EXN: The Exploration Network, is a product of the Discovery Channel Canada, and it is full of the wonderful science and technology queries that characterize Discoverys television programs. With a combination of colorful pictures, lively text, and creative interactivities, the site pushes curious types to have a good time gathering facts and insights on such subjects as archaeology, astronomy, and medical trends. EXN adds new features daily and provides daily access to on-air programming. It also offers tons of information, with sidebars and banners leading visitors from one to another new area of knowledge. The presentation is varied and engaging, and the experience is suitable to just about any age. - Katherine Stevenson
Touted as "the Web's best mix of fresh news, real people, and in-your-face opinion," Inkling could more accurately be described as the best of the many gazettes owned by information conglomerate Knight-Ridder, Inc. Not that the content isn't compelling; with so many periodicals to pick from and access to writing talent from across the U.S., Inkling features a top-notch compilation of current news and investigative reporting. The sites lighter side, the section called No Way!, focuses on the more ridiculous and comical aspects of real life. - Katherine Stevenson
Public Radio International (PRI) may be the producer of Garrison Keillor, but that doesn't make the organization all bad. PRI runs hundreds of hours of news, music, and cultural programming each week. Thats what you learn from a visit to the PRI site, which is, for all intents and purposes, a glorified program guide. The site offers descriptions of PRIs many radio shows, as well as information about its upcoming and ongoing special series. While the sites utilitarian layout lacks style, there is evidence here of some tech savvy: An image map of the U.S. helps users find their local affiliate, and a combination search of any state and a particular program, such as Afropop Worldwide or Saint Paul Sunday, presents a table of when and which stations you can tune in to for the show. - Katherine Stevenson
Are you tired of purchasing out-of-date, low-quality, overpriced copies of Russian periodicals? The Russian Story site serves as a convenient connection to the most reputable Russian rags and offers digital delivery of each in its entirety. Before you get too excited, however, bear in mind that service such as this comes only at a cost. Fortunately, Russian Story is not just a subscriptions pitch; anyone can preview the Newspapers Collection or peruse the free Russian Story News Digest. You can also use the site as a research aid by searching for a subject/story or making archive requests. - Katherine Stevenson
Although American Journalism Review (AJR) NewsLink suffers from a cluttered opening page, youre not going to find a better source of current journalistic news, particularly the stories on new media. The site contains reprints from AJR, as well as excellent original content, and articles cover everything from intellectual property rights on the Web to ways reporters and editors can work together effectively. Youll also find a section of news links (including the reader-voted top 50) and a great free job listings section. AJR NewsLink is a must for anyone involved in the ever-changing world of todays journalism. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
Omnipresent ad banners stand out most here, probably because nothing on the opening page explains just what the Netizen is. The site features some decent, current articles on the good, the bad, and the ugly on the Internet, as well as a section of RealAudio interviews with politicians, techno-royalty, and celebrities. Its not until you open Threads, the large discussion area, that the site finally tells you, The Netizen is the town hall of the digital nation. Thats not a bad thing to be, but it would help credibility if the parent/creator information came first so you knew what the heck you were looking at. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
Even though the dreaded Red menace is no longer ready to swallow up the world, this beacon of democracy is still on the airand still focused on central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Its site provides the complete who, what, when, where, and how of RFE/RLs services, including specifics for each country it serves. The assorted news resources, which are also focused on the former Soviet Union, will prove of more interest to Web surfers; youll find current stories, quotes, summaries of how the Western media have covered stories, and the 1997 U.S. Human Rights Report. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
The paper that produced such memorable headlines as Headless Body Found in Topless Bar is now online. OK, many view the Post as the ugly stepchild (or village idiot) of NYC papers, but you know what? This is a good site. You can click on the front or back page of the current days edition to get either top news or sports stories. The site also features editorials, assorted gossip, entertainment news, and business items. A really cool feature is the reviews section, which is arranged in easy-to-view Tables. The sites a must for unpretentious New Yorkers who want to be in the know. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
CANOE is one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink sort of sites. Menu items line the sides and top of the home page, framing a collage of additional options at the center. Beyond this barrage, the site offers an abundance of useful information, including world and local news, access to the stock market, a business journal, a sports page, an entertainment guide, and so on. Theres just one catch: CANOE's origin and intended audience is Canada. So while much of the content has widespread relevance, CANOE will certainly be most appreciated by our neighbors to the north. - Katherine Stevenson
The Forward is a 100-year-old national Jewish weekly, founded and still based in New York City. Here visitors can read a short history of the paper, along with highlights from current and past issues. Stories include everything from American foreign policy on Israel to Conservative versus Reform Jews to Jewish film festivals. While the articles from current issues make for a good read, most of the sites material can be found in the archive of back issues. As sister sites go, this isn't a bad start, but it could use more original content. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
Site of the month!!
The Atlantic Monthly has unleashed an online staff of firebrands thirsty to bridge the gap between old and new with the relaunch of its Web site, Atlantic Unbound. Equipped with 150 years of archived information, Atlantic Unbound fully utilizes the online medium to produce a rich assortment of insightful, informative commentary on an extensive array of political and cultural issues. Take, for example, the sites music reviews, which combine vivid languagethe kind that conjures up images of smoky blue nightclubs and gives color to drum beatswith enough RealAudio sound clips to make you feel as though youve just sat in on a recording session. Now thats a music review worth writing home about (or at least worth writing to The Atlantic Monthlys old-school print editors about). Not hitched to the same three-month lead time as its print parent, Atlantic Unbound publishes biweekly foreign dispatches in Atlantic Abroad. This sections wonderfully fluid writing will draw you in and leave you wishing you were an expatriate with a lot of disposable cash (or at least a travel writer). Just sit back and travel in your mind as international correspondent Matthew Gurewitsch describes the Bird Market in Hong Kong: a dark, rather squalid alley thick with bamboo cages and cigarette smoke.... But most overwhelming was the harsh, brilliant wall of sound coming from the birds: a cacophony of very precise territorial, emotional, or other mysterious messages absolutely like the great bird concerti in the works of Olivier Messiaen." While Atlantic Unbound works independently of the print magazine and features an impressive amount of unique content, it also offers the entire contents of each issue of The Atlantic Monthly, complete with links to related articles, audio clips, online-specific sidebars, and related Web sites. Hence, when you read an article about violence on television, you can connect to more information on the subject at the American Psychological Associations page on Violence on Television and the Federal Communications Commissions Web site. And once youve finished reading the article, you can discuss it in Post & Riposte, Atlantic Unbounds online reader forum. This central gathering place is often visited and revisited by the authors featured in Atlantic Unbound and The Atlantic Monthly. With subjects that actually stimulate debatea rarity on the Webits a place where the pages of the magazine and the hypertext of the site come alive as voices and ideas. Post & Riposte even offers a writers workshop where readers can post works theyve written and receive online acclaim or virtual shame. - Marissa Raderman