Backbencher

Before I even went to the homepage for the Sydney Morning Herald, I kind of assumed in my head that it wouldn't be very similar to national newspapers we see here in the United States. I was, however, very wrong. As I skimmed through the sections they had the same basic elements as ours: National News, World News. Entertainment, Business, Sports, Travel, and Classifieds.
The first story I read was a national story entitled "Stabbing Similarities Just a Coincidence, Court Told." This is a murder case that happened 15 years ago and is going to trial now. The person on trial is a man named Jeffrey Gilham, and he is accused of killing his entire family (mom, dad, and brother). He insists that he only killed his brother Christopher after being provoked by him saying that he (Christopher) killed their parents. This was the main story on the homepage, so obviously it is a very prevalent and important case in Australian news.
The second story I read was entitled "When Bill Brown Talked, Everyone Did Themselves a Favour and Listened." This was honoring the death of the famous Cricket player Bill Brown. He was 95 when he died. Brown was the former Australian captain and opening batsman between 1934 and 1948. This is considered a great loss to the Cricket world.
An area that I was really surprised to see in this newspaper was all the coverage they had of things happening in the U.S. like television shows, actors/actresses, and especially the presidential race.
One thing I also noticed and found a little funny was that there was a link that could add stories to your Facebook profile. So not only is Facebook extremely important in the lives of Americans, it's just as important to the Aussies.