News feeds from the major news providers have been available for many years. These alert those who check such news feeds that new items are available. For example the BBC has a good explanation of news feeds and of the news feeds they provide for all their news channels. With a news feed aggregator such as Google Reader or Bloglines anyone can stay in touch with breaking news from a whole variety of sources.
Most blogging software arranges automatically that as new posts are made to a blog a news feed is updated to show the latest entry. So it is also possible to be aware of new items of interest on the blogosphere. Even though blogs are now taking new formats such as plogs and slogs the news feed is always available to alert the world to news.
Traditional newspapers as they see the impact that the Internet is having on readership are also joining the news feed movement. They set up online editions and anyone can subscribe to the associated news feed to stay in touch. That would seem to be the dominant trend now.
Except that this week, a new online newspaper came on the scene and as of this date it has no news feed. It’s called the National Gazette and would seem to be an interesting new vehicle.
Here is how they explain what it is all about:
The National Gazette is an American newspaper written by and for the millennial generation, those born roughly in the last two decades of the 20th century. It was created by “millennials” who felt that even in the massive modern media landscape, the values of our generation were not being represented in the media. It is published solely over the Internet by a decentralized network of writers, editors, and photographers. The network is open to any millennial with something meaningful to share.
I only became aware of this new newspaper through a news feed (XML file) put out by one of those involved in its creation, Cameron Moll. That news feed is somewhat unusual since it is associated with a web page rather than a blog. Cameron Moll calls it his Premium Linkage web page and it has some really good links on it. It is a shining example of the principle that to stay in touch with news items the most effective way is to watch those news feeds. Perhaps the National Gazette will follow the trend.
Related: News Feeds Boost Website Traffic
Update: Yes, The National Gazette Does Have News Feeds – see comment below.
