Future of Your TV: MSP 0821

Trade articles report on trends, new products, and techniques useful to people already in that trade, industry, or profession. The articles are short in length and can supply names, dates, facts and figures, along with quotes. Trade articles are written by people who work in or specialize in a particular trade, industry, or profession, but are not scholars.

When and Why You Should Use Trade Articles:

• You need examples of best practices, solutions, and ideas tested by other companies 
• You need to keep up with current trends, techniques, product reviews, or upcoming events
• You need behind-the-scenes information about an industry and the companies in it

Remember: Articles in trade publications do not contain original research and are meant to be practical in nature. Their focus is on current trends and issues.

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.

• Place quotation marks around names and phrases. This will force the database to search for those exact words. (e.g. "Tina Fey")

• Limit your search to a specific region/state/publication (e.g. Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Limit your search to a specific timeframe (e.g. past year, past month, 2012-2022)