Since traditional journalism is gasping out its last dying breaths, it's getting harder and harder to know where to turn for reliable, up-to-date news. The new reality of the 24 hour news cycle creates a lot of noise, signifying, to paraphrase Shakespeare, not very much. But as paper is falling and smartphones are rising, there are some great apps available to help you get reliable information in the digital age. These are a few of our free favorites.

NPR News

National Public Radio has been doing a phenominal job of keeping up with changing technology. With their app, you can listen to stations streaming from all around the country, hear the national news programs, or read a curated collection of top stories. When you combine its different features, you get a great combination of the local and national from some of the best professional reporters out there.

AP Mobile

The Associated Press has its own app, which is a great resource no matter where you are. As smaller news outfits have had to downsize, they've been relying more and more on the Associated Press. With the app, you can go straight to the stories they're filing across world that matter the most to you. Like a traditional newspaper, it has sections dealing with politics, world, and local subjects (and more), and you're able to save your favorites to go straight to them.

Circa News

Circa is actually our favorite. It's totally new. Reporters left their traditional, high-powered jobs to create a news platform specifically built for mobile. Like the other options, Circa blends stories covering topics around the world, but they give you a slightly different way to read them. The scroll is slightly different, helping you focus on each sentence as you read it. Important quotes stand out immediately. Plus, you can click to follow a story as it develops. If you opt in, you'll get a push notification in real time as events unfold.

This is just a small sample of what's out there. If you're a news junkie, don't worry, there's an app for you!