Research Guides: Issues in the News

Objective
The objectives include:
  • You'll become familiar with library databases that have regional, national, and international news
  • You'll become familiar with library databases that have alternative perspectives
  • Hopefully you'll come with questions and I'll be able to help answer them
  • You'll feel ready to start researching your final project
Newspapers
Note: In library databases, you can search multiple international, national or state papers all at once. 

LIBRARY DATABASES
  • LexisNexis Academic   Regional, National, and International news. Includes news wires and transcripts.
  • Discover America's Story
    Discover America's Story focuses on small-town, rural, and local articles and reports on what is happening in-town and in-county while providing a local point of view on bigger issues such as state, regional, national politics and world affairs. The product is rich with articles relevant to geographic locations often under-reported or overlooked by mainstream news coverage such as natural resources, agriculture, land use, water rights and farming. Small-town news, op-ed, business, arts, government and life in general are covered well, plus published legal notices and obituaries are included.  [description from LexisNexis]
  • NewsBank Newspapers   Regional and National news.
  • ProQuest newspapers   Includes 32 major newspapers plus an International Newspapers file that includes BBC Monitoring.
  • NewsBank Ithaca News & Information Center Aggregates local news sources.

Note: you can also search by a particular paper title
Q: How do I which database contains a particular newspaper?
A: From the library's homepage, click the Journal Titles search tab.  Search the name of the newspaper title.  Watch a brief video on how to do this.

Here is a browsable list of popular newspapers you can access online.

WEB VERSIONS
  • Good for: They include layout and images
  • Problem: May not reach as far back as library database
  • Possible problem: Have to be searched one at a time
National/International
National
Local
Opposing Viewpoints
POPULAR MAGAZINES
Many popular magazines can be found in print at the "Popular Periodicals" section near the library's reference desk.  To check if we have online access search the "Journal Titles" tab at the top of the library's homepage  (watch a brief video demonstration of how to search for a journal title). Here is a browsable list of popular magazines you can access online.

Liberal magazines include:
Mother Jones, The Nation, The Progressive, The New Leader, Utne Reader, Dissent, American Prospect, and the New Statesman (British).

Conservative magazines include:
American Spectator, National Review, Weekly Standard, American Enterprise, Commentary, American Outlook, Policy Review, and The Spectator (British).

Here is Yahoo’s list of “conservative” and “progressive” magazines.

GENERAL MAGAZINE DATABASES & SEARCHING FOR EDITORIALS
  • Academic Search Premier. For opposing opinions on an issue, "Limit your results" below the search slots by setting the "Document Type" to "Editorial."
  • ProQuest. For opposing opinions on an issue, open the "More Search Options" tab below the search slots and set "Document Type" to "Editorial."
  • Facts.com: Editorial Cartoons
    Browse editorial cartoons by subject: Arts, Entertainment &the Media; Business, Labor &the Economy; Crime & Terrorism; Education; Environment; Families and Family Life; Human & Civil Rights; International Affairs; Judiciary; Medicine & Health Care; Minorities & Race Relations; Politics & Political Reform; Religion; Science and Technology; Sports; Wars, Weaponry & Military Forces; & Women

RESEARCH GUIDES
See my new  guide on Independent Media for additional resources

CQ Researcher. Each issue is devoted to a single topic and contains a "Pro/Con" section of opposing opinion. Use the "Quick Search" to locate relevant issues.

There is a book series called Opposing Viewpoints that can provide background on topics.
Alternative Perspectives in the News
LIBRARY DATABASES
  • Alternative Press Index
    Index to articles in alternative news sources. Use to research topics that may not be well covered in the mainstream press; 1991 to current. 
  • GenderWatch
    Full-text database containing 140 international publications plus reports, pamphlets, papers and conference proceedings devoted to women's and gender issues. A repository of materials on gender issues worldwide, the evolution of the women's movement, and the changes in gender roles over the last twenty years.
  • Ethnic Newswatch
    Full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Contents include African American, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian American, European, Jewish, and Native American publications, including the Spanish-language press.

ALTERNATIVES LIBRARY
  • Alternatives Library
    A library on the campus of Cornell University devoted to contempoary issue oriented  resources that are not typically found in research and public libraries.  It was dedicated to Anne Carry Durland in 1974.  It is open to all.

WEBSITES / BLOGS
Note:  for coverage on any blog I use Google's Blog search
  • Daily Kos
    Progressive community blog.
  • Drudge Report
    Aggregated news feeds from Matt Drudge. Some original reporting. Considered conservative leaning.
  • Guerrillanews.com
    An independent news organization that strives to bring global issues to the masses through articles, headlines, videos, and blogs. Articles are completely original, written by GNN users or contributors. Search by countries, keyword, and/or topics.
  • Huffington Post
    Edgy leftist blog founded by Arianna Huffington.
  • Independent Media Center (imc)
    Collective site for independent media organizations.
  • Nation : Blogs
    The Nation magazine\'s blog site. Includes: Campaign 08, Editor\'s Cut, The Beat, Actnow!, The Dreyfuss Report, Capitolism, The Notion, And Another Thing.  Liberal perspecitve.
  • National Review : Blog Row
    National Review magazine's Blog Row includes: Bench Memos, Campain Spot, The Corner, Frum, Kudlow, Liberal Fascism, Media Blog, Phi Beta Cons, Planet Gore, Pryce-Jones, and Tank.  Default is to The Corner. Conservative perspective.
  • Native Networks
    Initiated by the Smithsonian\'s National Museum of the American Indian, this site is a guide to media produced by people in Hawaii and the Americas.
  • New America Media (NAM)
    Founded by Pacific News Service in 1996, NAM collaborates with over 2000 ethnic news organizations to disseminate stories. Readers can chose stories by ethnicities or by special beats.
  • Politico
    Online magazine with blogs covering American politics.
  • Talking Points Memo (TPM)
    Josh Marshall's political blog.
  • TNR Blogs
    The New Republic: A Journal of Politics and the Art magazine (TNR) hosts the following blogs: The Plank, The Stump, The Spine, The Flack, and The Vine.
  • Weekly Standard : The Blog
    The Weekly Standard, a conservative news magazine, includes the following blogs: The Campaign Standard and The Worldwide Standard.