Newspapers,
journals and magazines are called periodicals, (or serials)
because they are published periodically at regular intervals-daily,
weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly.
Go to books for a lengthy treatment of a topic; consult periodicals to focus
on a specific aspect of the topic and get current information on it.
Audience: General
public
Purpose: Reporting
primarily with some analysis
Content: International,
national, and local news; subjects of current interest,
including popular culture; opinion pieces; photographs
Writers: Journalists
primarily, with some material by specialists
Timeliness: Very
current. News stories are reported within a day of
their occurrence by daily papers.
Advantages: Newspapers
are particularly useful for very current information or for
information on a specific region - Allentown, for
example.
Disadvantages:
Most newspaper articles
are fairly brief. Because of this and the fact that they are
aimed at a general audience, they often lack depth. In addition,
depending on the newspaper, articles might reflect some bias.
