LexisNexis is an invaluable research tool, but it can also get very expensive to search. Fortunately, the company makes a small subset of its news article database free.
“LexisNexis U.S. Politics & World News” (at lexisnexis.com/news) is a collection of links to hundreds of free stories on topical current events, from U.S. politics to international affiars. The site pulls stories from LexisNexis’ impressive database of more than 4,000 U.S. and international news sources.
Since Hurricane Katrina hit, LexisNexis has added a special package of free stories about Hurricane Katrina for non-subscribers. This is a fantastic resource, including links to U.S. and international news coverage, and broken out by topics such as New Orleans, rescue efforts, FEMA, lootings, nursing homes and the Senate committees on Katrina.
LexisNexis first started offering a package of free news headlines after the Sept. 11 attacks. The company did it again at the beginning of the Iraq War and again for the 2004 presidential election. After that, the company generously decided to allow it to live on indefinitely, and it morphed into the site you see today.
Among the other topics you can read on the site now:
- Tropical Storm Rita
- The Senate confirmation hearings of John Roberts, including newspaper articles, TV transcripts and full hearing transcripts
- The ongoing conflict in Iraq and debate over the constitution
- Coverage of the debate over whether the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag is unconstitutional
The free site is a great marketing idea by LexisNexis, as it shows off the company’s content and gives people a reason to visit LexisNexis.com regularly.
If you don’t find the information you need via the free LexisNexis site, check out LexisNexis AlaCarte!(featured in a column I wrote last year).
WHAT SITES DO YOU RECOMMEND?
Please send them to poynter (at) jondube.com and I may run your suggestions.
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