CNN is to Digg.com as 62 Bars of Butter are to Eclaires

I use my TV for only a few things: watching football games, playing football video games (the occasionally Halo bout, too), watching DVDs and playing guitar hero (which sounds like a video game, but it’s so much more). But despite my idiot-jock stereotype, I love the news. I love the approaching 2008 presidential election coverage, the rapid climate change controversy, the sad stories of deaths, kidnappings, and murders, the celebrity gossip, the sports scandals, and the list goes on forever. But sometimes it’s hard to keep up on the world’s events when you dislike TV. That’s why I want to share how I keep up on what’s going on in our crazy world.

Everyone knows our mainstream news outlets like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, but mainstream news (and anything for that matter) can only suffice someone for so long. The world is a non-stop bakery of delicious stories of heroics, perils, achievements, despair and creativity. The mainstream media outlets fail to feed us all the tasty morsels of information we need and crave. They do a great job of giving us large portions of the expected segments of current events, but they fail to satisfy the little necessary craves of “real news.” It’s like going to Costco to grocery shop. You find lots of necessary and good food, but your choices are strictly limited and the options you do have are in bulk supply. The large portions give you plenty of some of your vacated stock, but you still need the smaller grocery stores for the items you don’t want contained in a five gallon bucket.

And once again, the answer to our problem is the World Wide Web. Here are some excellent sites that provide viable options for “real news” supplement:

Popurls.com- Popurls.com is a huge compilation of many of the second-tier news providers. It takes some of the most popular stories, articles, pictures, and videos of the day and puts them in an easy-to-browse format. As its popularity has grown, so have its user-friendly options. Feel free to arrange the site that fits you best. You will leave Popurls.com feed and unbuckling your belt.

Digg.com- This site is one of the most popular news sites on the Web, and it got that way because it provides you the news that everyone wants to know about. Digg.com is a popularity contest of news stories. It has a wide range of topics that filter through daily. It is also appealing because you have the opportunity to report stories yourself. If you find a source that is interesting, then “digg it.” The article will post, and if it’s interesting, others will “digg it” too. Digg it?

Reddit.com- Reddit.com is the sister (or brother) to Digg.com. Two heads are better than one, but if you had to only have one, I’d go with Digg.com. Reddit.com is great, but comes in 2nd place behind Digg.com’s stylish appeal and already commanding presence.

BBC.com- American news is…the best. As we can all see from certain political leaders, no one is perfect. It is always good to see things in another perceptive. I like the British perspective. BBC.com does a great job portraying world news in a clear ray.

Boingboing.net- A smart and abundant blog style of news. Sometimes this site produces pointless, but interesting bits of information and sometimes it gives a perspective into the world that one other news site is sharing.

Newsvine.com- A green, personalized news catering machine. This site gives off a mainstream media vibe, but it allows the news-watcher to pick and choose what appears on the homepage. Newsvine.com is supported with stories by people like you and me, and they provide everyone with a chance to fulfill their motto: Get smarter here.

This bakery of a world makes lots of good treats, but it can also make some bitter concoctions. The news reports truth and that truth does not always sit well in our stomachs. But it is important to know what is going on here. In Orem or Provo, in Utah, in America and in this world. The remaining year and the upcoming year are going to be full of news that will affect us for years to come. But whether it’s an election year, or hurricane season, or during another Korean war, and whether or not you are a news watcher, you know you have to go grocery shopping somewhere.