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The modern newspaper originated in 17th century England and is widely recognized as an important information source. They provide news, opinion, entertainment, advertising and other sorts of practical information. In American society, newspapers are especially important because they embody the notion of a free press. A free press is an essential component of participatory democracy and an important way for citizens to stay informed on the crucial issues of the day. No democracy can function effectively without a free press and the free flow of ideas that they facilitate. How are newspaper articles important in bibliographic research? The first and most obvious reason is that newspapers report on current events at the local, state, national, and international levels. Anytime you are doing research on current social issues, political events, or local/national/international news events, you should include newspaper articles in your reading. The second reason newspapers are important in bibliographic research stems from the invaluable historical perspective that newspapers offer. Newspapers allow you to go back in time and read descriptions and discussions of events written at the time they were happening. Historians refer to this as a "contemporary account" of an event, and few sources can match the historical insight these accounts provide. Newspaper articles can be either primary or secondary source documents. (Recall from Lesson one the definition of primary and secondary sources.) For example, the same newspaper on the same day in 1978 might have published a first-hand account of the 1978 Three-Mile Island nuclear reactor accident written by a reporter at the scene (a primary source), as well as an editorial urging greater nuclear plant safeguards (a secondary source). In addition to direct news coverage, newspapers are also important in research for other types of information they provide, including:
It is important to remember, however, that newspaper articles are
regarded as popular publications -- not scholarly sources. In fact,
because newspaper publishers, editors, and writers face a variety
of commercial pressures and ideological conflicts, their articles
must be carefully evaluated for accuracy, objectivity, and fairness.
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