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News, Media, and Bias: Liberal, Neutral, & Conservative Periodicals

About This Guide

The resources on this guide are provided to help students identify the political bias of major periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals of opinion, peer-reviewed journals, journals of opinion). Some of the titles are in library databases, some are only on the web, some are in both places.

About Journals of Opinion

Some periodicals report new events in a factual manner; newspapers are an example of factual news reporting.

Some periodicals provide perspectives, commentaries, and opinions on newsworthy events. These types of periodicals are called journals of opinion. Because opinions are rarely neutral, you can expect journals of opinion to have a political bias. Journals of opinion are useful periodicals to use when you need to find opposing viewpoints on an issue.

Liberal/Left & Progressive Periodicals

These periodicals identify as having a liberal (left) bias.

(The) Atlantic (ASP, PQ)
(The) Black Scholar* (ASP)
Canadian Dimension (ASP, PQ)
Commonweal (ASP, PQ, Print)
Dissent (ASP, PQ)
Humanist (ASP, PQ) - progressive
Monthly Review (ASP, PQ)
Mother Jones (ASP, Print)
Nation (ASP, Print)
National Catholic Reporter (ASP, PQ)
New Republic (ASP, Print)
New Statesman (ASP, PQ)
New York Times (PQ, Print)
New Yorker (ASP, PQ, Print)
(The) Progressive (ASP, PQ)
Washington Post (ASP, PQ)

*Peer-reviewed

Location Codes

The codes after the titles in the lists on this page indicate which library database(s) provide full-text articles, and whether the print (paper) editions are available in the library.

  • ASP = Academic Search Premier (now Academic Search Complete)
  • BSP = Business Source Premier (now Business Source Complete)
  • LRC = Literature Resource Center
  • MFP = MasterFile Premier
  • PQ = ProQuest
  • PR = Print

 

Off-campus log in required to view database articles.

Neutral/Center Periodicals

These periodicals identify as reporting close to the center, with a neutral bias.

Bloomberg Businessweek (PR)
Christian Science Monitor (ASP)
Economist (PQ, Print)
The Fiscal Times
Maclean's (ASP, PQ)
Public Opinion Quarterly* (BSP)
Society (ASP, PQ)
Time (ASP)
U.S. News - The Report (ASP)
U.S. News & World Report (Print)
(The) Week - multiple viewpoints (Print)

What's The Difference?

It's easy to be confused about the meanings of political labels like liberal, conservative, progressive, and libertarian. Here are some articles from the subject encyclopedia, Political Theories for Students, available in Gale Virtual Reference Library:

 

Off-campus log in required to view database articles.

Conservative/Right Periodicals

These periodicals identify as having a conservative (right) bias.

American Conservative (MFP)
American Spectator
Cato Journal* (ASP)
Commentary (ASP, PQ)
Crisis 
First Things (ASP, PQ)
The Hill
Modern Age* (ASP, LRC)
National Interest (ASP)
National Review (ASP, Print)
New American (ASP)
Wall Street Journal (PQ, Print)
Washington Examiner
Washington Times
Weekly Standard (PQ, Print)

* Peer-reviewed
 

Libertarian/Independent Periodicals

These periodicals identify as having a libertarian or independent focus.

Reason: Free Minds and Free Markets (ASP, PQ)
Skeptical Inquirer
The Spectator (ASP, LRC, PQ)
Washington Monthly (ASP, PQ)

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