News Media Ethics Sources

Getting Started | Newspaper Databases | Television Transcripts | Magazines and Scholarly Journals Databases
Videos | Citing the Articles You Find | News About the News
News Media Ethics Research Topics (PowerPoint 1.83 MB)

Getting Started

This guide will provide you with information for finding a variety of news media ethics sources that discuss ethical problems in the practice of journalism, principal public criticisms of news media, and case study approaches.

Please note: Selected Internet resources in this guide will only be accessible to Pennsylvania State University students and researchers with a Penn State Access Account. This guide is recommended for use by students in:

• COMM 409 & COMM 409H : News Media Ethics

For additional help with any of these resources, or to schedule an appointment, please contact Debora Cheney, Foster Communications Librarian and Head, News & Microforms Library, 814-863-1345.

Newspaper Databases

from the Libraries' Database Subject List : News:

The databases listed here contain current and archived articles (and pictures) from U.S. and international newspapers.

Use NewsCAT to determine which database provides access to the text for a particular newspaper title. NewsCAT will direct you to the correct database (Note: most online newspaper coverage only goes back to the late 1980s).

See Newspaper Database Features page for more information about these databases.

• Lexis Nexis Academic
  • News coverage from U.S. and international publications
  • Search topic to find stories, op ed articles and more from (English-language) newspapers around the globe
  • Useful tool to compare how news events are covered by different media outlets
• America's Newspapers
  • Full-text articles from U.S. national and regional newspapers, as well as a few international titles
  • Good source for regional and local newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Centre Daily Times
• Newspaper Photos (AccuNet/AP Photo Archive)
  • Useful source of visual images from major news events from the past several decades
  • About 800 state, regional and international photographs are added daily to the archives, from which the best 200 are retained every year in this database
  • Printing copies for educational and research use is permitted
  • More information about finding newspaper photos can be found in the News & Microforms Library (Ground Floor, West Pattee Library)
• PressDisplay
  • Access to more than 500 newspapers from 70 countries in 37 languages
  • Image format provides the look and feel of reading a print newspaper
• ProQuest National Newspapers
  • Full-text articles from 29 major market U.S. newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and others
  • Current daily news and archived articles primarily from late-1980s to date
• New York Times Historical Digital Archive
  • Full page and article digital images; fully searchable back to the first issue
  • Coverage: from September 18, 1851 [latest 3 years not available]
  • More information about finding historical newspapers can be found in the News & Microforms Library (Ground Floor, West Pattee Library)

Note: At the News and Microforms Library, Ground Floor, West Pattee, you can read daily U.S. and international newspapers and news magazines. You can also search archived stories on microfilm. NewsCAT provides information on which newspapers the library has on microfilm.

Television Transcripts

from the Libraries' Databases by Title (A-Z List):

• LexisNexis Academic
  • Quick and convenient way to search for transcripts of most news broadcasts
  • View transcripts from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, NPR
• Television News Archive (Vanderbilt University)
  • Summaries of individual network evening news broadcasts from the major U.S. national broadcast networks from 1968-date
  • This resource also provides access to online video from the Archive's collection of CNN material from 1995
• More information about finding television transcripts can be found in the News & Microforms Library (Ground Floor, West Pattee Library)

Magazines and Scholarly Journals Databases

(from the Libraries' Databases by Title (A-Z List)):

All the following databases direct users to the location of full-text articles, or prompt "Get It" for articles that can be obtained through ILLiad (Inter-library Loan)

• Communication and Mass Media Complete
  • Comprehensive resource of scholarly journals and trade periodicals related to communications and mass media, most containing full-text articles
  • Use this database to search for articles about your news story or ethical dilemma rather than actual news stories
• Communication Abstracts
  • Good source of information on communication issues on a worldwide scale, from a variety of publishers, research institutions and information sources
  • Includes links to SAGE Full-Text Journals (more than 60 social science journals)
• ProQuest Research Library
  • Database of U.S. and international periodicals covering a broad range of subjects, including communications
  • Current and archived full-text articles available

Videos

The Penn State Libraries also have a number of videos dealing with media ethics in its collection. To find these titles in The CAT, use Advanced Search. Limit your search to "video material" in the "Material Type" category. Try the following keyword search: journalis$ OR mass media combined with the following keyword search: moral OR ethic$.

This search retrieves more than 40 titles:

You can also use the keyword search function to look for material on specific issues. For example, a search on journalis$ AND plagiarism retrieves The Jayson Blair Story: Favoritism and Plagiarism at The New York Times (Altoona: PN4888.E8J29 2003 DVD, MediaTech: 38590).

Videos are located at different libraries. For Media & Technology Support Services (MediaTech) items, follow the links provided to request a copy. For videos located in college campus libraries (Penn State Altoona, Penn State Delaware, etc.), request an "I Want It".

Videos from campus college locations should arrive at your designated pick-up location within 3-5 days. Items requested from MediaTech should arrive within 2-4 days.

Citing the Articles You Find

When using resources, it is always extremely important to cite the source of the information. Because information can come from so many different kinds of sources, sometimes citing a source correctly can be confusing or frustrating. The easiest way to correctly cite a source you have used is to follow specific formatting and citation guides that show you exactly how to format titles, dates, and other information generally included in citations.

Some excellent citation resources include:

• Information Literacy & You
  A Libraries' tutorial which includes a module about citing sources you use in your research.
• Citing Microforms
  If materials you are using include books or articles in microformat (microfilm, microfiche, micro-opaque), this page will help you correctly cite your microformat references.
• KnightCite
  Just plug your source information into a form and this tool automatically generates a citation! Available formats include MLA, APA and Chicago, and can even format unique multimedia and communication sources.
• Dianahacker.com
  This site, based on information compiled by leading expert Diana Hacker, contains specific, accurate citation guides for those in the Humanities, Social Sciences, History, and the Sciences. For additional help, click on the "sample papers" link for a look at real student papers that correctly cite and document their sources.

For more information and links to additional citation guides that will help you with documentation, see Penn State University Libraries' Research Guides by Format page.