Subject Guides: Journalism: Getting Started

Getting Started: Ready Reference Books

Bacon's Newspaper Directory
Call Number: HD59 .B32
Also available online.
Directory of daily and weekly newspapers, news services, and news syndicates.
Human Rights Watch World Report by Human Rights Watch
Call Number: JC571 .H875
The World Factbook by CIA
Call Number: JF37 .N3
A popular Central Intelligence Agency reference manual that provides a wealth of information on over 260 separate nations and other entities, listed alphabetically, in over 700 pages.
CQ's Politics in America by Congressional Quarterly
Call Number: JK1010 .P64
Profiles members of Congress, providing concise analysis of their personalities, political styles, legislative agendas, political ambitions, and various reputations.

Getting Started with Journalism Research

Getting Started in journalism research often means conducting a search for background information -- everything from basic facts about a specific news event, to contact information for potential interview subjects. It also means developing a viable strategy of overall resources to consult, and keywords to use along the way.

This portion of the guide highlights resources useful to starting journalism research.

Getting Started: Multi-Disciplinary & Aggregate News Databases

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
A broad, multi-disciplinary database that contains scholarly articles as well as general audience publications. EBSCO platform.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
A major source of newspapers, web news, and industry news, containing 28,000 sources from over 200 countries in 23 languages. Includes Wall Street Journal television transcripts and newswires. Includes company profiles.
** The new Factiva interface became the default on August 30, 2024.
Switch to the advanced search page by clicking 'Switch Factiva' on the right in the menu bar. **
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
An excellent source of up-to-date news, business and legal information. News stories date back to the late 1970s. U.S. and international sources are available for most content areas. Includes Company Dossier content.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Multi-subject reference source covering general and academic periodicals; full-text is available for many articles. ProQuest platform.

Getting Started: Useful E-Resources & Databases

AP Stylebook This link opens in a new window
A guide to the style used by writers, editors and others in the media field.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
CQ Researcher explores a single "hot" issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology.
CRS Reports (Congressional Research Service) This link opens in a new window
Congressional Research Service Reports provide a variety of in-depth policy analysis and background summaries on every subject of interest to Congress.

Encyclopedia of Journalism
Published in 2009.
Covers all significant aspects of journalism, including print, broadcast, and Internet journalism. History, technology, legal issues, and economics of the field are covered.

Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Polling the Nations is a database of public opinion polls containing the full text of 500,000 questions and responses from 15,000 surveys conducted from 1986 to the present in the United States and 90 other countries.
**Access limited to 4 concurrent users.**

Getting Started: Useful Websites

NationalJournal.com
The website for the weekly nonpartisan journal, covering political trends, topics, and events for an audience of Washington insiders. Published in print since the late 1960s.
USA.gov
The U.S. Government's official web portal. A key resource for identifying government agencies and services.
GAO Reports
Investigative reports from the General Accounting Office on many topics.