News sources (newspapers, magazines, etc.), past and present, have unique qualities that make them great sources for researchers to find:
- Eyewitness accounts of events
- Reporting on activities of state and local government
- Advertisements for products and services
- Photographs of people, places, and things
- Obituaries and other genealogical information
- Editorial cartoons and analysis of news and events
- Language, slang, and stylistics of the era
