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News Archives

News archives are an invaluable source of information about prospects. Which is hardly surprising, really, given the depths to which journalists will stoop to get the information they want. Depths, of course, to which we more moral researchers would never plumb. But that doesn't stop us from using their ill-gotten gains, especially if there's a chance of a major donation in it.

If money is no object, you really should consider an ongoing annual subscription to one of the two major sources of news archives available: Factiva.com and Nexis UK.

 

Each of them has a comprehensive archive of national and regional newspapers, specialist magazines and journals, as well as other useful sources of news from around the world. You can find VIP's excellent comparative review of Factiva and Nexis here. 

 

If your budget does not run to an annual subscription, which will cost several thousand pounds, then both products are also available on a pay as you use basis, which may put them within reach of your budget.

 

But there are several relatively inexpensive alternatives.

 

NewsUK

 

Provides an archive of international, national and regional news, combining the most popular British newspaper titles in one database. Does not have the breadth of coverage of the 'big three' above, but is substantially cheaper.

 

HighBeam

 

Boasts an archive of more than 35 million documents from over 3,000 sources some going back 20 years. Intended by its creator to fill the gap between Google and Lexis Nexis/Factiva.

 

FindArticles

 

Provides access to "millions of articles from thousands of top publications" with archives dating back to 1984 (although some of the content is fee-based via HighBeam). FREE-ISH

 

BBC News

 

Online coverage of regional, national and international news stories from Aunty Beeb going back almost ten years. FREE

 

Google News Archive

 

Allows one to search and explore historical archives and can automatically create timelines which show selected results from relevant time periods. FREE-ISH

 

Local, National & International News

 

All the major newspapers have websites and many have searchable archives going back several years. Most require a subscription to access past stories, but a subscription to all the major newspapers would still be cheaper than a subscription to one of the 'big three' above.

 

Daily Mail

 

An admirably flexible search facility, but the archive only goes back to January 2000. FREE

 

Financial Times 

 

Offer several options including specialist company and financial news but only a 5 year news archive.

 

The Guardian 

 

Has an archive going back some 10 years (a more restricted archive goes back decades). FREE

 

The Indepdendent

 

News archive going back to January 1999. FREE

 

The Times

 

Archive of The Times and The Sunday Times going back to 1985.

 

The Telegraph

 

Another flexible search facility, going back to 1996. FREE

 

Scotland's National News Archive

 

Compiled from news stories in The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times, this archive offers access to thousands of articles dating back to 1998.

 

Belfast Telegraph

 

News archive going back to January 1995. FREE

 

The Daily Express does not appear to have an online archive, but does have an irritating number of popups when you open their website, so no link for them!

 

British Newspapers and News Online has a comprehensive list of British newspapers publishing online news and information, including more than 800 local and regional papers in the UK and Ireland.

 

Local papers and their websites are also listed at MediaUK, The Newspaper Society and the UK site of Paperboy. MediaUK also have a list of specialist magazines (with websites) which could prove handy.

 

Topix.net has a comprehensive list of local UK news stories listed by town and "continually updated from thousands of sources on the web."

 

For lists of English language newspapers and magazines from around the globe, check out world-newspapers.com and Paperboy. For local news from around the world, organised by country and city, use Topix.net.

 

 

NOTE: Regarding the "big three", before parting with your hard earned cash, I strongly recommend that you read Paul Pedley's Tips on Negotiating Licences for Electronic Products. And always, always read any contract thoroughly and make sure you understand it before you sign on the dotted line. Specifically,

  1. Check that you understand exactly what you will be paying for; are there any hidden costs of which you are unaware? Will you be charged extra for 'excessive use'?
  2. Check when your contract runs out; does it come to an end after a year or do you need to cancel it by a certain date to avoid automatically subscribing for another year?
  3. Check by how much the product will increase year on year; it is of little use if you negotiate a good deal for year 1, if the price then doubles for year 2.
  4. Always haggle over the price. Let the scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian be your guide: "Four? For this gourd? Four?! Look at it. It's worth ten if it's worth a shekel." etc. Trial several similar products at once and you can then play one off against the other.

 

Page updated 22/07/10