Enough with the depressing and predictable headlines! Here's a list of seven wonderful news sources that sit well left-field of the big names. I've always enjoyed news of the man-bites-dog variety, and a look at the headlines on these sites will usually give you a couple of “say WHAT?!!” responses. Some of these sites also enjoy taking a pin to the blander news bubbles found in other media channels:
This is part of the respected media giant Reuters's website, and most of the news on the site is verifiably true. I've often seen stories break on here, and then a couple of days later seen them taken and run by other trusted news channels. Text, photo and video content, spanning the globe and created by professional journalists and .
Sample stories:
Run by a group of South African newspapers, the Independent Online often has whacked-out headlines in its mainstream news section, so turning to its oddball pages is guaranteed to surprise.
Sample Headlines:
While this site doesn't carry news explicitly, it will often have links to videos and news articles about the political scene in the U.S. This frequently updated collection of the best in late-night political satire is a must for anyone following the U.S. election, and it will usually have biting satire and cartoons about the U.S. and world political current events.
Sample stories:
This site should need no introduction, and its slogan says it all: “ All the news that's fit to fabricate”. You can see from this that 'The Onion' is open about the fact that it prints lies (in contrast to many other media channels) but it is intended as satire on current events and the zeitgeist of our times. Essential reading.
Sample headlines:
A great one for bloggers, as it's a community-based site which focuses on content. If you have an oddball story, send it and get it posted.
Sample headlines:
A website with news from Associated Press. There are usually some gems in here, and since the AP website doesn't have an odd news section of it's own, this is the place to find them.
Sample headlines:
This is a community-based news site with a great odd news section. Articles are submitted by pro journalists and members of the community, and the group is based in Seattle. This means that there is a slight Pacific Coast bias - unless Oregon has a higher percentage of crazy occurrences per head than anywhere else in the world.
This site is mainly based on a concept of social networking bookmarks being "seeded" into the site, which will then carry a link, which will take you to the news item.
Sample headlines:
