Backbencher

I decided to review an Australian newspaper, so I went to www.smh.com/au aka the Sydney Morning Herald. What really suprised me was before I could even click on any articles to read their full text, an ad campaign for John Mccain popped up. A picture of the American "porn star" Jenna Jameson also caught my eye. It almost felt as if I were reading an american newspaper. The website was set up exactly like the newspapers here in the U.S., such that it was almost indistinguishable from newspapers such as the New York Times or even the Fargo Forum.
When I did actually choose an article to read the section that seemed the most interesting was "opinion". I read an article about politics which was just the usual; the writer commented on the transition from a conservative government to a social democratic government and good the democratic government was for Australia. This didn't surprise me at all because American news largely leads towards the democratic side, which is often really annoying. I did have one question while reading the article though: what exactly is "the ABC"?
The sports section was very different from what I would see in say the New York Times. While it seems that most american sports are that of football, basketball, baseball and sometimes hockey, the Sydney Morning Herald focused on other sports such as soccer, racing, boxing, surfing, cricket and rugby. Since I don't know anything about any of those sports, that section was really of no interest to me.
The entertainment section was completely consumed with celebrity gossip, much of what our newspapers are overloaded with as well. It was interesting however, to read about american celebrities from a different point of view. The main focus of course being celebrities that originated in Australia, which makes sense. For example their article about the Oscars dwelled on the aussie winners and briefly mentioned some others.
Most of the other articles were about the usual; politics, religion, crime, etc. Overall, the newspaper wasn't that different from ones that I have read here in the U.S.. What interested me the most was that all the way "down under" in Australia they are interested in what we are doing in the US whether it be our politics or our entertainment industry. It made me stop and wonder if I have ever been interested in what is going on in Australia?