Twenty four-hour TV channels, free papers, and multi-media alerts are making the news difficult to avoid.

But with so much dross the question becomes: where to turn for a decent dose of current affairs?

Well, the obvious route is the Web, but even there you have to tread carefully. Wonkette.com started a nice trend in snarky political comment but is too US-focussed, while Guido Fawkes and his contemporaries are a little too geeky for our tastes.

In the Euro-liberal camp, Open Democracy is a clear winner. London-based but with a distinctly global outlook, the site has a commitment to human rights
and issues of democracy. And if you're going have an agenda there's few better than that.

However, if you fancy something a little more balanced, then Newsvine.com might be a good place to waste some of your precious workday hours. Customisation and personalisation are the watchwords here.