How to find particular newspaper websites:

1. Using a search engine (for example, google.com), type the name of the newspaper in the search box. The site for that newspaper will probably be at or near the top of the list of search results.
2. If you do not know the title of a newspaper, try typing the name of the town or city and the word newspaper (for example: boston newspaper). Again, the site you want will probably be near the top of the list.
3. Use a newspaper finder website (discussed below) to find a newspaper by geographic area.
4. If there is a copy of the newspaper at hand, the web address will probably be displayed near the masthead or on the pages where their mailing address and staff are listed.
5. Printed newspaper directories, such as Working Press of the Nation, usually include web addresses in the directory listings. (Come to the Magazine & Newspaper Desk at the Main Library to see a selection of printed newspaper directories.)

Websites for local newspapers:

The Oakland Tribune (oaklandtribune.com) is one of several Bay Area newspapers owned by ANG (Alameda Newspaper Group). One link on the Tribune site's navigation bar leads to a page called Inside the Bay Area, which includes links to the other ANG newspapers. These include: the Alameda Times-Star, the Fremont Argus, the Hayward Daily Review, the Marin Independent, the San Mateo County Times, and the Tri-Valley Herald. Oaklandtribune.com provides access to classified ads and to an archive of news stories extending back through 1997.

The East Bay Express (eastbayexpress.com) is the most popular free, weekly paper in Oakland, and includes everything you expect from a café paper: politics, social commentary, movie and music reviews, art and culture commentary. Their site includes classified ads too -- updated every Tuesday at midnight. (This is important for apartment seekers!) The paper edition is distributed on Wednesdays. Articles from past issues are available online, back through April 2001.

The San Francisco Chronicle (sfgate.com) provides an archive of articles back through 1995. You can also search for articles published in the San Francisco Examiner during the years these two papers were published jointly. Only articles written by regular staff are indexed -- not freelance, wire-service or syndicated features. You can use quotation marks around search expressions to find phrases, and this really makes a difference. (A search for the words Jerry Brown will result in 2034 hits; a search for the phrase "Jerry Brown" will narrow that result to 274 hits.)

The site for the San Francisco Bay Guardian (sfbg.com) includes "Best of Bay" and lots of local politics, art, music and culture; nightclub guide and restaurant reviews; personal ads; classified ads, etc. The archive extends back through the year 2001.

The SF Weekly (sfweekly.com) also covers San Francisco culture, politics and entertainment. Current classifieds include jobs, housing and a musician's exchange. Most features are included in the archive; the archive of news stories extends back to 1995.

The Oakland Newspaper Index is an online index to articles about Oakland and vicinity in the Oakland Tribune and other local papers, produced by Oakland Public Library staff.

How to interpret newspaper websites -- finding news articles:

These days, most newspaper websites provide some news content for free. The top stories of the day -- or of the last few days -- will probably be easy to find. There may be a little box inviting you to search recent editions by text word. It may or may not be clearly stated which issues of the paper are being searched, or what sections of recent issues are not being searched. (Classified advertising, death notices, short articles, freelance articles or articles drawn from news services are often not searchable.)

Some newspapers (for example, the San Francisco Chronicle) provide free access to an extensive archive. You need to find the special screen to search the archives, and it may take some hunting. Look for the words ARCHIVE or SEARCH on the vertical menu bar on the left hand side of the page. The search screen for the archives will probably be explicit about what years are covered; also, there will be instructions on how to search, or how to formulate an advanced search

At the Magazine & Newspaper reference desk, people usually ask for news content that can be found in recent issues, or in the archive of older issues. Sometimes there is not an archive, or it doesn't extend far enough back in time to include the item needed. The next step is to contact the newspaper directly, or the public library in that area. The staff at the magazine and newspaper desk can help you find the contact information you need.

Sometimes you can search the archive and find index entries, abstracts, or the first 50 words of the article -- but access to the rest of the article costs money. For example, both the New York Times and the San Jose Mercury-News have excellent websites with many features available for free, but there will be a fee for archived articles People have the option of using their own credit card to pay for an article, or finding the article in the Library's microfilm and printing it out for fifteen cents a page. Oakland Public Library has the New York Times on microfilm back through 1851, but people will have to go to another library to find pre-1985 articles in the San Jose Mercury-News.

*OPL's contract with NewsBank allows access to Mercury-News articles online, back through 1985

How to interpret newspaper websites -- everything but the news:

Most newspapers include many "features" besides news content, and newspaper websites tend to operate the same way. It may be difficult to find news because of the clutter of special features and advertising. These features may include:

• Advertising
• Classified advertising
• Real estate listings
• Job listings
• Horoscopes
• Weather
• Event guides
• Film & entertainment reviews
• Restaurant guides
• Links to a variety of sites that will provide whatever kind of help you need to spend your money: buy a car, a house, a burial plot, travel, invest, etc.

Often the special features available on a newspaper's website aren't links to other pages on the site, but links to other sites entirely. In the same way that newspapers rely on syndicated services to provide features like horoscopes, comics, or advice to the lovelorn, newspaper websites will provide links to other websites, not owned by the newspaper's publisher, and linked from other newspaper websites as well. For example, the "event guide" may be a link to the site of a company like citysearch.com that provides event schedules for many different metro areas.

Newspaper wire services -- yesterday and today:

United Press International (UPI), Associated Press (AP) and Reuters were the most prominent newspaper wire services through most of the 20th century. Each organization has now established a presence on the internet, but they have a lot of competition. UPI (upi.com) is now a source only for news photographs. The Associated Press (ap.org) does not provide its content to the public over the internet, but refers to newspaper sites that include AP content, such the San Jose Mercury-News. A smidgen of current news is available, but the site is intended more for commerce than for news distribution. The Reuters site (reuters.com) still has a European focus (founded in London, 1849, by a German, to report business news from Paris), and provides current news for free.

The website for the New York Times offers a wide variety of services. They distribute their own news -- as well as coverage from 12 "partners" including Cox News Service and Hearst News Service -- to 650 clients in more than 50 countries. The New York Times Syndicate repackages and distributes content from the Harvard Business Review, the Economist and other sources outside of the NYT itself.

Newspaper Finder Websites:

Some websites serve as "portals" to dozens, hundreds or even thousands of individual newspaper sites. For example, the site for the Oakland Tribune can serve as a portal to all the other ANG newspapers. Several hundred newspapers nationwide (at least 30 of which are owned by Knight-Ridder) make their archives available for a fee through NewsLibrary.com.

Here's a selection of newspaper finder websites which you might want to visit:

Internet Public Library list of online newspapers: ipl.org/div/news One of the biggest and best sites; covers the whole world; favors publications in English but does include other languages; also: no advertising!

Mexican Newspapers Online :
http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Research/Subject/mexicannewsguide.html
This site is the work of Rita Wilson of The University of Texas, San Antonio.

Multimeta :
http://www.lengua.com/zeitung.htm
250 online newspapers and magazines. International -- mostly English and German language, but includes other languages too

Newspapers.com:
http://www.newspapers.com
Includes features such as: state press publications, industry news, classified advertising publications, college and university newspapers, religious publications, online news services, and lots of really annoying pop-up advertising.

The paperboy:
http://www.thepaperboy.com
Searches over 4000 newspapers from 166 countries; companion site to Magazine Boy.

Alternative and progressive newspapers -- For news and viewpoints outside of the corporate/commercial mainstream, the following websites will be helpful:

AlterNet (alternet.org) includes pertinent archive of stories syndicated from the news weeklies (e.g., Village Voice, The Nation, Pacific News Service)

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (aan.org) The East Bay Express or the San Francisco Bay Guardian are examples of alternative newsweeklies.

Independent Press Association (http://www.indypress.org) included a "Media Links" page on their website that leads to a variety of alternative points of view.

New California Media Online (ncmonline.com) is the best site aggregating ethnic media available in California; includes links to African-American, Latino, Arab, Asian, Indigenous peoples, East Indian, Iranian, Irish and Multi-ethnic publications.

Pacific News Service (pacificnews.org) is the Reuters of progressive and community oriented news. The source of many stories and features published in progressive newspapers, magazines and radio stations.

Content updated October 2007