The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: September twenty-fourth, browsing newspapers around the world.

The Internet presents travelers with instant access to a virtually limitless universe of information about places around the planet. In fact, a simple cyber search often turns up a staggering number of links. Here's a tactic to target a useful few. Check the newspapers.

Thousands of local newspapers and magazines now have and maintain a daily online presence. Many of them feature up-to-date listings for local art exhibits, concerts, sporting events, festivals and other happenings. Online editions often include guides to local galleries, outdoor recreation and regional travel. The observations of a local columnist or restaurant critic may provide more timely tips and pointed critiques than can be found in any guidebook. And don't forget to check out the paper's list of local Web links. Since locals tend to know which sites serve their region best, ones highlighted by the paper may be particularly useful.

Big city papers with a strong online presence include the Washington Post, New York Times, Village Voice, Chicago Sun-Times and London Evening Standard. Or check out one of the indexes to online media. Ecola Newsstand provides links to 6500 newspapers and magazines worldwide. Its travel planner page lists tourist bureaus, airports, and other local resources. In addition to newspapers, Editor & Publisher's Online Media Directory indexes some 300 city guides around the world. With all that information at hand, the only problem may be translating the local language.

FMI For various newspapers online:

Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com)
New York Times (www.nytoday.com)

Village Voice (www.villagevoice.com)

Chicago Sun-Times (www.suntimes.com)

London Evening Standard (www.thisislondon.co.uk)

Ecola Newsstand (www.ecola.com)

Editor & Publisher's Online Media Directory (www.mediainfo.com/emedia)

Worldwide Newspaper Links (www.newslink.org)

Newspapers of the world (www.mediafinder.com)

Another handy site is www.freetogo.com, which in addition to a comphrensive list of local newspaper links, offers several other tools to help expedite your travel planning.

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