Advice - Online Newspaper records

[Jayhen6]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to subscribe to British newspaper archives on a monthly basis and asking advice on which way to go? So many options through ancestry etc.. any advice please

Thanks Jayhen

[Biggles50]

You are doing it the right way, one month at a time.

My strategy was to write down each person I wanted to search for and their location and their timeframe in each location.

Then it is just a case of working down the list, ticking off as we go.

Now I tend to take screenshots of the articles and save them i.e. name them in a format that suits  SmithJohn b1880-01, 02, 03, SmithJohn b1910-01, 02 etc

If you see a deal with Find My Past it can also help as they also have Newspapers.  So it can be worth using both.  That said I prefer BNA as the FindMyPast version does not have good filtering.

I have a folder system for storing data and the Newspaper Screenshots would go in folder Genealogy/05 Newspapers and Periodicals

[ciderdrinker]

Good Morning
It depends what you are looking for and how often you are going to use it.What country are you interested in?
If you already have FindMyPast ,it can include access to the British Newspaper Archive for the top subscription ,so not a lot extra.
But I do have that and frankly I rarely use it .The new  search form is a pain and with quite common surnames finding a family does depend on perseverance.
It can also throw up some quite mundane stuff if you Ancestor ran a business and was advertising every week.But then Great Grandad's inquest is a must.

You could try out The British Newspaper Archive direct ,starting with it's free searches .Make a list  of the results you want to see and do them in one big go.
If you want Australian papers they are free on the Trove website.
American papers are a mixed bunch ,but some will be free ,or free for so many looks.
I've not tried Ancestry Newspapers but I assume it's more American papers as the website is American.

Perhaps a trip to a Library which has FindMyPast or the British Newspaper Site for free could give you a dry run and see what you prefer before diving in?

Ciderdrinker

[SouthseaSteel]

I use both FindMyPast/BNA and Newspapers.com.  Yes Newspapers is US based but it has a heck of a lot of UK and other stuff on there.  It also directly integrates into Ancestry too. 

There is plenty of content overlap between the two but both seem to have exclusive material as well.

If you already have FindMyPast then their BNA access seems your best bet, but not a lot in it IMHO

[Glen in Tinsel Kni]

BNA have changes  in the pipeline though they aren't revealing too much at present https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2026/06/16/bnas-next-edition/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSorDZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA4SFNPR0J3cnJheWFQOGZic3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHr4RL6ARL90BgbcvUqA_02wgOsRcnEqGZRENMxuRcUdU4BO4hMjatWqazw25_aem_tDty1muQccUOxh4N249jDw

[Jayhen6]

Thanks everyone for the advice I’ve subscribed to BNA on a monthly basis for now. Thank you

[Kiltaglassan]

BNA have changes  in the pipeline though they aren't revealing too much at present https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2026/06/16/bnas-next-edition/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSorDZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA4SFNPR0J3cnJheWFQOGZic3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHr4RL6ARL90BgbcvUqA_02wgOsRcnEqGZRENMxuRcUdU4BO4hMjatWqazw25_aem_tDty1muQccUOxh4N249jDw

Please use ShrinkLink for the very long URL. Thanks
https://www.rootschat.com/links/