The Irish News is the paper which apparently represents the nationalist community in NI. Personally…read moreI think this paper is quite fair and offers honest articles which cover a large portion of both communities. My old history lecturer Brian Feeney has a column in this paper and it really is a very witty one. This papers fairness I think does tend to make it a little on the dull side. It's hard to be entertaining when your not pointing an accusing finger or 'exposing' someone as the Sunday World loves to do every week. The sports section is probably the most bias part of the paper. There is way to much coverage of GAA. I don't have a problem with this on any political grounds. I have a problem with this because I find GAA to be the most boring sport on the planet.

I don't put a lot of stock in newspapers these days. I think it's just to hard for them to keep up…read morewith news, since online and broadcast news can react so much faster, but the Irish News is one paper I do have faith in. Yes, it's a nationalist paper (really, there's very little in Northern Ireland that isn't split along nationalist/unionist lines, but hopefully that's changing), but it provides quality news reporting, that is influenced by nationalist ideas, but not blinded by them. It's a tabloid by definition, but doesn't share any characteristics with the British red tops. You won't find any up-skirt pap shots of Lindsey Lohan here! Rather, you'll get interesting commentary from writers like Newton Emerson. It is mildly annoying that the website is subscription only, but given that that seems to be the way newspaper companies are headed, it might be something we have to get used to...

Having worked for Connected and State, two Dublin based music magazines since about 2006 I think I…read morecan give a pretty comprehensive overview of AU Magazine. AU is NI's main alternative music mag (as you may have guessed from the title!) and is published monthly. It carries a mix of interesting and in-depth music features, a very comprehensive and clued-in section called incoming- tipping some hot new bands, the best of Northern Irish indie bands, interviews with major bands and a cracking website. My only criticism is that they could probably dig a little deeper on their own doorstep for Northern Irish bands as opposed to rehashing news about well known bands. The design is pretty simple, nothing very arty or imaginative. They also cover some Southern Irish bands, which is something I really think needs to happen more. There's only a mere two hours between Belfast and Dublin and so much great homegrown music going on in each city, but yet there is little or no crossover. Now if only they'd answer my email, I'd sort it out!!

I feel that the reviews of Alternative Ulster have been very over critical so far, so I want to set…read morethe story straight! The music scene in Northern Ireland has been growing rapidly for the last5 years, with a few bands starting to break internationally like Two Door Cinema Club, Fighting with Wire and so on. There is a very vibrant local scene ranging from the dream pop of bands like the Wonder Villains to the ska/punk hybrid of Pocket Billiards to the metal/comedy mix of Mental Deficiency! All these bands I have mentioned and many more have been profiled and reviewed in the pages of AU.The staff of AU are primarily volunteers, so to be producing the high quality publication that they do is a real credit to them. There are big interviews; band profiles album reviews, gig reviews and many interesting and irreverent articles. Their website is well updated and their forums has a fairly rich community too. As also mentioned y another reviewer, AU is now totally FREE! That in itself should quell the complaints of others! The online viewer works great and physical copies can be picked up from certain places, so kudos to AU for making this great magazine available to everyone for free!

There are two versions of The Sunday World, a Southern version and a modified edition with stories…read morerelating to Northern Ireland. The Southern version is the largest selling popular newspaper in the ROI and the Northern version is one of the most, if not the most popular Sunday papers. Editor Jim Mc Dowell seems to be a lovely man but has been courted with controversy this year after deciding to print pictures of a man hanging on a bridge in Bangor last year. It caused huge controversy and Jim was even attacked in front of city hall. They also ran interviews with Kirk McCambley, he of the Robinson affair fame and probably gained a lot of readers as a result. This paper is salacious and very tabloid orientated. They delve deep into the underworld or paramilitary groups and they have to commended for their brass necks. They're certainly not ones to shy away from a story.

Perhaps Nick is more of a Sopranos fan than I am so therefore the Sunday World comes across as…read moresomething of mild interest to fans of said television show. However, as I don't watch the Sopranos, nor do I have any interest in criminal gangs or people who used to be famous for punching people really hard, the Sunday World is just about the worst Sunday newspaper that you can buy. Riddled with news-stories that the News of the World thought "no that can't even be true", the Sunday World is so old and so uninteresting it's painful. Yes, it does uncover things which make people take notice, but this happens roughly once a year and all the other times it is pure junk. I remember walking around Tescos and flicking through this paper one sunday and the first 5 or 6 pages had pictures of a woman who had taken her clothes off in exchange for some cash... Now forgive me for being narrow-minded, but on a sunday, the last thing I want is a... er... spread on prosititues whilst I'm eating my dinner. The paper is bought primarily by people who are old and still interested in the Troubles. I think if it was done away with, people wouldn't mourn for that long.

I rather enjoy reading the Community Telegraph - it's free (yippee!), informative and locally…read morebased, with plenty of information about your particular area, a sports section, a job section, classifieds, photographs and helpful adverts. Sounds like a dream come true in the world of newspapers, eh? Mmmm, despite all this wonderfulness (yes, that just officially became a word), I still have three minor quandaries... 1) About a year or so ago, they decided to give the newspaper a bit of a makeover. Which was fair enough, and happens to the best of us, but they took away what I considered the fairly good aspects of the paper. The middle section contained makeup information and lifestyle guidance, but it has disappeared. There used to be a restaurant review on the page after, but it's gone too. There was also a focus on a particular school each week, and it's vanished. Now, don't get me wrong, the rest of the Community Telegraph is perfectly fine. I just would love to see these particular aspects back in. Pleeeease. 2) Now, this is probably just me picking holes, and isn't really a huge issue, but the fact that the paper is only produced every week means that it's way behind on the news and focuses on events which happened a week ago. But yes, it's a weekly paper, and that's got to be the case I suppose. I'd just far rather read a story the day it happened, or the day after. Otherwise it's old news. Literally. 3) This is more of an annoyance with those who deliver the paper, rather than the Community Telegraph itself. We used to get it every single Thursday / Friday without fail or a good long while, but then for a few months, there was absolutely no sign of any paper whatsoever. Within the past few weeks, the paper has been more regular in its coming, thankfully. However, this week it wasn't delivered until Saturday, and it was badly crumpled and torn. Grrr... Three stars will have to suffice I'm afraid.

The Community Telegraph arrives on my door mat every week and provides a bit of local news with a…read morelot of adverts for local services. Recently it has included more features, comment pieces and events section to include material that seems to originate from its big sister, the Belfast Telegraph. Compared to other local Belfast papers the Community Telegraph seems somewhat light in content though a recent issue indicated plans to expand the sports section. There aren't any memorials or anniversary notices which other such papers have. Still, the East Belfast version of the Community Telegraph, which I'm familiar with, saw off the challenge from the East Belfast Herald which attempted a launch a year or two ago but was never much in evidence though the office was there for over a year.

I had the pleasure of doing an internship at The Irish Times Belfast office earlier this year…read more Fanum house, even with it's gray industrial exterior, broken lifts and air conditioning, still holds a certain charm for me. It was here I had the pleasure of working with Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor and Dan Keenan, Northern News Editor, in the events running up to the devolution of policing and justice powers back in February 2010. The Irish Times northern correspondents have been based there since the seventies. Generally, the northern office contributes about seven stories or commentary pieces to the paper each day. The Irish Times, which is based in Dublin was established in 1859 and focuses on Irish news and politics, as well as international news, sports, arts and culture. The northern office mainly focuses on political issues in the province. The paper is published 6 days a week, Monday to Saturday. It is regarded as the most reputable newspaper in Ireland. The office is run by a super lady named Faye. If you ring with any queries, Faye will sort you out. Like most newspaper offices, the Irish Times Northern HQ (referred to the editor as 'The Rat Pit') has it's quirks. Most notably- an office which is painted completely green, yes even the radiators, the exuberant and charming cleaning lady from the Falls road and an old Jewish businessman who calls in every week with a pair of scissors to cut out sections of the previous days paper.

With the usual amount of tabloid rubbish taking up way too many pages, at least we can always rely…read moreon a newspaper ending in "times" to provide something of a journalistic approach to their job. When it comes to news papers, if it ends in "times" or "telegraph" 9 times out of 10 it probably has something to do with current affairs on their front page, and not something to do with Ashley Cole taking photographs of his bits and pieces to send to prostitutes. The Irish Times, though not my first choice in newspapers, certainly has me interested whenever I see it lying about. The journalism is focused on "important" events, usually politics but unlike a lot of the English press, the Irish Times relies heavily on local events, and local news stories. If it is a solid newspaper with it's head in the right place that you are after, then this is certainly worth a read. However if you want to find out about some X Factor winner going on a date with someone who once played football for Bristol City, then you probably will not find it in this paper. And rightly so.

This glossiest of glossy mags is from the Ulster Tatler publishing house and seems to be just like,…read morewell the Ulster Tatler, but for South Belfast only. It's a totally professional offering and has that delicious smell that only glossy magazines have and at just £2 it's a fab little treat when funds are low. Like its big sister Ulster Tatler, it's jammed with photos from local events like charity balls and school formals. It also covers the opening of new restaurants and shops and so is a good barometer of what's hot and what's not in Malone, the Lisburn Road and the University area. Each issue also has a couple of profiles of South Belfast's most glam movers and shakers. The Spring/Summer 2010 issue for example profiles the lucky owner of Fired Earth Interiors and the owner of the Salamander art gallery. My favourite feature is the 4 page spread each issue on some lucky person's fabulous house. A girl can dream. My advice is to dive in and enjoy the superficial glossiness. Just don't read it on a fat day or when you're broke as you could just end up feeling like the biggest loser in Belfast!

Is there such a thing as a local newspaper for middle aged people? If so, then the Newsletter is…read morethe perfect example. It's produced every day in Belfast and the features and articles are written very much in the traditional slightly formal style of journalism. The Newsletter covers politics, current affairs, business news, farming and sports, so all areas of Northern Ireland life are covered and reported on. This means that it's a great way for both visitors and ill informed locals to bring themselves up to speed with what's going on in and around Belfast. For some reason known only to themselves, people over 60 are fascinated by death notices which are published every day in the Newsletter. Do they like to see who was most popular before they passed on? Who knows. I like the Newsletter for its straight forward reporting of events here and the no nonsense style of writing which makes it easy for even a political doofus like me to understand what's going on and who represents each political party. I also enjoy the weekly property feature which satisfies my inner nosey parker as you get to see the interior of someone's house. Politics and moseying, what a great combination.

Probably my third favourite of the three Belfast dailies, but the Newsletter is by no means a bad…read morepaper, there's just nothing about that lights me on fire. As someone else noted, the style is very much old-school and traditional, and for me that makes it a little boring. There aren't too many great columnists and editorials, which is surprising, since to my mind anyway, great editorial comment is what separates newspapers from constantly updated online news sources. It does have a slightly unionist slant, but it's not as explicit as it once was. It covers the Twelfth quite heavily, but apart from that, it only has a very slight political leaning, so don't let that influence you really.

I'm actually surprised by the fact that I enjoyed the Ulster Tatler so much. I'd always had it down…read moreas an older ladies magazine, which is certainly is to an extent, but I did rather appreciate the variety of articles and information covered. Of course, there's the obligatory photos of just about every social event in Northern Ireland (and that includes a few graduation photos...definitely the place to be seen, especially in relation to the style stakes), and the guides to finding the most exorbitantly priced makeup / beauty salon / restaurant in the province, but there are a few interesting articles that I didn't realise would feature in such a publication. A few interviews with local well-to-do people appear, as well as a focus on a certain town in NI, which happens to be Ballyclare in this month's edition, cultural information and travel news. I doubt they could have fitted in much more if they'd tried... Not quite my cup of tea, but you certainly get your money's worth with a well-packed magazine that features the best of Norn Iron.