There used to be a time when watching the evening news was a ritual that millions of people performed on a daily basis. That was the time to catch up on the day's events in our own cities, or across the nation and around the world. Television news anchors became trusted conveyors of "just the facts," and Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather became household names. When the compelling stories of the '80s and '90s were unfolding, we were huddled around our televisions to witness the real-life drama. We saw an attempt on President Reagan's life; we saw the space shuttle Challenger disaster; and we saw the Berlin Wall come toppling down. I don't know about you, but those images will be seared in my memory for a long time to come.

But all that is changing now. Fewer people are tuning into the nightly news programs because technology makes the wait unnecessary. Now we can look on the Internet for news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Internet news sites are updated very frequently. Unlike television news programs, which must take the time to interview sources and verify facts, Internet sites don't worry about getting the whole story the first time around. They will often post what they have, and then make changes as more information is uncovered. You can even watch video feeds of news broadcasts online. So if you still feel the need to watch your news, you can do so on your computer.

Web logs, or blogs, are another source of news information these days. Network news, while it bills itself as objective, does have corporate sponsors. This means they invariably have to toe the company line at some point. Bloggers, on the other hand, who sometimes call themselves "citizen journalists," usually don't have anyone to answer to. They are free to give us the straight dope, and a no-holds-barred style of analysis, which can be a refreshing change from regular news outlets. It must be noted that bloggers are starting to be held accountable for what they post, and some lawmakers are pushing to make bloggers accountable in the same way that professional journalists are.

You can even get news subscription services on your cell phone. This is a free service (from my provider, anyway) that delivers news briefs as text messages to my cell phone every 30 minutes. If I see a story that sounds interesting or that I want to read more about, I can use my cell phone to access the Internet and find out more. This means people no longer have to wait for news broadcasts to come on, and they don't even have to be near a television or computer to get information.

In light of these alternative news sources, are television news programs still relevant? For me, the answer is no. I am on my computer for almost 12 hours every day. It's much easier for me to check the news online than to free up a 30-minute block of time at 6 o'clock. And I think the relevance of TV news will continue to diminish in the near future.