Georgetown Law
Georgetown Law Library

News Research Guide

This guide details the library's print and electronic newspaper holdings and identifies major online sources of news articles.

Contents

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Introduction

The library has access to almost all major U.S. newspapers, many international news sources and many regional newspapers through its many database subscriptions. If you search for the title of a specific newspaper in the library catalog, you will be directed to the databases which offer online access. We also subscribe to a few newspapers in print. This guide will provide an overview of the library's newspaper holdings and include guidance on major sources for newspaper on the Internet.

The Bluebook notes in Rule 16.6 that articles retrieved via commercial electronic databases can be cited using Rule 16.8 and online sources rely on Rule 18.2.2.

Searching Tips

When searching for articles that could have been in print or in a digital (online) edition only, it is often best to search for unique keywords from the article rather than the title of the article. Newspapers will often change the headline based on where an article is printed. Also, don't rely specifically on the one date you think the article was published, but rather search within a week range. 

 In other words, 

  • broaden out the date range to cover surrounding weeks
  • search by unique language in the article body text instead of using the title info
  • search by the author's name (which should be the same from electronic to print)
  • search by the column name (for any pieces appearing in a regular column in the publication)
  • mix and match any of the facets above 

Reliability of a news source is important to consider when citing it in legal documents. News bias is real and should be considered when determining the reliability of a source. The following chart is a useful guide.

Using Wire Services

The Associated Press (AP), Bloomberg and Reuters are just a few of the major wire services which provide articles to newspapers around the country and the world. When citing to any news wire article, it is best to cite to its publication in a prominent newspaper, such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, etc., so that other researchers can more easily retrieve a copy of the article. This is detailed in Bluebook Rule 16.6(d).  

For example, if you find an AP wire service article in the Raleigh News and Observer, try searching in the New York Times or Washington Post to see if that publication also ran a version of the article and cite to that source if available. The title may not be exactly the same, but the author and subject should be easily searchable. Here's an example of an AP article retrieved from the New York Times in the ProQuest database.

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Getting Started

Lauinger's News Guide

As a Georgetown student, you have full access to the collection of resources at our undergraduate library on the main campus, Lauinger Library:

Update History

Updated 4/14 (mk)
Updated 8/19 (am)
Updated 3/21 (mmk)