Please note: This guide has two sections with overlapping content.  Please make sure to scroll through both sections to find current and historic Boston newspaper and media resources.

Boston Newspapers

The Boston University libraries have access to  current and historic  Boston-area newspapers including:

The Boston Globe (January 1, 1980-present)

The Massachusetts Newsstand Database provides full-text access to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald (1991-present).

Boston Globe Historical (1872-1979)

Provides full-text images in pdf format.   The library also owns the microfilm collection (1960-2009).

Daily Free Press (September 01, 1997 through December 05, 2009)

Search for the contents of the Daily Free Press in the College & University news search form located in the News section of Lexis-Nexis Academic.

Other Boston newspapers

Mugar Memorial Library also has some microfilm collections of Boston newspapers from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These papers may be found by searching the catalog by title for the indvidual newspaper names, or by searching by subject for the geographic place of publication followed by the subheading “Newspapers” (for example: ” Boston (Mass.) — Newspapers“).

Boston Herald Newspaper Morgue

The former Beebe Communications Library at Boston University maintained a collection newspaper clippings, which up until 1972 belonged to the Boston Herald. The clippings are from a variety of Boston newspapers, dating from the late 1800s to the early 1980s. The clippings are filed by subject and name. The files containing clippings about Boston are kept in Beebe. The files containing clippings on other subjects are stored in file cabinets and boxes in the Peter Fuller building on Commonwealth Avenue.

This collection is available for use by the general public and by the Boston University community. To gain access to the part of the collection that is stored in Fuller, please contact the Librarian at the Pickering Educational Resources library.

The Boston Public Library has the old Boston Herald Traveler morgue of 500,000 photographs from 1920 to 1972.

Boston Public Library Obituary Database

This database contains an index of obituaries that appeared in the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald and published between 1953 and 2010.   Please note: the database does not contain full-text obituaries, only brief citations;  it does not include death notices (paid insertions), only citations to obituary articles.

Boston-area Media and Historic Newspapers

America’s Historical Newspapers

This Early American Newspapers (1690-1876) covers newspapers published in Boston. Click on “Places of Publication.” They can be searched altogether, in groups, or individually. Best to put phrases in quotations, e.g., “Boston harbor.” See also Boston Globe (Historical) 1872-1979.

Boston Newspapers in Microfilm

at the Boston Public Library

Boston Television and Radio

 

Boston Business Journal

 

Boston.Com

Boston Globe’s newspaper and information site.

Boston Film-making Resources

Contains links to both commercial regional vendors and also non-profit film organizations.

Later issues can be accessed in  Boston Herald

Boston Magazine

Click on Archives for selected full-text articles back to 2002.

Boston (Mass.) — Newspapers

For holdings in Boston University Libraries. Current and historical.

Boston Media Makers

informal meetings.

Boston Neighborhood Network Television (BNN)

“(A) nationally recognized, award-winning community media center and 501(c)(3) nonprofit, acts as a public forum for all Boston residents, nonprofit and community-based organizations, and governmental and educational institutions and provides them with affordable training and access to emerging media technologies.”

Boston Phoenix

Published since the 1960s, the Phoenix is the oldest alternative newspaper in the Boston area.

Boston Radio Archives

History and data.

Digital Filmmaking

Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA), Boston University

Film Bureau

Official Boston government website for movie production in city.

Good Morning Bean Town!

News and Weather.

Historical Newspaper Collections: Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library has the most comprehensive collection of historic Boston newspapers. Located in the Microtext Room in the main branch in Copley Square, this collection should be used for any extensive research on Boston area history.

Massachusetts Historical Society

“The newspaper collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society encompasses 300 titles, ranging from scattered issues of foreign newspapers and newspapers printed in other states to extensive holdings of early Boston papers. Records for all newspapers currently held by the MHS are available in ABIGAIL, their library catalog.

State Library of Massachusetts

The State Library has a large selection of historic Commonwealth newspapers covering the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.  The collection is located on the fourth floor balcony of the State Library and in their  Special Collections.

Massachusetts Newsstand

“This database’s detailed indexing helps users quickly find the news information they need. Each issue of each newspaper is indexed thoroughly, so researchers have access to not only top news stories but also the information contained on the various sections of the papers. The indexing covers not only complete bibliographic information but also companies, people, products, etc.”   Coverage includes Boston Globe, 1980-present;  Boston Herald, 1991-present.

Newslink: Massachusetts

Provides links to selected daily,  business, weekly, alternative and campus newspapers.

OpenAirBoston

“OAB seeks to provide opportunities for all residents to connect to schools, community programs and assets, government agencies, and each other .      .       .     offers residents the ability to improve their quality of life as new members of the on-line community.”

Radio Boston

A weekly one hour radio program hosted by WBUR FM in Boston.  The show covers a wide range of topics related to Boston and New England.

Zimmer Index Digitization Project: An Index to late 19th century/early 20th century Massachusetts newspaper articles.

This unique index covers obituaries, political conventions, speeches and letters of prominent persons from the Commonwealth, dedications of memorials and buildings,  visits from foreign dignitaries, strikes, floods and many other stories.    The index  mostly covers articles appearing in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston Journal, and Boston Transcript and a few other local papers and published between 1878-1937.   Please note:  This site does not provide access to the full-text newspaper articles.

If you have any problems, feel free to consult a member of the Microtext Department staff at the Boston Public Library. The phone number is: (617) 536-5400 ext. 2018.