RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
RSS is an internet service that allows you to see when new content has been added to a website. The website sends you its new information as soon as it is published rather than you having to visit the site every day. It is most often used for showing the latest headlines, articles, audio and even web-logs (blogs). A newsreader checks RSS feeds and lets you read any article that has recently been added. Websites which have this service often identify their RSS pages with an orange RSS button. 
We are adding RSS feeds to our sites. You will be able to subscribe to them from this page as and when they become available. However, before you click on one of our feeds, please read on.
Where do I start?
First you need a newsreader (also known as a news aggregator)
There are several ways to get a newsreader.
- Download a newsreader application
Many are free of charge and more are appearing all the time. Here are some of the popular ones.
Windows
Newz Crawler
FeedDemon
Awasu
MacOs X
Newsfire
NetNewsWire
These applications let you store the feeds on your computer.
- Use an RSS enabled browser
Some browsers are RSS enabled.
Mozilla, Safari and Opera 7+ recognise RSS feeds and display them for easy reading.
- Use a web service to create your own news pages
Sign up to an online service such as:
Bloglines
My Yahoo!
NewsGator
Netvibes
- Via email
Some services will send you RSS by email. You will need to download an email plugin such as
Rss2mail
AmphetaMailer
How do I subscribe to a news feed?
Once you have chosen a newsreader, you can begin to subscribe to the RSS feeds. When you find a feed you are interested in, copy the XML/RSS link from the website and paste it into the newsreader. For example, the XML/RSS link for DCMS latest news is http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/rss.
The newsreader you choose will have full details on how to do this.
Further reading
BBC What is RSS?
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