LibGuides: Fake News and Alternative Facts: Finding Accurate News: Finding Real News

Real News

ACC News Databases

Austin American-Statesman (1989 - present) This link opens in a new window
Austin's local newspaper.
The current edition of the Austin American-Statesman from NewsBank is typically posted around 5 AM CST and includes full color/full page web and print editions.
The New York Times This link opens in a new window
All ACC faculty, students, and staff have full access to The New York Times website.
First time users register using your ACC email at Access NYTime URL: https://nytimesineducation.com/access-nyt/
The Wall Street Journal Online (website) This link opens in a new window
Database of articles from The Wall Street Journal
Site license for articles from 1984 to the present.
Washington Post This link opens in a new window
Newspaper articles from 1987 to the present.
Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Articles from 23 national and 180 regional newspapers.
Articles from hundreds of domestic and international newspapers and news magazines.

Trusted Online News Sources

SIFT to find better resources!

CRAAP Test for Evaluating Sources

What is CRAAP?
CRAAP is a set of criteria designed by California State University, Chico to help you find the best sources for your school work. It is a good starting point for evaluating sources for academic purposes like papers, reports and speeches.

Is it CRAAP?
Use the following rubric to help you choose sources for your paper or other school work.

Created by Austin Community College Library Services, 2017.

Be skeptical of all sources that you find whether online or in print. Use CRAAP or your own personal criteria to find sources that are appropriate for your purpose. Your criteria for sources for academic work may be very different than your criteria for sources for personal use. It all depends on the situation.

CRAAP Test
Questions to ask about information sources you find before deciding to use them for your school work.

Media Bias Chart

Media Bias Chart
The Media Bias Chart is a "unique way of laying out the complex media landscape in two dimensions: quality, on the vertical axis, and bias, on the horizontal axis." This chart can be helpful in understanding bias in media that we view everyday.

Evaluating Information Tutorial

For more information about finding quality sources, check out the Evaluating Information Tutorial.

Journalism Code of Ethics

Real news is written by real journalists who adhere to a code of ethics for reporting. One way to ensure that you get accurate news is to make sure your news is written by professional journalists rather than content creators from the general public. When in doubt about an author, Google them and find out more.

The Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics outlines that journalists should:

Seek truth and report it
Minimize harm
Act independently
Be accountable and transparent

For a full description click here: SPJ Code of Ethics

Fake News and Alternative Facts: Finding Accurate News: Finding Real News