LibGuides: Global Media and Communications: Free Online Resources

Free Online Resources

Databases, film archives, and journals

BBC Archive
- A collection of short videos from the BBC
BFI Player Free Collections
- A collection of films available through the BFI
British Pathe Archives
- Films free to watch via British Pathe
Colonial Film
- Thousands of films depicting life during the British Empire
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
- Freely available academic articles
Docubase
- A database of the people, projects, and technologies transforming documentary in the digital age
Keesing's World News Archive
- A news archive based on Keesing's Record of World Events, which was originally published in print
Open Culture's Free Films
- A segment of Open Culture dedicated of free films
Press Gazette
- See also Press Gazette's data on the top online news sources
Chatham House
- SOAS Library also holds physical copies of their publication 'The World Today.'
WorldWrite Worldbytes Video Collections
- Documentaries and short non-fiction films

Other sites

Africa Refocused
- A National Geographic programme 'telling stories of Africa by and from the perspective of African people.'
Bertha Dochouse
- The UK's only documentary cinema, located in London
Committee to Protect Journalists
- An organisation promoting press freedom worldwide
International Documentary Association
- Established to assist documentary film-making
National Union of Journalists
- A UK-based union for journalists
Reuters Institute
- 'The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is dedicated to exploring the future of journalism worldwide through debate, engagement, and research'
Screen Skills
- A website dedicated to improving skills related to film, TV, VFX, animation and games
The D-Word
- 'The worldwide community of documentary professionals'
#TruthNeverDies
- A campaign developed by UNESCO and DDB Paris to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (2 November)

Free Global News Sites

Global news sites without paywalls

...This is of course NOT an exhaustive list. Below sites are based on the most visited globally in 2024 with some regional additions, in English. For more specific resources from SOAS regions, contact the relevant librarians.