LibGuides: Research Fundamentals: News & Commentary

Evaulating News

What is Fake News?

Fake news is usually real news that is taken out of context or manipulated. It could also be entirely made up or just parody. This type of news has always existed (think National Enquirer, or "Yellow Journalism"), but has become more mainstream due to the fast spreading of fake news on social media. The term "fake news" spread rapidly during and after the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign.

Here are some resources that will help you to evaluate news.

Post Truth

Finding News

The ODU Libraries provides access to several news databases.

Factiva News Pages
Current (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Features current full text links to the The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other newspapers.
NewsBank
Coverage varies by database (Restricted to ODU)
Provides access to America's Historical Newspapers (1690-1922), American Broadsides and Ephemera (1760-1900), American State Papers (1789-1838), U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1817-1980), Foreign Broadcast Information Service (1974-1996), and Access World News. Also highlights major news events with special reports collections with news, maps, etc. Allows a maximum of 14 users at a time.
Regional Business News
Coverage varies (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Provides comprehensive full-text coverage of business journals, newspapers and newswires covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.

Popular Newspapers

New York Times
Through LexisNexis Academic
Wall Street Journal Blogs
The Washington Post
Through LexisNexis Academic

Historical Newspapers

19th Century British Library Newspapers
1800 - 1900 (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Contains full runs of 48 newspapers specially selected by the British Library to best represent nineteenth century Britain. This new collection includes national and regional newspapers, as well as those from both established country or university towns and the new industrial powerhouses of the manufacturing Midlands, as well as Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO)
19th Century (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Includes a multi-year global digitization and publishing program focusing on primary source collections of the long 19th Century. This collection contains Archive 1: British Politics and Society; Archive 2: Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange; Archive 3: British Theatre, Music, and Literature: High and Popular Culture; and Archive 4: European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection.
Atlanta Constitution
1868 - 1945 (Restricted to ODU)
The Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
Illustrated London News Historical Archive
1842 - 2003 (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Contains the full facsimile run of the world's most iconic illustrated newspaper.
New York Times w/ Index
1851 - 2015 (Restricted to ODU)
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers, and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society, and events of the time. The Historical New York Times with Index (1851-1993) provides search capability using subject terms and topics for focused and targeted results in combination with searchable full text, full page, and article-level images from the Historical New York Times.