Newspapers & News Media
Jump to: Why to use them | How to find them | How to cite them | Video: How to Choose your News
Why to use news sources
- Good for understanding current events, or past events, and the way they are received and discussed in the public eye
- More recent, breaking coverage of issues than you will find in books or scholarly articles
Use original news when possible
People often have favorite news outlets they trust more than others. The way we prefer to absorb news varies as well. Some people like short video clips, while others prefer long form written articles. The more times news is re-mixed and summarized, though, the more difficult it can be to trust.
However you personally get your news, when conducting research it's preferable to use original journalism. That means that as much as possible, you want to look for the original source of the information rather than re-posts or summaries. That might be primary source video footage, an interview, or an article written by someone with direct access to evidence. See below for tips.
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Even though some newspapers are still printed on paper, this is a more familiar vision of how we read, watch, and listen to the news today. If you can't find a specific article, ask a librarian for help. |
Online newspaper archives, such as the Times Machine, are increasingly common ways to search news from the past. (To use it, activate your RISD-provided New York Times subscription!) You can still view historic magazines at many public libraries. |
How to find news
- Activate your library-sponsored New York Times account!
- Browse other news websites that you trust. Many allow visitors to read several online articles for free.
- Use Fleet Search to seek across multiple databases. RISD does not subscribe to a lot of newspaper databases, but it's always worth a try.
- Type in a keyword, author, or title, then use the filters on the left.
- Under the "Source Type" filter, click News.
- Click "Full text" for items you can read right away.
- If something important is not available, use the InterLibrary Loan option to request it.
How to cite news media
- Chicago style: Author-Date | Notes & Bibliography
- MLA style (if you are citing a video, use the "cite automatically" tool and choose "Online Video/Film")
- APA style (scroll down to "Online News Article" or visit the Audiovisual Media guidelines)
- PRO TIP: Use Fleet Search's automatic citation feature, which can generate citations in whatever style you need.