Breaking Your News Bubble: Media Literacy
Library Research Guide
Finding News Sources on a Budget
At K-State
At K-StateIn Print:
Current print periodicals can now be found in 240 Hale Library.
Online:
K-State Libraries subscribes to a number of newspaper databases.
- International NewsstreamPublication Dates Covered: 1920 - present Paid for by K-State Libraries
Provides the most recent news content from outside of the U.S. and Canada with archives that stretch back decades. The comprehensive collection features newspapers, newswires, transcripts, and digital-only news sites in full-text format. Over 800 of the world's top news sources such as The Times (London), The Bangkok Post, El Norte, Financial Times, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, South China Morning Post, The Daily Telegraph, Asian Wall Street Journal, and the BBC Monitoring series of publications are included in the collection. - ProQuest US Newsstream
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Paid for by the State Library of Kansas
US Newsstream enables users to search current U.S. news content, as well as archives that stretch back into the 1980s. It features top newspapers, wires, broadcast transcripts, blogs, and news sites in full-text format. US Newsstream provides key national and regional news sources from the U.S. and includes exclusive and preferred access to top titles, including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Newsday, and Chicago Tribune. US Newsstream is a subset of Global Newsstream. - Wall Street Journal (via ProQuest)Publication Dates Covered: 2010 - present Paid for by K-State Libraries
Follow current business and financial news. Full-text of the articles is available. The Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition (1984 - present) is also available.
Beyond K-State
In Print
- Visit your local public library, like Manhattan Public Library, to read newspapers and news magazines in print.
Online
- Kansas residents can access the news database US Newsstream through the State Library of Kansas' Online Databases.
- Ask at your local public library to learn what news sources you can access online through them. If your local public library is too small to offer online databases, try the next largest public library in your area -- keep going until you find a library where you are eligible for an account and they have online news!
- Manhattan Public Library - Need ID and proof of address (mail) to get a library card and make an account for online access to New York Times, Manhattan Mercury, and collection of digital magazines.
- With a Manhattan Public Library account you can subscribe to 72 hours of NYTimes access here.
- Manhattan Public Library - Need ID and proof of address (mail) to get a library card and make an account for online access to New York Times, Manhattan Mercury, and collection of digital magazines.
- Some newspapers allow readers to access a few articles a month for free.
- Consider subscribing to at least one newspaper.
- Johnson County (KS) Public Library provides online access to eLibrary, including eNews (WSJ, etc). If you are not a Johnson County resident, you'll need to apply for a card in person.
Find more suggestions for news and information resources beyond K-State on our Alumni and Community guide.
Diversify Your News Sources
Incorporate diverse news sources into your media diet. While it is useful to follow news sources that share your world view, disparate sources place the news in context and can improve your comprehension of the issues. When diversifying your news, consider:
- political perspectives
- international perspectives
- local versus national news
Political Perspective
Use sites, like those below, to identify the political perspectives of your news sources.
Some news sources state a political perspective on their About Us or Editorial pages.
Opinion pieces may not reflect the political perspective of the news source, research the authors to identify bias/perspective.
- All SidesAllSides presents news and issues from multiple perspectives. AllSides bias rating system uses community input to rate news sources on a left/center/right spectrum
International Perspective
Look at what news is covered and how it impacts people around the world. The sites below all provide English-language news.
Consider flexing your language skills and following the news in a language other than English - the audience for an article coming out of Japan written in Japanese is not the same as a Japanese article written in English.
- Aljazeera EnglishAn English-language news company out of Qatar, Aljazeera English has news bureaus all over the world.
- BBC NewsThe BBC calls the United Kingdom home, but has reporters and news outlets around the world. Use the links at the top of the page to see news from around the world, US & Canada, and the UK.
- CBCThe CBC is a national Canadian news outlet.
- Global Voices"Global Voices has been leading the conversation on citizen media reporting since 2005. We curate, verify and translate trending news and stories you might be missing on the Internet, from blogs, independent press and social media in 167 countries."
Global Voices also has a podcast and projects (Global Voices Advocacy and RisingVoices) to advocate for free speech online and support reporting from under-represented communities. - ReutersReuters is a large, international news agency. Click on the Edition link at the top of the home page to see home pages for other countries.
- SciDev.NetSciDev.Net is the world’s leading source of reliable and authoritative news, views and analysis on information about science and technology for global development. Our mission is to help ensure that science and technology has a central role and positive impact on sustainable development and poverty reduction in the global South.
- South China Morning News -- International EditionEnglish language newspaper published in Hong Kong.
Local/Regional News
News sources at the state or city level provide insight into more specific communities and local news.
Below are a sample of local newspapers in Kansas.
Running a newspaper requires money to pay for reporters, editors, photographers; plus costs for equipment, office space, printing, and delivering. While you can often get at least some articles for free from the major news outlets listed above, smaller outlets cannot always afford to maintain a website with free articles. If you want good, local news, be prepared to support it!
See the "Finding News Sources on a Budget" box for more information about accessing news sources, particularly at K-State.
- Wichita EagleThe Wichita Eagle allows readers to view many articles and video new stories for free. A subscription increases access.
- Topeka Capital JournalView five articles for free each month.
- Dodge City Daily GlobeRead seven articles in a month for free.
Diversify Your News Formats
If you only get news from one format, adding new formats could help you break out of your news bubble.
Try switching it up by
- reading the news in print, from a blog, website, or aggregator
- listening to radio and podcasts
- watching news on TV, subscribing to YouTube channels
