JOUR 470 - The Press and Society: Library Research Guide
News Sources: Alternative media
Note: Finding alternative news sources can be more difficult than finding establishment news sources. These are some suggested places to start:
Databases
The following are additional databases licensed by the UA Library for use by UA faculty and students. They contain citations or full-text of articles from different alternative news publications (newspapers, magazines). The dates covered vary by database.
Academic Search Complete
Includes establishment news magazines like Time and Newsweek, as well as conservative publications like National Review and American Spectator, and liberal publications like The Nation.
Alternative Press Index
Indexes articles from hundreds of "alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines."
Ethnic NewsWatch
Full-text database of "newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the 'other side of the story,' [these] titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press."
Left Index
An index to the literature of the left, with an emphasis on political, economic, social and culturally engaged scholarship, as well as significant but little known sources of news and ideas.
Other alternative sources
AlterNet
A project of the Independent Media Institute that brings together sources of alternative and independent media, as well as original alternative content.
Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
This association provides links to alternative weekly newspapers, like the Tucson Weekly, around the country.
Project Censored's list of Independent News Sources
Radio Broadcast News: National Public Radio (NPR) / Pacifica Radio (includes program Democracy Now!)
Underground Newspaper Collection
The UA Library has a set of anti-establishment and alternative press newspapers from 1963-1985 on microfilm in a collection called "Underground Newspaper Collection." The newspapers are on Microfilm 3501, and the index to the microfilm (which tells you what newspapers are on the film for what dates) is at Microfilm 3501 Index (the index is a book in a separate aisle from the microfilm reels).
Using the Web to find other alternative news sources
Anytime you use information on the Web, it is essential to critically evaluate the site.
There are many other sources of information on the Web covering different issues, including press releases from various organizations, email newsletters from specific organizations or on various topics, and Web logs (blogs).
Try using the search engine Google to identify other sources of news. For example, for alternative sources of environmental news, you might look at the Web site of an environmental group like Sierra Club; a Web site specializing in environmental news, like Environmental News Network; or an email newsletter about the environment, like The Grist.
From the Newspaper Association of American, the Niche Voyager provides searching for niche newspaper segments, by frequency of publication, market, age, ethnicity/gender, region, and state.
Webpage created by Mary Feeney, Journalism Librarian