Reading newspapers for the English exam

[Holmes]

Many past students and teachers have recommended that we ought to read newspapers for English, as this will help us in our end of year exam. I take this to mean that we should focus on editorials or opinion pieces in the paper.
Are there any alternative sources other than an actual newspaper where I can read from throughout the year? The Age has hitched up its student newspaper price to close to $50 this year. There are some students who simply read the newspaper on a free app on their tablet or smartphone, but I don't have any of that. Equipped with a laptop, are there good sites you would recommend to keep updated on current topics and to keep my lang. analysis skills polished throughout the year?

[Ancora_Imparo]

www.theage.com.au is a good place to start!

[Art Vandelay]

yep, news.google.com was pretty good for me, it sorted them all up and let me pick an issue in the news and look at different sources. be sure to look at some other stuff like The Economist's selection of articles freely available online, as well as some other articles/texts that are more explicitly persuasive and less formal (like the forums ).

[EspoirTron]

Well if you want to keep your language analysis skills nice and polished, you may want to read blog posts on recent ideas and issues. You could look at cartoons on issues and maybe even research into some interviews and watch them. 

[pi]

I wouldn't read newspapers for the sake of it though, have some genuine interest in what you're reading too. I doubt it would "help" otherwise.

[alondouek]

Well, reading newspapers/news sources etc. is useful for much more than just language analysis. Rather, you should be reading articles and the like as a means of improving expression, vocabulary and flow of language.