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Vanderbilt Television News Archive

This guide is intended for Vanderbilt University students. VU students, staff, and faculty authenticated on VUnet can stream the entire collection.

About

How can I view content in the archive?

Vanderbilt Students and Faculty

Vanderbilt students and faculty can stream the entire collection on the TV News website: https://tvnews-vanderbilt-edu.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/siteindex

Please ensure you are connected to VUnet before attempting to watch material in the collection.

For the best experience, use a desktop browser. The website is not configured for mobile browsers.

Students and Faculty at Sponsoring Academic Institutions

A number of academic institutions in the U.S. have streaming access to the NBC and CNN content in the collection through our sponsorship program. For access, you will need to be authenticated through your campus library website. The link is likely on the "databases" section of your library's website. Please contact the electronic resources librarian at your institution for further help. 

Public Patrons

If you are not affiliated with a sponsoring academic institution, you can still access material through our loan service. Please review our patron guide for access options. 

What is the Vanderbilt Television News Archive?

The TV news archive began operations on August 5, 1968, with the mission to record, preserve, and provide research access to news programs broadcast by national television networks in the United States. Recognizing the importance and impact of television news, the TV news archive records broadcasts off-the-air to preserve its content for future generations. We offer extensive access to the collection for scholarly and research purposes within the bounds of copyright restrictions

What's in the collection?

The core collection contains daily primetime national evening news programs. In August of 1968, the archive began recording broadcasts off-the-air from the "Big Three" national networks: ABC, NBC, and CBS. Over time, the archive added news from CNN in 1989, Fox News Channel in 2004, and MSNBC in 2024.

In addition to evening news, the collection includes "specials" — a selection of news programs curated by the archive's staff; for example, speeches by U.S. Presidents, coverage of U.S. presidential elections (including the DNC and RNC), and major international conflicts. For a more in-depth overview of specials in the collection, review the specials tab at the top of this guide. 

Finally, the collection also contains all the commercials aired during a newscast, making the archive a rich source for studying the history of television advertising in the U.S.

How is the collection organized?

Each news program is segmented by staff into individual clips of each news story. The majority of clips in the database are then given a staff-written title and abstract providing a short description of the contents of the clip.

Therefore, when you "search" the collection on the archive's website, the search results are based on keywords found in the abstract or title of a given clip. 

How do I find specific content in the archive? 

Check out the Search Tips & Tricks section of this guide for best practices when searching the database.

Starting August 15, 2024, the archive is located in Suite 202 of the John Seigenthaler Center at 1207 18th Ave S, Nashville, TN (behind commons). You can access the building via 18th Avenue, or via the Curb Center's doors located at 1801 Edgehill Avenue.

The archive is open to students and faculty for research consultations. A member of our staff can help you brainstorm ideas and find specific content for your research.

Staff are available by appointment Monday through Friday from 9am to 4:00pm, either in-person or virtually. Please contact us to schedule an appointment.

Google Maps Directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/x4Uu3CA7T4muTaMv6

 

 

A campus map showing the location of the TV News Archive on the corner of 18th Ave & Edgehill

Can I use the archive's content for my documentary, podcast, or other project?

The Vanderbilt Television News Archive's mission is to provide access to television news for research and scholarship. The archive does not hold copyright to any of the content in the collection and cannot give permission for any form of use. Much like a book you borrow from a library, licensing and permission questions must go to the publisher and owner of the content — in this case the broadcast networks. Please visit the Vanderbilt Libraries' Fair Use Guide for more information.

Handout: Download and Print a .pdf handout with basic information for students 

 

Information Session: To schedule an information session for your class, please reach out to the archive's Community Engagement Coordinator at giselle.a.hengst@vanderbilt.edu. Sessions can be in-person or virtual and tailored to fit time constraints.

 

Ideas for assignments:

Research

  • News Values: Look at a historical nightly news broadcast. Have students research what news stories were left out.
  • Watch a newscast and evaluate the sources of reporters.
  • Examine how the rise of data journalism influences election coverage.
  • Fact-check a presidential debate.
Analysis
  • Do a text analysis of election coverage looking at various broadcasts.
  • Watch cable news coverage of election results. Highlight the rhetorical differences.
  • Analysis of tactics used in television commercials. 
Creation
  • Use clips for multimedia art projects.
  • Use soundbites for podcasting. 

 

These are just a few of the many possibilities! Please Contact Us to discuss how we can help support your course.

I'm a student or faculty member at a university. How can I access the archive?

A subset of the Vanderbilt Television News Archive's collection is available to college and university libraries in the United States through a sponsorship agreement. The sponsorship provides online streaming access to more than 27,000 hours of content.

Students, staff, and faculty associated with a sponsoring institution are able to view the archive's collection of NBC material, ranging from August 5, 1968 to the present and CNN broadcasts beginning in 1989 to present. Individuals associated with a sponsoring college or university access the Archive's full database through convenient IP authentication. Additionally, individuals associated with the sponsorship program receive a discount on loan processing fees for content from other networks. 

The cost of sponsorship varies according to the size of the college or university. Discounted pricing, as reflected in the fee structure, has been made possible through the Archive’s arrangements with consortia. Sponsoring colleges or universities will need to sign a Library Agreement.

If you a member of a college or university in the United States, ask your electronic resource librarian to contact us to get connected.

Your Support is Needed

Paid Sponsorships provide support to the Archive necessary for it to continue its important work. The Vanderbilt Television News Archive continues to serve as the only comprehensive off-air archive of the news broadcasts of the U.S. national television networks.

Trial Sponsorships Available

Trial sponsorships are available upon request. Please contact us if you would like more information.

In the News

EdTech Magazine, May 2024: Universities Harness the Cloud for Digital Archives

Heard Libraries, May 2024: Heard Libraries showcase pioneering efforts, global leadership in digital preservation

Heard Libraries, September 2023: Heard Libraries showcase digital preservation expertise at Cultural Heritage Preservation Summit

Vanderbilt University News, June 2022: McGee gift to establish center that will leverage data science to study media narratives

The Conversation, July 2018: A conservative activist’s quest to preserve all network news broadcasts

Vanderbilt University News, June 2018: The Television News Archive's 50th Anniversary Celebration

Vanderbilt University Research News, October 2015: New ‘text mining’ tech tools boon for Vanderbilt researchers

Videos 

Vanderbilt University YouTube, August 2018: 50-year-old Television Archive provides insight to researchers and filmmakers

Vanderbilt University YouTube, January 2015: The Women's Rights Movement in TV News

Vanderbilt University YouTube, January 2013: TV News Archive Gets Regional Emmy's Highest Honor

Research Articles

Responsible AI at the Vanderbilt Television News Archive: A Case Study (2024)

On Evolving the Operations of the Vanderbilt Television News Archive: Cloud Computing for Audiovisual Preservation (2019)

Books

Upcoming Events

Come and say hi to us at any of these upcoming campus events!

Upcoming:

  • Peabody Library Open House: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 in Peabody Library, 1-3pm
  • Global Free Speech Summit: October 17-18, 2024
  • Vanderbilt Television News Archive Open House, TBA in the John Seigenthaler Center

Previous: 

  • Vanderbilt Libraries Fall Celebration: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 in Central Library 4th Floor Lobby, 1-3pm
  • Explorations in Research: Wednesday, September 11, 2024 in the Student Life Center, 3-5pm