How To Search Local and National News Archives FREE!!!

As many of you know, I am passionate about investigations, OSINT, and local news. I often wonder how characters like Emily Jones from Adventures in Odyssey or Liz from Kids Corner find local stories for their detective agencies. Searching for local news, whether in Houston or any major U.S. city, is often frustrating. Ad-heavy websites make accessing content difficult, the stories tend to be dull and overly general, and unless the person you’re interested in is involved in a crime or is a politician, they’re unlikely to appear on your local CBS, ABC, NBC, or Fox News affiliate. While there are dedicated people search websites, these can be costly and may not always provide accurate information.

Visit the website infoweb.newsbank.com. NewsBank is a powerful tool with vast archives of thousands of newspapers, accessible with just a library card. Click the link and enter your library card information. You will then see a search bar where you can look up names or specific events. It performs impressively—I found information about my High school that Google and Wikipedia did not provide. In the upper right corner, there is a hamburger menu (three white lines). By clicking on the A-Z source list, you can view the sources your library offers. For example, the Houston Public Library provides access to 66 sources. You can narrow your search by selecting a specific newspaper. I searched for the Houston Chronicle, and by clicking on it, I accessed full-text articles exclusively from that paper.

In the left menu, you can filter results by date. Taller bars indicate a higher number of search results in that decade. This feature is particularly helpful for exploring less commonly covered topics, such as the rise of computers in a community or specific political trends. Additionally, the site is completely ad-free, though advertisements may still appear within the newspapers themselves if you choose to view them on this platform. You are also given access to national papers such a The Atlantic and The New York Times for FREE!! This is an excellent resource for people who need to conduct research, connect with history, or carry out their own SSALTW-themed investigations. God bless, and Tech Talk to You Later!