This presentation explains how to use newspapers and online news in research. It highlights why students should use news but why they should be careful of issues such as bias. This presentation shows the sources that are available for searching newspaper archives, both at Goldsmiths and outside, as well as where to find video news online.

1. November 2014

2. Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, you should:
 Know why news is important for academic research
 Know about and how to use Goldsmiths’ subscriptions
 Know what other libraries can provide
 Know what news is available in the public domain
 Know how to use news in both print and video forms

3. Using News For Research
Why should I use news for my research?
 Immediate response to events
 Researching issues not often addressed in academic
publications
 Important source material for historical research
 They show how the media portrays issues
However…

4. Are News Sources Objective?

5. Peer Review?
Peer review is the “evaluation of scientific, academic or
professional work by others working in the same field”
Were these stories rigorously checked?

6. Print vs Online
• Declining readerships of national newspapers in print,
e.g. 8% per year on average
• Advantages or challenges of online journalism?
changing audiences and geographies
newspapers have a 24/7 news presence
a democratic relationship between readers and
newspapers (citizen journalism, user-generated
content)?
• How can online news sustain itself? Advertising or
paywalls?

7. Proquest Online Newspapers
• UK Newsstand – 300 important UK national and
regional newspapers
• Provides latest issues and extensive back files
• All newspapers indexed thoroughly – access to all
sections
• Can search in detail for desired information/articles

8. The British Library
 ‘The home to the UK’s news collections’ – vast
collections of printed and online newspapers
 Access dozens of full-text, word-searchable resources,
usually accessible only in reading rooms, including:
 17th, 18th, 19th century British newspapers
 Various national newspaper collections (Austria to
Singapore)
 Various UK and US magazines from the NME to Vogue
 Print newspaper archives kept in Yorkshire, apply for
access from London

9. Public Libraries
 Most boroughs subscribe to at least one news
database: (so register with your local library!)
 Greenwich (Newsbank)
 Lewisham (19th Century British Library Newspapers,
Illustrated London News Historical Archive, Times
Digital Archive)
 Southwark (Library Press Display, Newsbank, Times
Digital Archive)
 Guildhall Library (a public library in the City of London,
which subscribes to several news databases)

10. Online News Footage
 Access news as it happens – primary sources*, often
objective and free of bias (although be careful)
 News footage is often available of key events in history,
e.g. The Fall of the Berlin Wall, the War in Iraq, The
‘Arab Spring’ – gives us a first hand perspective
 Organisations are increasingly providing video news
footage online (often free), including:
 Associated Press
 BBC
 British Pathé

11. Box of Broadcasts and TRILT
 Box of Broadcasts should be able to access most news
broadcasts on BBC, ITV and Channel 4 for instant
streaming
 If BoB can’t provide, hard copies may be available from
TRILT

12. International News
Imagine you’re researching newspapers in Brazil or
television news in Russia…
 How do you find which news is published globally?
 ABYZ News Links
 Google News
 Internet Public Library Newspapers
 Nettizen
 Online Newspapers

13. Summary
What we’ve covered:
 Using news for research and what to look out for
 Using Goldsmiths’ subscriptions
 Using other libraries
 Searching online for international news