Newspaper Formats

Introduction
Online Plain Text ~ Online PDFs ~ Online Direct
Microform ~ CD-ROM ~ Paper

The following tables list the main formats for finding newspaper or news content. Some news sources are available in only one format--microfilm, for instance. Many titles are available in two or more formats. The pros and cons of each format are listed, along with an access rating and a preservation rating. The few title examples listed for each format are a brief representation the thousands of resources that are available.

Format:	Plain text, no graphics, no color in the content. Framed by HTML interface.
Examples:	Aggregators include Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, Access World News (aka NewsBank), ProQuest (Ethnic NewsWatch, Alt-PressWatch), and World News Connection (1995/6- ).
Content:	Mainline newspapers, specialized/ethnic newspapers, international newspapers, mostly back to 1980, some back to 1960s. Partial content. Included content fully indexed.
Pros:	Full text searchable; wide range of content; good currency; networked; relatively cheap per content.
Cons:	Changing content; not an archival medium; loss of original formatting and visual information; loss of content (advertising, graphics, Tasini exclusions, multiple daily editions).
Access rating:	Good. Networked.
Preservation rating:	Highly variable; archived content can be withdrawn by individual newspaper publishers at any time.
Notes:	Currently the dominant mode of access that the library provides users via paid subscriptions in terms of breadth and depth of content.

Format:	Reproduction of original in Adobe's Portable Document Format. May be scanned from microfilm versions.
Examples:	ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851 to 2003), The Washington Post (1877 to 1990), and The Wall Street Journal (1889 to 1989). America's Historical Newspapers. Paper of Record.
Content:	ProQuest is mainline newspapers from first publication date to some years ago. Paper of Record coverage is highly idiosyncratic. Full original content displayed in original format as PDF files. Original layout and graphics.
Pros:	Easy to search full text; networked; original format/content.
Cons:	Very expensive either initially or ongoing; currently reproduced from microfilm, quality can be poor; searches are incomplete due to errors in OCRed text. Limited availability of titles. Not current.
Access rating:	Good. Networked.
Preservation rating:	Good.
Notes:	Paper of Record is strong in Mexican and Canadian newspapers with a long run of The Sporting News (1886-2003).

Format:	HTML. May borrow elements from a paper or broadcast version, but has a unique layout.
Examples:	Aggregators for online direct titles: ABYZ News Links and NewsLink. Direct access: The New York Times, Ithaca Journal, Le Monde, La Tercera, Shanghai Daily, CNN, BBC.
Content:	Free Web access; full access may require registration. Same publisher as paper version. May be the current issue only. Lots of color. Very broad representation of geography and language; only the current day or very recent issues available for most titles; sometimes less free/available content than print version; unique content: video and audio files, more color photos; usually current day or week only or free.
Pros:	Timely: the most current available (articles time stamped and updated serially); unique content, sometimes searchable; free. Many titles not available in print.
Cons:	Often contains current content only, usually less content than print or broadcast; ephemeral.
Access rating:	Mixed. Good for very current issues. Some archiving of past content. Networked.
Preservation rating:	Poor to none.
Notes:	The only format that offers streaming audio and video. Concept of editions is gone because of ongoing updating. International coverage is far beyond that is available in other formats; Chile, for instance, has over 60 newspapers available online.

Format:	Film in rolls, individual sheets (microfiche) or on opaque card stock (micro-opaque).
Examples:	The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times; black and international newspapers at the Center for Research Libraries; Early American Newspapers.
Content:	Full runs of major U.S. newspapers in Olin ; shorter runs of smaller newspapers. No color.
Pros:	Historical completeness; original page format; very good preservation medium, easy to borrow from other libraries via ILL (esp. Center For Research Libraries).
Cons:	Not current; lack of indexing; difficult to access (specialized machinery, localized physical access--not networked); some poor reproduction.
Access rating:	Fair.
Preservation rating:	Very good.
Notes:	Invaluable for historians, historical research.

Format:	On disk; viewable only when installed on a computer.
Examples:	Le Monde sur CD-ROM, Pennsylvania Gazette, Civil War Newspapers, 19th Century African-American Newspapers. Plain text. Housed in the Electronic Text Center, 104 Olin.
Content:	Selected runs of a one or a few newspaper titles with a common theme. Newspapers of historical interest: U.S. Civil War titles from the North and South, abolitionist titles.
Pros:	Requires very little storage space. Full text is searchable.
Cons:	Limited content and time period covered; transitional medium.
Access rating:	Fair.
Preservation rating:	Uncertain, but probably poor. Usable life of disks unknown. Software changes will render them obsolete.
Notes:	Specialized use as a searchable language corpus: a snapshot of the language in a given context at a given time.

Format:	Newsprint.
Examples:	Many hundreds--perhaps thousands--of newspapers in the library; most are unindexed. Some represented by only one issue. Many retained for current six months, current year, or until microfilm arrives.
Content:	Very broad representation of geography and languages. Complete content. Original layout. Color graphics in recent years.
Pros:	Original content and format; diversity.
Cons:	Often not indexed; not entirely current and rarely historically complete; much unindexed content; localized physical access (not networked)
Access rating:	Overall, fair.
Preservation rating:	Very poor. Very hard to preserve--bulky, poor quality paper; most titles are recycled after a specified time period, usually months. Exception: paper with rag content--usually 19th to early 20th century or before. Older newspapers are becoming artifacts rather than a primary means for content delivery.
Notes:	For printed indexes of major papers see International Newspaper Indexes in Olin Library and U.S. Newspaper Indexes in Olin Library.