Must see sites for trainee journalists 

When philosopher Francis Bacon wrote, “knowledge is power”, he could easily have been referring to journalism.

Knowing the big stories and the small ones, often determines whether you get the big assignment or get left on the sidelines.

We live in a 24-hour rolling news and mobile internet environment so we’re expected to know what’s going on in the world at all times.

Getting your information from the main news outlets isn’t enough anymore. You need to keep track of the blogs, media matters and the social networking sites because they’re a big deal and big news.

To save you finding them yourselves here’s a few important ones to keep your eye out for…

BBC Monitoring Media Reports -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/not_in_website/syndication/monitoring/media_reports/default.stm

An invaluable source for finding out what the world’s media thinks of a big news story. The BBC selects and publishes snippets from some of the major newspapers in the countries affected by an incident. Knowing what the local media make of a story is a good guide to how you might cover the event.

Drudge Report -
http://www.drudgereport.com/

Creator and editor of The Drudge Report Matt Drudge was the first man to tell the world of Bill Clinton’s escapades with Monica Lewinsky. He is a newsman and a newsmaker. His daily news aggregation site often sets the agenda for the major media outlets in the USA. He collates links from hundreds of different websites and posts them on his simple but constantly updated homepage.
The New York Times reported that presidential candidates on both sides in the last election vied for favourable coverage from Drudge so his site is a must see.

Snowblog -
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/blogs/snowblog/

Jon Snow, a hero for many would-be journalists. He’s been at the frontline of the major news stories of the past 30 years and he’s covered them with the kind of persistence, insightfulness and professionalism all journalists should aspire to. The blog boasts of giving you “insights, revelations and perspectives” and it doesn’t disappoint.