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Janice Tigar-Kramer Reference Librarian |
Phone: (248)
370-2451 E-mail: tigarkra@oakland.edu |
Encyclopedias
International Encyclopedia of Communications, v1-4 – Ref. P 87.5.I5 1989 – Covers a range of topics in journalism and mass communications. Includes signed entries with bibliographies, helpful cross-references, illustrations and an index (v4).
Writer’s Encyclopedia – Ref. PN 141.W72 1996 – Includes terms, techniques, procedures and trade expressions used in publishing, broadcasting, public relations and related fields.
Mass Media and the Constitution: An Encyclopedia of Supreme Court Decisions – Ref. KF 2750.A7 H58 1989 – Summarizes U.S. Supreme Court cases that involve mass communications. Entries are arranged thematically in broad headings, such as copyright, censorship, free speech, libel and privacy. Aimed at the layman.
World Press Encyclopedia: A Survey of Press Systems Worldwide, v1-2 – Ref. PN 4728. Q53 2003 – Covers the history of the press in more than 200 countries. Essays are arranged alphabetically by country and vary in length.
Concise Encyclopedia of Ethics in Politics and the Media – Ref. PN 4756.C645 2001 – Offers a collection of essays on ethics in news, entertainment and politics. Coverage ranges from freedom of the press to objectivity in reporting to pornography. Includes many updated articles that originally appeared in Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics (Ref. BJ 63.E44 1998), plus new entries.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio, v1-3 – TK 6544.M84 2004 – Includes histories of major radio stations, biographies of radio personalities and assorted topics. Provides 600 signed entries with bibliographies. Emphasis on U.S. broadcasting.
Dictionaries
NTC’s Mass Media Dictionary – Ref. P 87.5.E45 1990 – Defines more than 20,000 terms used in radio, television, newspapers, publishing and related areas. Includes useful cross-references.
The Media Law Dictionary – Ref. KF 2750.A68 M87 – Includes words and phrases that routinely appear in media law. A useful reference, but not all-inclusive, according to the editor.
The Oxford Dictionary of New Words: A Popular Guide to the Words in the News – Ref. PE 1630.O94 1997 – Covers words that surfaced between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s. Emphasis on terms used in politics, business, computing, communications and the environment. Includes cross-references.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of Media and Communications – Ref. P 87.5.W45 1996 – Defines more than 35,000 terms used in journalism, publishing, broadcasting, public relations, television and advertising. Includes jargon and technical terms alike.
Biographical Sources
Use these sources to locate biographical information on leading journalists:
Journalist Biographies Master Index: A Guide to more than 90,000 Sketches of and References to Historical and Modern Journalists in over 200 Biographical Directories and other Sources (superseded by Biography and Genealogy Master Index online) – Ref. PN 4820.J58
Biographical Dictionary of American Journalism – Ref. PN 4871.B56 1989
Biographical Dictionary of American Newspaper Columnists – Ref. PN 4871.B57 1995
American Newspaper Journalists, 1873-1900 (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v23) – Ref. PN 4871 .A49 1983
American Newspaper Journalists, 1901-1925 (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v25) – Ref. PN 4871 .A5 1984
American Newspaper Journalists, 1926-1950 (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v29) – Ref. PN 4871 .A52 1984
American Newspaper Journalists, 1690-1872 (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v43) – Ref. PN 4871 .A48 1985
American Magazine Journalists, 1741-1850 (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v73) – Ref. PN 4871 .A47 1998
American Magazine Journalists, 1850-1900 (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v79) – Ref. PN 4871 .A474 1988
American Magazine Journalists, 1900-1960, first series (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v91) – Ref. PN 4871.A475 1990
American Magazine Journalists, 1900-1960, second series (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v137) – Ref. PN 4871.A475 1994
Directories
Use these comprehensive sources to find media contacts, circulation statistics and related information:
Burrelle’s Media Directory. Broadcast Media. Radio – Ref. HF 6146. R3
Burrelle’s Media Directory. Broadcast Media. Television and Cable – Ref. HF 6146.R3 B865
Burrelle’s Media Directory. Daily Newspapers – Ref. PN 4867.B3 B866
Burrelle’s Media Directory. Magazines and Newsletters – Ref. PN 4867.B3 B84
Burrelle’s Media Directory. Newspapers and Related Media. Non-daily Newspapers – Ref. PN 4867. B3 B82
Bacon’s Newspaper Directory – Ref. PN 4867.B32
Bacon’s Magazine Directory – Ref. PN 4867.B3
Bacon’s Radio Directory – Ref. HF 6146.R3 B721
Bacon’s TV/Cable Directory: Directory of TV/Cable Stations Programming Contacts – Ref. HF 6146.T42 B72
Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, v1-5 – Ref. PN 4867.A97
Editor & Publisher International Year Book, v1-3 – Ref. PN 4709.E34 – Lists dailies, including foreign newspapers (v1), weeklies and specialty publications in the U.S. and Canada (v2) and media contacts (v3).
Style Manuals
Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law: With Internet Guide and Glossary – Ref. PN 4783.A83 2002 – Called “the reporter’s bible,” this widely used manual provides guidelines on spelling, usage, grammar and punctuation. Also covers libel, privacy and copyright. Includes special sections on business and sports.
The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: A Desk Book of Guidelines for Writers and Editors – Ref. PN 4783.J6 1976 – The New York Times writers, and other journalists, use this respected stylebook. Covers style and usage, including abbreviations, city names, capitalizations, compound forms and numbers.
Garner’s Modern American Usage – Ref. PE 2827.G37 2003 – This comprehensive reference/usage manual is aimed at all serious writers. Includes succinct word entries and essays on problematic style issues.
A Broadcast News Manual of Style – Ref. PN 4784.B75 M24 1994 – A succinct manual that covers the radio script format, word usage and legal aspects of broadcast news.
The Elements of Style – Ref. PE 1408.S772 2000 – William Strunk, Jr.’s timeless little text covers basic principles of composition, grammar, word usage and writing style.
Titles Worth Browsing
Taking Their Place: A Documentary History of Women and Journalism – PN 4888.W65 B45 1993 – This brightly-written text presents the history of women journalists in the U.S. from Colonial times to the early 1990s. Includes bibliographies and original documents.
American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States through 260 years: 1690 to 1950 – PN 4855.M63 – This classic traces the history of journalism from the Colonial era to the 1950s. Covers the development of reporting, printing and distribution methods. Includes an extensive bibliography for each time period.
The American Journalist: A Portrait of U.S. News People and their Work – PN 4871.W4 1986 – This engaging text covers the backgrounds and characteristics of U.S. journalists working in the early 1980s.
The New Journalism – PN 4867.W6 – Tom Wolfe’s classic defines “the new journalism” and includes timeless examples.
The Pulitzer Prize Archive: A History and Anthology of Award-winning Materials in Journalism, Letters and Arts, v1-3 – AS 911.P8 P85 1987 – This worthy set lists prize winners and includes selected articles (v1 international reporting, 1928-1985; v2 national reporting, 1941-1986, v3 local reporting, 1947-1987).
Online Indexes
Lexis-Nexis – Many full-text journal and newspaper articles from sources worldwide. Covers Columbia Journalism Review, American Journalism Review, Presstime and others. Includes major newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The (London) Times and others.
America: History and Life – Covers the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada. Provides more than 450,000 entries from 2,000 journals, including many full-text articles. Covers Journalism History, American Journalism, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly and others.
Biography & Genealogy Master Index – Indexes biographical sources.
HumanitiesAbs – Includes abstracts and some full-text articles from more than 2,000 journals dating from 1987 to the present. Covers The Quill, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Written Communication and others.
ReadersGuideAbs – Indexes more than 300 general interest periodicals. Covers World Press Review, Television Quarterly, Columbia Journalism Review and others.
WilsonSelectPlus – Full-text articles from more than 1,400 sources dating from 1994 to the present. Includes U.S. and international publications, academic titles and trade magazines. Covers American Journalism, Journalism History and others.
Academic OneFile – Many full-text articles from scholarly and general interest periodicals. Covers Editor & Publisher, Columbia Journalism Review, Journalism History, Journalism Quarterly and others.
Print Indexes
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature – Ref. AI3.R4 – Indexes articles that appeared from 1890 to 1998 (superceded by ReadersGuideAbs via FirstSearch).
Humanities Index – Ref. AI3.R492 – Indexes articles that appeared from 1974 to 1998 (superceded by Humanities Abstracts via FirstSearch).
Detroit News Index – Ref. AI 21.D4D45 – Indexes articles that appeared from 1987 to 2002.
The New York Times Index – Ref. AI 21.N45 – Indexes articles that appeared from 1851 to 2001.
Internet Sources
Power Reporting – Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Bill Dedman and The Columbia Journalism Review launched this site for journalists. Links to hundreds of valuable reference sources. Also lists internships, journalism associations and much more.
Missouri School of Journalism – This comprehensive site links to excellent reference sources. (Select “research” on left-hand side, then “J-school library” and “reference section”).
American Journalism Review – This important site links to several thousand newspapers, reference sources and selected articles from American Journalism Review.
Journalism.org – The Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Committee of Concerned Journalists launched this site for journalists, students and general readers. Links to additional journalism sites, job openings, research and other sources.
A Journalist’s Guide to the Internet – The University of Maryland School of Journalism maintains this valuable site for journalists and students alike. (For reference sources, select the “journalism” icon).
CNN – The Atlanta-based cable giant’s impressive site includes breaking news stories.
The New York Times – Search the online edition of America’s “newspaper of record.”
Source consulted for reference books: Cates,
J.A. (1997) Journalism: a guide to the reference literature.
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