Galactic NewsNets

There are a variety of news sources around the galaxy. Many are reputable large organizations, others are local opinion/propaganda outlets. Here are some of the more major ones, with a list of local outlets following.

Galactic News

Imperial HoloVision

Formerly one of the most influential and powerful of the galaxy's news services, IHV maintains over 10,000 bureaus on planets throughout the Remnant worlds, as well as various independent worlds in Hutt Space, the Corporate Sector Authority, and the Tion Hegemony. For each of these bureaus, IHV has at least one additional local network affiliate to draw news from.

Galaxy NewsService

GNS has a similar infrastructure as IHV, but does not tend to extend coverage to independent powers. It has a slight edge over IHV in scooping big stories close to many of the Remnant centers of power.

Regional News

Regional newsnets do not have the galaxy-wide distribution that the Big Two have. They serve a smaller, more local market, often a sector or cluster of sectors. Some have established links with one of the Big Two for more extensive distribution, but this is of limited utility as only the stories deemed newsworthy by IHV or GNS are approved for galactic distribution.

Core News Digest

CND is far from the only newsnet operating in the Core, but it is one of the major Core newsnets which is widely circulated beyond Core boundaries. CND covers everything newsworthy in the Core, with surprisingly flexible political viewpoints given the recent back-and-forth ownership of Coruscant. Beyond the Core, CND's most popular articles deal with Core politics, economics, and sports.

Darpa SectorNet

A conglomeration of smaller, local news networks which cover newsworthy events in the Darpa Sector, especially news emanating from Esseles, the sector capital. Darpa sector is a key industrial center in the Core, and its official newsnet is widely carried throughout the galaxy.

Colonial News Net

A network which covers most of the sectors in the Colonies. Its news is gathered by 18 independent local news networks, each of which covers a number of systems. Colonial News Net was once very pro-Imperial and retains a reputation as a champion of law and order no matter who holds sway in Coruscant. This once caused friction between Imperial politicos and CNN as the latter expected the Empire to obey its own edicts and laws. When representatives of the Empire or New Republic fail to do so, Colonial News Net does not hesitate to criticize the offending officials.

TriNebulon News

TRI is the voice of the Empire in the Outer Rim Territories. It once covered about a quarter of Outer Rim systems, though that has diminished it recent years. It also maintains a distribution network to get its messages to other regions of space. TRI is something of a sensational news organ, and favors a tabloid approach to news coverage. It has a reputation for focusing on trivial stories while ignoring more substantial issues but this has changed a bit of late.

NovaNetwork

Covering the same territory as TRI and with similar editorial policies, NovaNetwork is very protective of its trademarks, and maintains a somewhat precarious balance between favoring order in any form while also appealing for individual rights.

Corellia Times

A daily newsnet originating from Coronet City. It is considered the premier economics publication of the galactic center and is rivaled by the Herglic Trading Journal, considered the superior newsnet.

Corellian Sector Newsfeed

Covering the whole of the Corellian Sector, along with some of the more prominent colonies, CSN is a strongly pro-independence journal, which often would get it into trouble with both Imperial and New Republic authorities.

Brak Sector News

Brak Sector News is a newsnet devoted to reporting news from the Brak sector and is a key source of goings-on in the Expansion Region.

Sektor242 NewsLine

Sektor242 NewsLine is one of the few major newsnets of the Outer Rim which largely refuses to sacrifice integrity and accuracy to appeal to any political agenda. It escapes censorship by either Imperial, Republic, or even Huttese agencies by simply ignoring stories which it cannot criticize openly without persecution. Sektor 242 has a blind spot when it comes to economic reporting.

Special Interest Newsnets

Special interest newsnets do not have specific regional or territorial beats. They are often circulated by the same distribution networks which carry the major news organs, but are themselves independent.

Coruscant Daily NewsFeed

CDF reports on events on the capital world, and gives readers and viewers a glimpse into life on Coruscant. It often can be relied upon to profile those in favor with the powers that be (useful for those interested in who to flatter), and report on surface events in the Senate. Naturally, those interested in more than fluffy gossip about those in favor should look elsewhere.

Human Events Network

HEN concentrates on Imperial High Culture as it is applied throughout the Empire. Most of its coverage was centered on the Core Worlds but now covers the larger of the Remnant factions with large Core World contingents.

New Order Progressive

NOP, which until recently represented the Coruscant New Order Party, is now the official commentary magazine of COMPNOR's Coalition for Progress. It covers the arts, sciences, economics, and education - all, naturally, with the proper Imperial angle. It also serves as an unofficial support organ for local New Order political parties and clubs in various Imperial systems.

Herglic Trading Journal (Basic Edition)

The Herglic Trading Journal is one of the finest financial publications available in the galaxy (its editor-in-chief is currently a Hutt). Its Basic edition is widely read by investors, traders, and government officials through the galaxy, though no one is particularly anxious to brag about it, since most central governments would much rather you read the Core World oriented (and human-run) Corellian Times.

Independent Traders’ Infonet

ITI is a semi-legal publication which serves the spacer community. It covers a wide range of issues of interest to small-time independent traders and merchants. It is not circulated through normal newsnet channels, but is easily found in spaceport kiosks. It specializes in researching fields and new markets and trends in trading which independent spacers cannot afford to investigate on their own.

Galactic Resorts

Galactic Resorts is one of the thousands of special interest magazines which circulate throughout the newsnet infrastructure. GR's profiles of luxury resorts, vacation locations, spas, and hotels are very helpful in selecting locales amenable to certain species. Employing hundreds of freelance reporters, GR covers a wide variety of resorts that cater to those tastes and species traditional large media conglomerates often ignore.

Cynabar’s Infonet

CYN covers news of interest to smugglers, and often features inside information not yet available to other news outlets. CYN is very exclusive, and few are asked to join its select group of subscribers (and invitation is the only way of obtaining a subscription to this very expensive newszine). You may be sure you have made a name for yourself as a smuggler if you are a CYN subscriber. No one knows for sure, by the way, just who or what Cynabar is..

Holonet Free Republic

HoloNet Free Republic was a HoloNet communications organization funded by the Rebel Alliance. During the Galactic Civil War, HoloNet Free Republic transmitted pirate feeds of pro-Alliance propaganda to Imperial-held star systems using an impressive array of courier droids to do most of their transmitting. To Alliance sympathizers, HoloNet Free Republic's transmissions were a source of hope. It currently operates in limited territories still contested between the Empire and New Republic.

Alderaan Expatriate Network

A Rebel/New Republic-affiliated newsnet, it is worth following because its founding reporters were professional journalists prior to joining the Rebellion. As such, they still maintain high journalistic standards despite their ideological bent. They cover many of the same stories as the mainstream press and have friends in many important places. They provide a useful counter to pro-Imperial news, provided you keep their own bias in mind.

Holonet News

The HoloNet News can be traced as far back as the Freedon Nadd Uprising. With the tagline "The Information Sources For The Republic," the publication was segmented into news on business, regional sectors, Jedi, sports, and common Republic life, as well as general news headlines. There were also weather forecasts (available to those who knew their six-digit planet code) and a poll. On 5:23 22 BBY, HoloNet News's channel was seized by Republic Executive Directive 9302-84121 for use by the military. During, and for a short time after, the Clone Wars, HNN made sporadic updates. Shortly after the war's end and the creation of the Galactic Empire, HNN was finally folded and replaced with the new Imperial HoloVision. After the fall of Coruscant, Holonet News Network was put back on the air under the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance.

Hypermedia Galactic News Service

A current affairs newsnet, producing daily documentary essays and video through its many media outlets. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories" and is considered a somewhat sensationalist news source.

Invisible NewsStack

Invisible NewsStack was an unofficial newsnet created to report on the truth of Imperial activities in the Brak sector and was a counterweight to the Brak Sector News during the Galactic Civil War.

Business

Nal Hutta Kal'tamok (Basic Edition)

Nal Hutta Kal'tamok covers economic and political issues related to the buying, selling, and transportation of contraband goods. It is regarded as one of the most elite of financial journals, and is widely read throughout the galaxy, though seldom openly.

Brentaal Trade News

Brentaal Trade News is a commercial and business NewsNet that was based on Brentaal.

Although Brentaal Trade News was not officially part of Imperial HoloVision, it published pro-Imperial stories until the planet's fall to the New Republic. Since then it has been staunchly apolitical.

Military

Imperial Defense Daily

IDD covers the defense industry and is widely regarded as the premier source of expert information on defensive and offensive systems. Naturally, IDD limits its coverage to non-classified programs and battlecraft, though the reporting is so thorough that "blind spots" in coverage of funding, manpower, and resources can often indicate where black programs are impacting the Imperial machine to those who know what to look for. Many system governments and independent organizations use IDD to shop for their own defense packages.

Nomenclature

Each newsfile includes a line of code providing information about the source of the file. For instance, the article "Jatz Musician Roi Debuts New Slug" includes the code [37:8:14/GLR/J25L/GRC.4.ARC/ENT/T. Marelle]. The first part is the date, in year:month:day format, with the year zeroed against the Great ReSynchronization; in this case, day 14 of the eighth month of year 37 after the ReSynchronization. The second part of the code indicates the newsfeed - in this case, GLR for Galactic Resorts. The next part, J25L, involves information not clearly established at this point. Next is the location where the feed originated, including system, numerical position of planet in system, and city on that planet; thus, GRC.4.ARC indicates that the article originated in the city of Arcopola on the fourth planet of the Greccia system. Next is the general topic of the article, in this case, "ENT" for entertainment; other departments include "GEN" for general, "MIL" for military, "ECO" for economy, "TRD" for trade, and "POL" for politics. Last comes the name of the author; in this case, Tanda Marelle.

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Information adapted from the Star Wars Adventure Journal Vol. 1, No. 11, 1996