The Internet has made it possible for people all across the globe to stay informed on what’s happening in world news, business news, entertainment, sports, technology, health, science and anything else you can imagine at the click of a mouse. But local news websites that cater to your specific region can actually be more informative and sometimes better than the national ones such as CNN.com, FOXNews.com and MSNBC.MSN.com. Here are five great local news websites that keep their residents up to date and informed on with what's happening in and around their cities.
Philadelphia – Philly.com
Philadelphia residents can visit Philly.com and read about anything and everything that is going on in Philadelphia from professional sporting events to forums where people can talk about local issues. Locals can read restaurants reviews for places like Albert’s Café and Grille in Torresdale or the Steak & Hoagie Factory in Somerton. Philly.com delivers full coverage of professional Philadelphia teams including the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers with additional coverage of Drexel, La Salle, Penn, Penn State, St. Joseph’s, Temple and Villanova college teams. Locals can also catch up on statistics on high school teams while reading the latest news, opinions and chats about the teams on Philly.com’s blog known as HS Inquirer Insiders. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News sections cover front page news and the latest headlines in national, city and local areas with an opinion section dedicated to locals who can buzz about what’s going on in Philly and across the nation. The Living section on the Philly.com website covers everything else with a focus on topics such as home and design, weddings and celebrations, pets, style, travel, education, relationships, health, gardening, dating, horoscopes, real estate, rentals, jobs, cars and more.
Long Island, New York– Newsday.com
While the New York metropolitan area has several news websites, Newsday's focus is on Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties. Newsday’s nZone covers area high school sports and features the latest scores, nZone blogs, fan photos and the Athlete of the Week archive. Readers can also get the latest from Newsday blogs with topics ranging from television shows such as American Idol and Entourage to politics, real estate, professional baseball, pop culture and more. Newsday.com also releases photos and videos from around the Internet that are updated daily with a section dedicated to the most interesting “photos of the day” and a “Things to Do” section with guides for Long Island beaches, fairs and festivals, movie listings, outdoor activities, amusement parks and events for kids. The Explore LI Restaurants section offers a continually updated database with more than 1,300 reviews of Long Island restaurants listed by cuisine, region and price range. In Newsday’s CNET Reviews section, online readers can check prices and read reviews for the latest gadgets and gizmos in recent technology for cellular phones, desktop computers, MP3 players, flat-screen TVs and other electronics. Readers can also visit Newsday.com to find local traffic and weather reports and discover the top 25 Hot Topics on Long Island and across the United States.
Boston – Boston.com
Online readers can skim through The Boston Globe right from their computer for daily updates in local, business, political and health news. Car enthusiasts can visit the Boston.com website to sell their car, find new and used car deals, research cars, trucks and SUVs or read reviews. Readers can also visit the Jobs section of Boston.com and browse jobs according to region (North Shore, Northwest, Central Massachusetts, etc.), industry (Biotechnology, Education K-12, Finance, etc.), commute or employer. Jobseekers can also search for jobs based on keywords or categories and post resumes to Monster.com directly from the Boston.com website. The Boston Globe is available to read online at Boston.com featuring fashion tips and celebrity look-alikes, relationship and dating advice and green living ideas as well as breaking local news in business, politics and health. Boston.com also brings the convenience of Local Search directly to the reader with a business search engine powered by Google. Readers also can enjoy a local scoreboard and sports calendar for the Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots.
Chicago – Chicago.com
Visitors can book a Chicago hotel such as the Hard Rock Hotel, the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower or Affinia Chicago, buy tickets to local sporting events, book tours of the Chicago area or rent a car, all directly from the website. Chicago.com also offers free Chicago attractions that the whole family can enjoy including a trip to Barack Obama’s house, the Chicago Arts District, the Loop Retail District, Millennium Park and the Lincoln Park Zoo. Local resources from Chicago.com include real estate, jobs, apartments, corporate housing, sports news, bars and clubs including a Pub Crawl list-maker that makes it easy to plan your night. Chicago.com has plenty of shopping categories for locals and tourists for men’s and women’s apparel, sneakers and shoes, jewelry and accessories, as well as transportation services to help you make your way around the city. The Chicago Real Estate section can also help locals or out-of-towners to find the perfect home by providing a search engine based on price range, property type (condos, lofts, townhouses, single or multi-family homes), neighborhood (Lincoln Park, Lakeview, South Loop, Bucktown, West Loop, Wicker Park, Gold Coast, etc.) and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Online community members can also receive help selling a home, relocating and finding an agent to facilitate the entire moving process in the city of Chicago.
Los Angeles – LosAngeles.com
Online readers visit LosAngeles.com and gain full access to every kind of eatery imaginable from burger joints, pizza places and fast food establishments to seafood, vegetarian and fine dining restaurants. Food lovers can dine in some of the finest restaurants from American, African, German, Italian, Japanese, Malaysian, Mexican, Russian and Middle Eastern countries. Los Angeles locals can easily find something to do at night in the Los Angeles area including the Acme Comedy Theatre and the Hollywood Improv which are two of the most popular local comedy clubs. The Body Shop and Jumbo’s Clown Room are two gentlemen’s clubs that offer late night adult entertainment. L.A.’s bars and clubs are broken down by type so you can find your niche from Billiards and Beach Bars, Neighborhood Bars, Dance or Karaoke and more. LosAngeles.com has a complete list of free links to the websites of bands in the area so that Los Angeles locals and visitors can enjoy live music with some of L.A.’s hottest bands. The Directories of Los Angeles’ businesses gives readers a chance to explore anything and everything that is going on in L.A. including golf courses, movie theaters, limousine services, taxis, museums, galleries, book stores, cafes, day spas, hair salons, health clubs, lawyers, doctors, dentists and more.
So if you want to buy or sell a car, catch up on local and world news or simply find a place to hang out over the weekend with some of your closest friends, you might want to visit a local website before you head for the national ones. You’ll find a greater selection of relevant coverage on what interests you most.
