Research Guides: News & Newspapers: Newspapers at the MJC Library

Five Steps for Vetting a News Source

Follow these steps to learn how to determine if a news story is credible. Click on the image to see the full infographic.

"Is It Legit? Five Steps for Vetting a News Source." News Literacy Project, newslit.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IsItLegit_infographic.pdf. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.

Is It Legit? Five Steps for Vetting a News Source
This is a Word document of the infographic to help with accessibility.

Why Use Newspapers

Newspapers are a great resource to use if you:

Are researching a local topic, or
Want to find up-to-date information on a current topic.

Historic newspapers are a great resource to use for primary source materials on historic topics.

Photo by Mykola Vasylechko. Світлина Миколи Василечка.

Access to Selected News Sources Available Through MJC

Here is a list of selected newspapers you have access to as a student at MJC.

New York Times
The digital version of one of the U.S.'s "papers of record" is available to you free of charge as an MJC student, staff, or faculty member.
The Washington Post
American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and has a large national audience. The Post was founded in 1877.
The Guardian
The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian, before it changed its name in 1959.
The Modesto Bee
The Modesto Bee is the local newspaper for Modesto, CA. Founded in 1884, it serves Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale, Ceres, Patterson and Sonora.
Atlantic Monthly
A general interest magazine covering a broad range of topics including politics, society, the arts, and culture. Contains some articles and reviews originally issued in the print version of Atlantic Monthly, as well as material issued exclusively for the online version. You can also read the digital edition of the Atlantic in our database, Flipster

News Coverage in MJC Databases

Library article databases provide you with complete articles from numerous news publications for free.

Get started by using these databases below:

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Use this database to find credible sources for topics in law, political science, and business. This is your source for law review articles and court cases.
Nexis Uni includes:
• Print and online journals, television and radio broadcasts,
newswires and blogs
• Local, regional, national and international newspapers
with deep archives
• Extensive legal sources for federal and state cases and
statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions
since 1790
• Unparalleled business information on more than
80 million U.S. and international companies and more
than 75 million executives

View online tutorials here
Access World News This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Use Access World News when you need to find current news stories. It's especially useful for local and California news. This is your source for The Modesto Bee from January 1989 to the present.
What's included: Articles from of local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers as well as full-text content of key international sources. It includes in-depth special reports and hot topics from around the country.

Watch this short video to learn how to find The Modesto Bee.
Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Newspaper Source Plus includes more than 860 full-text newspapers, providing more than 35 million full-text articles. In addition, the database features more than 857,000 television and radio news transcripts
World News Digest This link opens in a new window
Brings together and enhances nearly seven decades of news from the Facts On File World News Digest in print. This archival record of domestic and international news covers all major political, social, and economic events since November 1940 to the present and is updated weekly
Gale Databases This link opens in a new window
Search over 35 databases simultaneously that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. Be sure to filter your search results to newspapers.
CountryWatch This link opens in a new window
Why search here? This database provides political, geographic, economic, and business information for the countries of the world.
What's included: Detailed country reports and news from around the world