Humanities & Film Librarian
261 Richmond Way
University of Richmond, VA 23173
Not Just the Facts
There is no such thing as neutral or unbiased information. Media bias is sometimes very obvious, and sometimes not. How can we tell if a news source is on the left, right, or center of the political spectrum? How can we tell the type of audience and purpose the publications serves. These sites evaluate the political leaning of different publications and news outlets:
Aside from a publication's political leaning- bias in reporting is revealed in the details the journalist provides- determining whose story is told, and how it is told. The language used by journalists impacts how we understand an event and sometimes is used to evoke an emotional response. What assumptions do we form if an event is described as a violent riot vs. a popular uprising for example?
We tend to view news reporting on a spectrum illustrated on the chart below, though it can be far more complex. Some degree of bias might be appropriate- like opinion pieces or editorials.
News Sources & Library Databases
- New York Times (Website) This link opens in a new window
*Redeem a code and create an account using your UR email address to access the New York Times' website. Your account will be active for 26 weeks, after which you will need to repeat the process and redeem the code again. Note: If you have a current paid New York Times subscription, call 800-698-8437 and cancel your paid subscription, prior to redeeming the code and registering. Our subscription does NOT contain access to Games or Cooking. Once registered, you will have access to the New York Times articles from 1851-present. For the date range 1923-1980, users are limited to 5 accesses per day. (New York Times)
- Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new windowSearch for newspaper articles from hundreds of national and regional newspapers, as well as transcripts of television and radio news. (EBSCO)
- Washington Post (Website) This link opens in a new window*Follow these instructions to create an account with your Richmond email address. Read articles published on Washingonpost.com. Note: You must both verify your email address and activate your subscription after creating your account. If you do not see your account name, try disabling all ad blockers in your browser. (Washington Post)
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowAccess news and company reports, stock quotes, and market information from Dow Jones and Reuters. This database has extensive international news coverage. (Dow Jones)
(find Virginia news on Factiva- search by region)
Richmond News & Media Today
- VPM (Virginia public media)
- Race Capitol (podcast)
- RVAhub.com
- Richmond Times Dispatch (access through Boatwright Library)
- Virginia Mercury
- The Virginia Defender
- Style Weekly
- Richmond Free Press
Think about evaluating each publication before you use it, where do they fall on the political spectrum?
Historical Virginia and Richmond Newspapers
- The Daily Dispatch
- Richmond Planet - (historic Black newspaper- read more about editor/activist journalist John Mitchell Jr.'s contributions here)
- Chronicling America Project - (Library of Congress archive of historical Virginia newspapers )
- Virginia Chronicle (Library of Virginia archive of historical Virginia newspapers)
