Local vs. Global

In my quest to remain informed about the world around me, I've subscribed to a great many blogs, newsgroups, news sites, etc. I've found that I'm a little too plugged in with too much to read. When culling said sources, what metric do I use to favor one over another?

A quick thought is that I look at these sources as local vs. global. I don't really care what happens over in Massachusetts (I can't even spell it right without computer assistance). They have their own state to do with as they please. But hey, the new light rail in Phoenix? That's actually affected me as far as traffic goes. On the flip side, I might be really concerned and pissed about a recent bank bail-out (and others), but has it really done a lot to affect me? I'd say no. It doesn't effect my day-to-day routine.

In an attempt to keep things more relevant, I've tried shifting my feeds away from the global sites that make like 5-6 long posts a day to local sources that update their feeds 2-3 times a month. Now I can skim through things much faster and even have time to delve into interesting topics.

I do think global events still matter, but there's so much going on that it's impossible to track. I'm best off getting a gist and moving on, instead of seeing every step of the way as the stimulus bill becomes law. I already knew the outcome, why am I still watching what it's doing?

Just to top this off with something lighthearted:
If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. - Samuel Clemens