Media Bias Assignment
Use RefWorks to organize your sources and to create your bibliography.
A word (or two) on "bias"
Bias and partisanship are not things to be avoided -- rather, it is the researcher's responsibility to acknowledge bias when it exists. Detecting bias is a critical skill. Here are some resources:
Handout on detecting bias in news reporting
Evaluating sources (from Colorado State University)
Some important publications and their biases (links lead to database for searching the publication):
The Wall Street Journal (editorials: conservative) [abstracts available on Lexis-Nexis; full-text on paper or microfilm]
The New York Times (commentary: conservative and liberal) [available on Lexis-Nexis]
The Washington Times (conservative)
The Nation (political: liberal/progressive)
The New Republic (political: neo-liberal)
Mother Jones (political: progressive)
National Review (political: conservative)
American Spectator (political: conservative)
Reason (political: libertarian)
Nature (scientific community)
Science (scientific community)
Christian Century (mainline Protestant)
Christianity Today (conservative Protestant)
Commentary (Jewish and politically conservative)
JAMA (medical community - U.S.)
Lancet (medical community - Great Britain)
(from Columbus State University)
To find material from the radical and fringe press, search the Alternative Press Index.
To find political blogs, go to Salon's Blog Report
Think Tanks
Finding Newspaper Articles:
Lexis-Nexis (includes New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal abstracts) Academic Search Premier Newspapers on the Web:
NewsDirectory (International; search by region or topic)
NewsLink (International)
Pandia Newsfinder (International; the day's news)
World Newspapers
Newstand (includes subscription information)
Web Search Engines & Websites:
Google's advanced searchTHOMAS (for searching congressional bills and Congressional Record,d 1993-present)
USAsearch.gov
Google US Government
GPO Access
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States