Research Guides: Media Studies: Find News Sources

Why Use News Sources?

News sources (newspapers, magazines, news blogs, news broadcasts, news feeds, etc.) are written by reporters and 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.

Current News Databases

Need to search for current news articles -- from multiple perspectives? The following are some best bets.

Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Contains newspapers, newswires, blogs, radio and tv transcripts, plus legal and business-related research.
US Newsstream (formerly ProQuest Newsstand) This link opens in a new window
Features newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites dating back to 1980. Some titles include: Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Access World News This link opens in a new window
Contains major national and international newspapers, as well as local and regional titles as well as newswires, blogs, videos, journals, magazines, transcripts and more.
Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new window
Contains newspapers, newswires, blogs, radio and tv transcripts, plus legal and business-related research.

Discover other newspaper databases!

Historical News Databases

Need to search for historical, archived news articles -- from multiple perspectives? The following are some best bets.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Contains digitized images of the pages of mainstream American, British, Irish, and Scottish newspapers, some dating back to the 19th century.
America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Contains digitized images from hundreds of historic early American newspapers published between 1690 and 1922.
American Periodicals Series Online This link opens in a new window
Contains digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the early 20th century.
Black Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Contains digitized images from leading African American newspapers of the 20th century, including the Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News, Baltimore Afro-American, Philadelphia Tribune, Pittsburgh Courier, and Atlanta Daily World.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Contains a collection of digitized newspapers from the Library of Congress, covering 1836 to 1922.
Discover other newspaper databases!

Magazines and Commentary

OpinionArchives This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text articles from magazines and journals of opinion, such as New Yorker, The Nation, and Dissent. Each publication has the complete archive.
Gale General OneFile This link opens in a new window
General OneFile is a source for news, magazines, and periodical articles across a wide range of general topics and academic disciplines.
MasterFile Premier This link opens in a new window
contains full text articles from periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and more.
Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature Retrospective, 1890-1982 [via EbscoHost] This link opens in a new window
Contains citations (and some full-text) to articles from the most popular general-interest magazines published between 1890s and 1982. Covers news areas such as current events, business, fashion, politics, crafts, education, history, sports, food, and science.
American Periodicals Series Online This link opens in a new window
Contains digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the early 20th century.

Ethnic and Alternative Press

Ethnic Newswatch This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text articles appearing in numerous U.S. racial and ethnic minority newspapers, consumer magazines, and some journals published since 1995, focusing on African American, American Indian, Asian American, and U.S. Latino publications.
Alternative Press Index This link opens in a new window
Contains citations to articles in alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines, reporting and analyzing the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political and social change (1991 to present).
Alternative Press Index Archive This link opens in a new window
Contains citations to articles in alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines, reporting and analyzing the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political and social change (1969 to 1990).
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text newspaper, magazine, and journal articles focused on the historical and current perspectives of gender roles.

Circulation Data & Media Kits

Need to find the contact information for a specific media company? Need to find circulation data or media kits? Use the following sources to find media listings and data.

SRDS: Standard Rate & Data Service This link opens in a new window
Provides media rates and data for more than 100,000 U.S. and international media properties, traditional and alternative. Advertising rates, personnel contact information, as well as circulation figures for radio, TV, business publications, consumer magazines, and newspapers are included.
MRI Simmons Catalyst This link opens in a new window
Contains key magazine planning data resources, including audience and circulation data, subscriber studies, industry studies, and data on advertising effectiveness.
Ulrich's Periodical Directory This link opens in a new window
Contains circulation figures, advertising information, and selected reviews for consumer and trade magazines, academic and scholarly publications, newsletters, and more.

Broadcast News (Clips & Transcripts)

Television News Archive (Vanderbilt) This link opens in a new window
Contains citations to individual network evening news broadcasts from the major U.S. national broadcast networks. Also covers special news-related programming: presidential press conferences, political campaigns, plus national and international events.

AP Historical Archives on YouTube
Contains the AP's film and video archive, containing millions of news, sports, entertainment and fashion stories dating back to 1895.
Internet Archive’s TV News Archive
Contains news programs from national U.S. networks and stations from 2009 to present.

C-SPAN Video Library This link opens in a new window
Contains C-SPAN programming that has aired since 1987.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1941-1996 This link opens in a new window
Contains translated transcripts of foreign radio and television broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. The reports contain political, military, economic, environmental, and sociological news and information.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Contains newspapers, newswires, blogs, radio and tv transcripts, plus legal and business-related research.
Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new window
Contains newspapers, newswires, blogs, radio and tv transcripts, plus legal and business-related research.

Special Collections Research Center

The Libraries' Special Collections Research Center houses two major Philadelphia broadcasting archives: 6ABC (WPVI-TV) footage and CBS 3 (KYW-TV) footage.

The SCRC also houses three major Philadelphia newspaper clipping archives: Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philly Daily News, in addition to the photograph archive of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Some of the Evening Bulletin photographs are available online.

The SCRC also houses underground and/or alternative press publications from the 1960s to the present within the Contemporary Culture Collections.

Contact or visit the SCRC to learn more about using these collections.