How to create your own electronic newspaper

Many people who enjoy reading begin their day by reading the newspaper, viewing the morning news on television or listening to the radio while driving to work. More and more I find myself turning to the Internet for my daily dose of news, given that it is now possible to read newspapers from all over the nation and the world on line. Plus one may customize the type of new they receive. For the computer literate and Internet sauve, reading the newspaper is not what it use to be.

Certainly when there is a breaking story of significance, like the murder of six-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey, by the alleged child pedophile John Mark Karr, reading such local newspapers as the Rocky Mountain News gives one a perspective upon events which are often not covered by local media which rely upon the wire services. This is especially true in the case of such big stories as 9/11, as local media is able to give an in-depth slant to just about any story and show how it effects people who may be thousands of miles away from the event. A prime example of this is how the war in Iraq or international terrorism effects millions of Americans half way around the world from the bombs and bloodshed. If one wants to know what people in across America think, they can just log on the Internet and go to any on-line newspaper to read articles full of local color and lore as well as the opinions expressed by local contributors.

Also there are many bizarre news reports featured on the Internet which make for a quite amusing, if not incredible read. For example, Darmin Garcia of Milwaukee fell into a vat of hot chocolate, became stuck and was rescued by police after a two hour ordeal using cocoa butter to thin the viscous goo. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Aug. 19, 2006).

Another sweet tooth tale comes from Fountain Valley, California, where Martucci Angiano discovered a vision of the Virgin Mary in solidified chocolate droppings! I wonder, will this soon end up on eBay where in 2004 a piece of grilled cheese from the Golden Palace.com sold for $28,000 and in 2005 a honey-mustard pretzel believed to be shaped like the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus sold for $10,600? (The Grand Island Independent)

When one has access to the entire world press, there is never a lack for unusual, mind boggling and fascinating tales. In Turner, Maine a "hybrid mutant" was found dead by the roadside, sparking a rash of speculation that it was everything from a feral dog or hybrid crossbreed to an extraterrestrial. Photos of this strange animal taken by Michelle O'Donnell were featured in The Sun Journal, Aug. 18, 2006, and distributed across the country by the wire services.

The world's media is full of bizarre tales of animal hybrids. A tigon, the cross between a male tiger and a lioness, which has tiger stripes and the physique of a lion was reported from Australia, photo by Toresten Blackwook of the AFP being circulated world-wide by Getty Images. A wholphin, the cross between a whale and a dolphin, was born at Sealife Park in Honolulu, Hawaii, in April, 2005, photos taken by Lucy Pemoni, beamed around the world by Reuters. On a plantation in Barbadose a zonkey, the hybrid of a donkey and a zebra, was born in April, 2005, it picture by Chris Brandis widely circulated by the Associated Press. April hunters in Canada killed a huge bear; DNA tests showed that the bear's mother was a polar bear and its father a grizzly bear.

Perhaps one of the most unusual stories that I've recently read is that of a woman who was attacked by a mannequin and sustained injuries sufficient to file a claim against J.C. Penneys Co. According to reports Diana Newton, 51, was shopping for a blouse and when a sales clerk was attempting to remove a garment from the mannequin an arm flew up into the air striking Newton in the head as it fell causing injury. So much for Sir Issac Newton's proof of gravity, that everything which goes up must come down! (Los Angeles, AP, Aug. 18, 2006)

Many Internet provider services and news agencies are now providing RSS news feeds which subscribers can sign up to receive. America OnLine(AOL)at www.aol.com provides Top News, Political News and Strange but True news all of which were consulted in writing this article. In addition to these favorites of mine, there are news feeds for sports, stocks, parenting and virtually every other topic imaginable. This makes it possible for everyone who loves a good dose of morning news to put together their own electronic newspaper!

For those who love to interact with the press by sending letters to the editor or participating in on-line forums, the Internet offers a wide range of opportunities. You can find links to all newspapers through the MAP (Media Awareness Project), at Boycott Made In China www.byteland.org/boycottchina, a political activist site which protest the brutal killing of tens of thousands of dogs in China, which will enable you to search for the URL or Internet address of any existing on-line newspaper, as well as to locate the email address of editors.

Getting up-to-date news is no longer dependent upon flipping through pages of inky newsprint; now you can relax, enjoy a cup of coffee or juice and surf the Internet, without getting a smudge of ink upon your fingers. Plus, being able to personalize the news you receive makes it faster and easier to find exactly the news you are looking for, an advantage for everyone who has only a limited amount of time and must be off in a rush to get children to school, arrive at work on time, catch a flight or attend to other daily chores.