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Media & Children: MSP 1251 / 4497 / 8441

Research help for the courses, MSP 1251: The Children's Media Industry and MSP 4497 / 8441: Media & Children

Why Use News?

Newspapers on The Wall Street Journal Rack. Photo by Philip Strong on UnsplashNews sources (newspapers, magazines, news blogs, news broadcasts, news feeds, etc.) are written by reporters (aka journalists) on topics of current interest.

When and Why You Should Use News Sources:

  • You need information on a recent event or topic of interest
  • You need eyewitness accounts of events
  • You need reports on activities of state and local government
  • You need insights into local culture, arts & entertainment
  • You need perspectives from underrepresented groups
  • You need sources that advocate a particular viewpoint or opinion

Remember: Not all news sources are created equal! Some have hidden (or obvious!) motives or political beliefs. Do some background research into who owns the news organization to learn more about it.

Newspaper & Magazine Look-up

Want to know if we have a specific newspaper or magazine (e.g. The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Variety)?  Use the search box to find full-text online or print newspapers and magazines:

Find Newspaper & Magazine Articles

Need to search for current newspaper or magazine articles - from multiple perspectives?  Try using the sources below.

Search Tips

Not sure what keywords to use? Try some of the following suggestions:

  • The name of a media organization, business, or company
  • The name of a brand or product
  • Names of individuals associated with your media issue
  • Key events associated with your media issue (ie. campaigns, advertising)
  • Legislation or laws associated with your media issue

Other tips:

  • Place quotation marks around names and phrases. This will force the database to search for those exact words. (ie. "John Stewart")
  • Limit your search to a specific region/state/publication (ie. Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  • Limit your search to a specific timeframe (ie. past year, past month, 2001-2003)