Scope

This Research Guide focuses on bias in mass media coverage of news and current events. It includes concerns of sensationalism, allegations of media bias, and criticism of media's increasingly profit-motivated ethics.

Overview

Finding Journal and News Articles

Below are links to databases that cover this subject area. The truncation symbol for all of them is an asterisk (*) unless otherwise noted.

Sample searches for databases:

media bias
sensational* and (news or media)
television and news
columbine and media coverage
liberal bias
conservative bias
(liberal or conservative) and bias
princess diana and media coverage
war in iraq and media bias
media manipulation
misrepresent* and media

Recommended Databases:

ABI/Inform 1971 - to date (updated daily)
ABI/Inform indexes and abstracts articles from more than 1300 scholarly and trade business periodicals. Popular journals such as Forbes, Fortune, and Business Week are also included. The Web version, ABI/INFORM Global, provides full-text articles from more than 600 of the journals from 1992 to the present. It is an excellent source of information on management techniques, corporate strategies, trends, and business conditions. Basic instructions for ABI/Inform

Academic Search 1984 - to date (updated daily)
This library database indexes approximately 3,100 popular magazines and academic journals and provides the full-text articles from approximately 1,000 journals. Basic instructions for Academic Search

ProQuest Newspapers Dates Vary (updated weekly)
Indexes articles from 41 national and Wisconsin newspapers; includes full text for most. The truncation symbol is a question mark (?). Basic instructions for ProQuest Newspapers

ProQuest Research Library 1988 - to date (updated daily)
Indexes over 2,000 general-interest and academic journals. Nearly 1,000 periodicals are full-text. Dates vary, but many full-text journals go back to 1988. Basic instructions for ProQuest Research Library

Social Sciences Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 415 scholarly journals in economics, politics, public administration, public health, sociology, criminology, environmental and urban studies, psychology and anthropology. Basic instructions for Social Sciences Full Text

More Databases:

CQ Researcher November 1991 - to date (updated weekly)
Contains weekly reports from Congressional Quarterly that cover the most current and controversial issues. Basic instructions for CQ Researcher

Facts.com 1980 - to date (updated weekly)
Includes 75,000 full-text news articles, weekly updates from Facts On File World News Digest, and regular wire service updates from Reuters. Basic instructions for Facts.com
This database will be useful if the date of an event is uncertain.

Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe Dates Vary (updated daily)
Contains the full-text articles from U.S. and international newspapers (including the New York Times, June 1980 - to date), as well as some news and business magazines and trade journals. The truncation symbol is an exclamation point (!). Basic instructions for Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe

Finding Books

MadCat
Books on media bias can be found in MadCat, the UW-Madison library catalog.

Sample keyword searches:

journalism and objectivity
media and bias

Internet Sites

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
http://www.fair.org/
FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986.

Media Research Center
http://www.mediaresearch.org/
The Media Research Center is a conservative watch group dedicated to bringing balance and responsibility to the news media.

AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/
AlterNet is an online magazine dedicated to strengthening and supporting independent and alternative journalism.

Camera
http://www.camera.org/
Camera, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, works to foster sound reporting while educating news consumers about Middle East issues and the critical role of the media.

Videos

Indymedia War and Peace Trilogy
College Library Main Collection: DS 79.76 I54 2003

The Myth of the Liberal Media: the Propaganda Model of News
College Library Main Collection: PN 4888 O25 M98 1997

The Public Mind: Image and Reality in America
College Library Main Collection: HN 90 P8 P795 1989

Organizations

Independent Media Institute
http://www.independentmedia.org/