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Political Science 101: Huezo

What is News?

News is information and commentary on contemporary affairs taken to be publicly important (Schudson 2012).

News is a popular source. Popular sources are typically written by journalists to inform or entertain a general audience, whereas academic sources, also called scholarly sources, are written by experts in a field, people who have advanced degrees in a given discipline.

This chart compares popular sources and academic sources and their features:

Popular Sources Academic/Scholarly (including peer-reviewed)
Content

Current events; general interest articles

Research results/reports; reviews of research (review articles); book reviews 

Purpose To inform, entertain, or elicit an emotional response To share research or scholarship with the academic community
Author Staff writers, journalists, freelancers Scholars/researchers
Audience General public Scholars, researchers, students
Review Staff editor Editorial board made up of other scholars and researchers. Some articles are peer-reviewed
Citations May not have citations, or may be informal (ex. according to... or links) Bibliographies, references, endnotes, footnotes
Frequency Weekly/monthly Quarterly or semi-annually
Ads* Numerous ads for a variety of products Minimal, usually only for scholarly products like books
Examples on Publisher Site Washington Post; Time; New York Times; Aerospace Engineering Blog The Aeronautical Journal; International Journal of Aerospace EngineeringIEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine
Examples in Library Databases (Requires GCC Login) Washington Post; Time; New York Times The Aeronautical Journal International Journal of Aerospace Engineering; Nature

Text and chart adapted from UTexas Libguide.

The Difference Between News, Analysis, and Opinion

News: What happened.  Analysis: What happened and why — writer considers facts and draws conclusions.  Opinion: What I think about what happened.

Source: Media Bias 101: The Difference Between News, Analysis, and Opinion

 

News: What happened.

Analysis: What happened and why — writer considers facts and draws conclusions.

Opinion: What I think about what happened.

Newspaper Databases

News Podcasts and Websites

National Newspapers

"Newspapers of record" are national newspapers that have a longstanding reputation for accurate reporting and a commitment to presenting a wide range of perspectives on important issues. They are called "newspapers of record" because they aim to be the best possible record for what happened in the nation on a given day (Caulfield 2021).

The library provides online access to the most recent issues of three national newspapers of record:

As well as online access to other major US newspapers:

California and Local Newspapers

Some of these publications are available online and/or in print (paper copies). Print newspapers are accessible on the main floor of the Verdugo Library and are for in-library use only.

Armenian Newspapers

The most recent issue of these Armenian language newspapers are available in print in the Verdugo Library:

African-American Newspapers

African-American newspapers (also known as the Black press or Black newspapers) are news publications in the US that serve African-American communities. Here are direct links to online access to the most recent issues of some of the major publications:

Ethnic Newspapers In Los Angeles

Below are some long-established ethnic newspapers in Los Angeles.

For more ethnic newspapers, use the Ethnic NewsWatch database.

Newspapers in Print in the Library

All print newspapers are available from the newspaper rack on the main floor of the Verdugo Library (attached to the column opposite the Research Help Desk). They are for in-library use only.

Title and summary holdings:

Title Print Holdings Online Access
The Armenian observer Current issue only  
Asbarez Current issue only  
Chronicle of Higher Education One month only Online access via databases from 1988+ (most recent 1 month not available).
Daily News One week only  
Glendale News-Press One week only Online access via databases for select years; coverage varies.
Los Angeles Times One week only  Online access via databases 1886+ (with some exceptions).
Massis Weekly Current issue only  
Vaquero, El 1961+ Online access at ElVaq.com
Wall Street Journal One week only Online access via databases 1984+.

newspaper display in the library

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