
besides, the media was in the curious position of having to report on itself as
one of the top news stories the day after. So ... If you want the
news as fully as possible, may we suggest the following sties for starters? The
Associated Press
The weekend after the election, the AP web site
ran the following as the top story: "AP Election Night Reporting
Speaks for Itself." {You have to admire their candor.}
Now,
don't expect to go to the AP site for late-breaking news hot off the
wire. Sure, they have a scrolling marquee beneath an AP Photo of the
day's breaking headlines. But that's all you're going to get on that
score. For the latest wire service news, you have to go to The
Wire - Breaking News from the Associated Press. On the other hand,
what you can get from the AP site we've linked above is news about the
media industry itself. This is what we think makes the AP
site worth a visit.
The AP site explains: "Founded in
1848, The Associated Press is the oldest and largest news organization in
the world, serving as a source of news, photos, graphics, audio and video
for more than one billion people a day. ... The AP emerged as the backbone
of the world's information system. In the United States alone, AP serves
5,000 radio and television stations and 1,700 newspapers. Add to that the
8,500 newspaper, radio and television subscribers in 112 countries overseas,
and you'll have some idea of AP's reach." After you visit their
site, you'll have an even better idea.
Rating: **** [4 stars]
Foreign
Wire: The international affairs news service
If you find yourself
at all curious about the rest of the world {There's a lot more out there.},
whether you want to know what's going on elsewhere, or you'd like to see if
and how all those elewhere's are covering what's going on here ...
Well, you get the idea.
Foreign Wire offers up some solid coverage in
this regard. The site provides news from both US and foreign sources
from all over the world, as well as commentary and analyses. In
addition, the analyses are archived, providing indexed access by
nation. Finally, the site also provides a bulletin board for posting
or replying to messages on the news.
Granted, most of the news links
represent headlines rather than the stuff that might show up on page four of
local editions. But for quick and reasonably comprehensive access to
what those headlines are, this site is your best bet.
Rating: ****
[4 stars]
The
Nando Times
As Nando says, it "began its career in the
spring of 1994 launching one of the very first electronic news sites on the
Web."
A subsidiary of the McClatchy Company, which is the eighth
largest newspaper chain in the U.S., publishing 11 daily and 13
community newspapers, the Nando Times site offers a quick and pretty
comprehensive news service. The main sections are what you would
expect from a newspaper, including headline & world news, sports,
politics, business, health & science, entertainment, technology, and the
weather, as well as features, opinions, and regional news. But Nando's
full coverage, as well as their easy-to-navigate AND easy-to-peruse format
make it a solid choice for breaking news on each of the fronts covered.
We
wouldn't recommend Nando as a replacement to any newspaper or service.
But we heartily recommend a visit to see for yourself.
Rating:
****1/2 [4-1/2 stars]
*******
******* If you know of any
links that you think are worthwhile, why not send them along to ...
links@downstreetmagazine.com
... If we agree, we'll be happy to include
them in an upcoming issue to pass the word along. ...
Thanks. *******
*******
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