Social Policy and Programs
Resources to research policy for social work practice.
Detroit Free Press
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Detroit Free Press Complete (1831-present)Combined access to all articles from all editions of the Detroit Free Press
Detroit News
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Detroit News Archive (Access World News)A complete archive of all issues of the Detroit News, from the first issue in 1873 to the present. Includes page images for issues from 1873-1998, and 2018 to the present; text only for 1999-2018.
Current News Databases
Here is a list of some of the most comprehensive library databases for searching current newspapers.
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ProQuest News & Current EventsCombined access to all 50 ProQuest news databases, both historical and current, including ProQuest Global Newsstream.
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Access World NewsOver 3,000 US newspapers as well as broadcast news transcripts and articles from news magazines.
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Ethnic NewswatchA full text database of 200 publications of the ethnic, minority and native press. Searchable in both English and Spanish, with titles in both languages. Coverage starts in 1960.
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FactivaOffers company and industry financial data and news stories, as well as full text articles in 6,000 trade publications, newspapers, newswires and magazines.
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Michigan Newspapers from Access World NewsOne hundred-thirty local newspapers and news from the state of Michigan. Some from the late 1990's to current.
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Nexis UniCovers a wide range of news from hundreds of US papers. Also provides broadcast transcripts from television and radio news programs.
Historical Newspapers
Newspaper articles are excellent resources for following the history and background of policy development. While much of our current news is available from individual newspaper web sites, you will likely need to consult library databases to search for older newspaper articles.
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19th Century U.S. NewspapersHundreds of digitized U.S. newspapers covering 1800-1899.
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African American Newspapers, 1827-1998Covers approximately 270 U.S. newspapers from more than 35 states.
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African American Newspapers: The 19th CenturyIncludes searchable full text of Freedom's Journal, The Coloured American, The North Star, The National Era, Provincial Freeman, Frederick Douglass Paper and The Christian Recorder.
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American Jewish NewspapersSearchable access to the complete backfiles of four major American Jewish newspapers, digitized from microfil, 1854-2000.
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American Historical NewspapersThousands of titles available with coverage from 1690 to 1980. This database includes Hispanic American Newspapers from 1808-1980.
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Black Historical NewspapersFull-text available for six major newspapers published by and for the African American communities, including Atalanta Daily World (1931-2003), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988), Chico Defender (1909-1975), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), and Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002).
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Ethnic NewswatchA full text database of 200 publications of the ethnic, minority and native press. Searchable in both English and Spanish, with titles in both languages. Coverage starts in 1960.
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News, Policy & Politics Magazine ArchiveNews, Policy & Politics Magazine Archive offers digital access to the archival runs of 15 20th/21st-century consumer magazines (Such as Newsweek) covering such fields as the history of politics, current events, public policy, and international relations.
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ProQuest Historical NewspapersFeatures historic full text coverage of major newspapers in the U.S., including Wall Street Journal (1889-1992), New York Times (1851-2006), Chicago Tribune (1849-1986), Washington Post (1877-1993) and Los Angeles Times (1881-1986).
Evaluating News Sources, Bias & Balance
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AllSidesThis website offers news coverage from multiple outlets and provides ratings of political leanings of each site.
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Media Bias/Fact CheckEvaluates news, media, and other organizations; rates each for credibility (level of factual accuracy) and political bias
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FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy in ReportingFAIR is a media watch group that assesses media bias and censorship.
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Watchdog or Fact-checking sitesLinks to a U-M Library guide on fact-checking sights, Snopes and beyond.
Last Updated: Dec 3, 2025 2:36 PM
Subjects: Course Help, Social Sciences
Tags: social work