News: 1930-1959

This guide recommends resources for finding information in the news - past and present. The UW Libraries has many newspapers on microfilm in addition to those listed here. For help finding more, email mcnews@u.washington.edu

Newspapers as Primary Sources

Newspapers were the primary means of communcating news during this time period; however, the Depression impacted the industry. Patricia Dooley explains that in "early 1931, the owners of the New york World were forced by hard times to sell the paper for a mere $5 million to the Scripps-Howard chain." In response to the economic conditions, a group of reporters and editors established the American Newspaper Guild in 1933. Dooley writes that the Guild was "the first successful attempt to organize the nontechnical side of newspaper production." The Guild was controversial at first, but it still exists today as The Newspaper Guild.

Indexes the Sydney Morning Herald, other capital city dailies, and national weeklies for articles in the social sciences and humanities through 1994. Beginning in 1995, only The Australian, the newspaper of record, is scanned for articles within the scope of PAIS. Microfilm of Australian newspapers may be available through Interlibrary Loan.