What a find!

Whilst combing the net for more alternative automotive news sources, I came across a real find. http://www.theautochannel.com/ is a source of automotive news that focuses on and uses multimedia such as audio and video to tell its news stories. With at least 10 new stories posted on a daily basis, autochannel.com is home to a wealth of up-to-date automotive news. These stories cover everything from debuts, motor shows reviews and new car reviews. there are some nice examples of customization: You can view stories according to manufacturer or motorsport. This allows you to narrow down stories easily and quickly. There is also a section titled, Industry Insider, which features all the latest industry related news that is not related to the consumer side of things.
Upon clicking on the Media tab at the top of the page, you are presnted with "thousands of hours" of streaming audio and video. The media is organized into various sub sections that allow you to browse through with relative ease.
Check it out.

Alternative Automotive News Sources

So, as an automotive journalist, it is essential to be aware of sources of automotive news outside of the mainstream efforts such as monthly or weekly glossy mags or automotive sections on main news websites.
Through my research on the automotive news world, I have compiled a list of websites and blogs that fulfill these requirements and offer up to date news relating to the automotive industry.
www.autonews.com Is a very comprehensive source of automotive news although it seems too big a company to be classified as an alternative news source. The site is updated multiple times on a daily basis depending on the frequency of breaking stories. In this manner, it acts like an automotive news-wire than a news provider. A good feature though is the ability to customize the site depending on whether you want world, european or american automotive news.

http://www.automotivedigest.com/ Is a news site in the same vein as Autonews.com but seems a lot more detailed in its coverage of the actual industry site of the automotive world. A good feature is it's listing of industry related events across the globe, including auto shows and aftermarket product displays. The best feature of this site that I did not see on any others is the section on Market Research. Another advantage of this site is that you can subscribe and have updates sent to your email either on a daily or weekly basis.

http://autopark.blogspot.com/ Is an automotive news blog that is updated daily and is mainly concernced with new models that are being released and revamps of old models. In this context, it is quite a good source; however its depth is somewhat limited. It does not go into detail on the goings on of the auto industry.

http://www.motorken.com Describes itself as "an automotive news site with a twist." And considering how is operates, this is really quite an apt description. News stories are submitted to the site by registered users and then readers of the site select which stories make the headlines. This is the ultimate interactive news site in my opinion. This set up means that the news featured on the site directly reflects the interests of the public sector that are interested in automotive news.

Focus mode...

Ok, so I've decided that I'm going to start focusing this blog on automotive journalism since that is a major interest of mine and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about it. More detailed blog to come with information and where's the best place online to get automotive news and the current issues that are affecting the automotive journalism world.

Podcasts

In short, podcasts are MP3 audio files that are available to be downloaded onto your computer and transferred to an iPod or any portable media device that supports MP3 files. In online news media, they are used as easily accessible forms of news that do not require the concentration that reading a news story would.
As well as audio files, some news agencies are now making video podcasts available to download.
ABC news online is one of these.
One disadvantage of podcasting is that to listen to most podcasts, you will need podcast software which you will most likely have to download and then install on your computer.
Once downloaded and set up though, podcasting is quite an efficient way to listen to the news that interests you. Most online news services allow you to select which "feed" you would like to subscribe to. If it's economic news you are after, then you can subscribe to a feed dedicated to that. The same applies to world, local, sports and entertainment news.
ABC news has a pretty decent and comprehensive podcast system set up, you can view it here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Podcasting/
CNN also offers an excellent video podcast feed as well as a live radio news feed:
http://www.cnn.com/The BBC's offering is somewhat limited, but they do offer the RSS feed option which selects news stories for you depending on your interests.

First Blog is always the hardest

People of the world, this is my first blog ever. Enjoy.