1. Finding City and State Government

Many local governments are online. It is time to find out some more information about your hometown. Find a directory of city employees through the community's web page. If you cannot find your city, try the local school system. Next, try a nearby town. See what information you can gather online.

2. Newsgroups

Sometimes, rumors and idle chitchat pays off for a reporter. The Internet is great for providing both. The best-known source for current events chitchat is online newsgroups (or Usenet). Newsgroups existed prior to the World Wide Web and provided easy discussion and information exchange. Pick a current topic out of the newspaper. Find a newsgroup with an interest in that topic. For example, if you choose a military conflict, you might look for newsgroups about the involved countries.

Most email programs contain newsgroup access. For example, you may look at groups.google.com or groups.yahoo.com.

3. Fill in the Gaps

Take a current news story and think of a detail that has been left out. For example, if your Senator missed a vote, you might wonder how many other votes he's missed. Answer the question from a non-news Internet source.

4. Digital Divide

Visit a few news sites and look at the stories. Avoid sports and weather and concentrate on the news stories. Who is best served by this news? Who is left out?