News & Weather Resources

Local & U.S. newspapers, wires services, and news magazines Weather resources
International news coverage Librarian-compiled news lists and resources
Alternative newspapers & magazines Sources covering special topics
Alternative news organizations Lists of alternative news sources
Media watchdogs sites  

Local and U.S. News Sources

St. Kate's News and Current Events Databases

News - Online Sources

News Services

News Magazines

Web search engines

Most Internet search engines (Google, Yahoo!, etc.) provide computer-generated news pages, the most interesting of which is probably Google News. Through an “automated grouping process,” articles and photos from various news sources are grouped together, and links are provided to the source of each story. In that way, a reader can compare the reporting provided by each source.

 

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International News Coverage

Aljazeera.net
http://english.aljazeera.net/
English-language, online version of the newspaper of the Arab world.

BBC World Service
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml
World news from the British Broadcasting Corporation

CBC – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
http://www.cbc.ca
Good source for regional news from across Canada, with additional coverage of world issues. Provides links to CBC radio and TV programming sites.

Deutsche Welle
http://www.dw-world.de
An international news and broadcasting service based in Germany and available online in 30 languages.

Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldnewsguide/
Popular U.K. daily paper and Web news source. The World News Guide provides news of world events, as well as links to news sources by region and country.

NPR -- National Public Radio (U.S.)
http://news.npr.org/world.html
Includes news, audio archives and transcripts of NPR radio news and programs.

Online sites for selected alternative magazines and newspapers

In These Times
http://www.inthesetimes.com/
Web site for In These Times, a national, biweekly magazine of news and opinion published in Chicago since 1976. Covers the labor movement, environment, feminism, grassroots politics, minority communities and the media, corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing. Features award-winning investigative reporting and insightful analysis of national and international affairs.

Mother Jones
http://www.motherjones.com/
Web site for the independent, nonprofit magazine Mother Jones. Coverage includes social justice, the environment, politics, and culture; includes book, film and music reviews. Besides news, features of the site include the text of the current issue, a searchable on-line archive back to 1993, commentary and online discussions.

The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/
Begun in 1865, The Nation boasts itself as the U.S.’s "oldest continuously published weekly magazine." Seeks to bring a critical voice to social and political issues. Archives of selected articles from issues dating back to 1999 and from Web-only articles.

The Progressive
http://www.progressive.org/
(From the Web site): “The mission of The Progressive is to be a journalistic voice for peace and social justice at home and abroad. The magazine, its affiliates, and its staff steadfastly oppose militarism, the concentration of power in corporate hands, the disenfranchisement of the citizenry, poverty, and prejudice in all its guises. We champion peace, social and economic justice, civil rights, civil liberties, human rights, a preserved environment, and a reinvigorated democracy.” Archives selected articles from issues dating back to 1998.

The Utne Reader
http://www.utne.com/
Articles gathered from over 2,000 alternative news sources, covering art, media, politics, the environment, people, and a wide range of other areas. The current issue is available online, while back issues must be purchased.

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Organizations that provide dissident and liberal alternative news

Alternative Insight
http://www.alternativeinsight.com/main.html

Alternet
http://www.alternet.org/
Project of the Independent Media Project. Seeks to provide coverage of grassroots, investigative journalism, on a wide range of topics including the environment, public policy, political and social issues, technology and cultural trends.

The American Prospect
http://www.prospect.org/
Launched in 1990 as a quarterly magazine to provide liberal prospectives on democracy, just society and liberal politics.

Between the Lines
http://www.btlonline.org/
Web site supporting a weekly syndicated program produced by WPKN Radio, a noncommercial, listener-supported station in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Provides alternative coverage political, economic and social topics from a point of view progressives and activists, who they feel are ignored or marginalized by mainstream media.

Democracy Now!
http://www.democracynow.org/
Independent and international news source, Democracy Now! is an award-winning national program that is aired on the radio and on community public access TV across the country. Hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. Locally, Democracy Now! can be heard on KFAI community radio, 90.3 FM in Minneapolis and 106.7 FM in St. Paul, Monday - Friday at 12-1 pm and 5-6 am. For other local stations, visit the Web site. The Web site also gives headlines and summaries of the daily broadcasts and links to other news items of interest. Highly recommended program.

Independent Media Center
http://www.indymedia.org
Begun in Seattle during the 1999 WTO protests, the Independent Media Center is a grassroots network of collectively run media outlets. They strive present news in a way that is radical, accurate, passionate and truthful.

OneWorld.net
http://www.oneworld.net
One of a network of TV and radio stations that attempt to be a grassroots voice for human rights and sustainable economic development.

Pacifica Radio
http://pacifica.org/
Listener-supported, community-based radio network out of Washington, D.C. Their mission is to disseminate information on the causes of conflict, and to promote the study of political and economic problems and causes of antagonism. The Web site provides links to Pacifica Radio programs via RealPlayer audio or transcripts, and includes searchable archives of more than 40,000 audiotapes of speeches, public affairs programs, documentaries, musical performances, commentaries, and news.

Salon
http://www.salon.com/news/index.html
News and culture online magazine. First published in 1995 and winner of numerous awards for journalism and site design.

World Press.org
http://www.worldpress.org/
According to their mission statement, World Press seeks to provide readers “with a succinct view of the political and economic climate outside of the U.S., as well as how the rest of the world perceives the role the U.S. plays in the global community.” Educational interactivity includes maps, country info and news articles geared toward discussion by specific age groups.

Z Net
http://www.zmag.org/
Z Net is a vast Web site compiling alternative views on politics, the economy, animal rights, the environment and ecology, labor, international relations and more. The site includes Z Magazine, an online monthly e-zine “of critical thinking on political, cultural, social, and economic life in the United States.”

News sources covering special topics

Corporate Watchdogs

CorpWatch
http://www.corpwatch.org/
Founded in 1996, San Francisco-based "CorpWatch investigates and exposes corporate violations of human rights, environmental crimes, fraud and corruption around the world. We work to foster global justice, independent media activism and democratic control over corporations" (from the Web site). Reporting covers broad subject areas that include chemicals, manufacturing, financial services and banking, natural resources, war profiteering, much more. Select tabs for industries or for issues. A useful feature is a guide for conducting research on companies or topics. Choose the tab for Research.

Environment

OnEarth
http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/default.asp
Award-winning environmental magazine featuring coverage of "politics, nature, wildlife, culture, science, health, the challenges that confront our planet, and the solutions that promise to heal and protect it" (from the Web site). Founded in 1979 as The Amicus Journal and published by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Human Rights

Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org/
Offers a searchable library of AI provides news and updates on international human rights issues.

Latin America

NACLA Report of the Americas
http://nacla.org/
North American congress on Latin America is a non-profit independent organization founded in 1966. It reports on U.S.- Latin America relations and a wide range of social, political and economic topics. From the Web site: "With a critical eye on U.S. foreign policy, we continue to examine the interrelationships between multiple forms of social exclusion—class, race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality—that are at the heart of the ongoing militarism, human rights violations, environmental destruction and poverty that plague the region."

Technology

Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com/
Award-winning magazine and Web site published at MIT. It features news "to promote the understanding of emerging technologies and to analyze their commercial, social, and political impacts" (from the Web site). Highly readable with national and international coverage. Technology Review has been around since 1899, making it the world's oldest technology magazine.

Lists of alternative news sources

The Alternative Press Center
http://altpress.org
Producer of the Alternative Press Index, a subject index to alternative, radical and left-wing newspapers, magazines, and periodicals. The wealth of this resource is in its subject guide to 425+ links to worldwide alternative online news resources.

JournalismNet
http://www.journalismnet.com/alternate/
Links to alternate news sources from the U.S. and around the world on a variety of subjects.

NewPages.com
http://www.newpages.com/
A portal to independents, including bookstores, weeklies, periodicals and record labels.

NewsLink.org
http://newslink.org/
Links to newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, business and additional news sources.

Media watchdogs

AJR - American Journalism Review
http://www.ajr.org
American Journalism Review is a national magazine that covers all aspects of print, television, radio and online media. Published 10 times a year by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. It examines how the media cover specific stories and broader coverage trends, analyzes ethical dilemmas in journalism and monitors the impact of technology on how journalism is practiced and on the final product.

FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
http://www.fair.org/
(From the FAIR Web site): “ FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalizes public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.”

On the Media
http://www.wnyc.org/onthemedia/
Weekly program produced by WNYC, New York’s public radio station. Provides commentary and discussion on events of the week, focusing on the media’s presentation of major news stories. Listen to programs or read the transcripts. Archive back to January 2001 available.

PR Watch.org
http://www.prwatch.org/
News quarterly published by the Center for Media and Democracy. PR Watch "investigates and exposes how the public relations industry and other professional propagandists manipulate public information, perceptions and opinion on behalf of governments and special interests" (from the Web site) and aims to strengthen democracy, expose spin and promote media literacy.

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Librarian-compiled news lists and resources

Internet Public Library
http://www.ipl.org/div/news/
Provides links to a vast array of newspapers, searchable by title, country, region, or state

Special Libraries Association, News Division
http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/
(From the Web site): “An international organization for print and broadcast news librarians, news researchers and others interested in the role information plays in quality journalism.” Provides links to U.S. and international news sources, information about being a news librarian, internship and job bank for news librarians, newsletter, and more.

Library of Congress Newspaper Indexes, Archives and Morgues
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/news/oltitles.html
LOC listing of online sources for retrospective queries.

Weather Resources

National Weather Service Interactive Weather Information Network
Current Conditions, forecasts, and weather warnings.

Minnesota local weather including the Twin Cities forecast
From the National Weather Service

UM Weather
All sorts of weather information: current conditions, forecasts, current weather radar, etc., from the University of Michigan.

Weather.com: The Weather Channel