I remember reading (I think it was a William Safire column) that there is a database somewhere that lets you search for text in all the newspapers and magazine back many years.
Does anyone else know about this? What is it called? Who has access to it and how do you get access to it? I understand it is very expensive to use-- how expensive is very expensive?
LexisNexis has a very large database, as does Dialog. They’re both pretty damned expensive (pricing should be findable from the linked sites).
LexisNexis is the one Mr. Safire mentioned in his column. I don’t see any prices on any of their products though.
Thanks.
Check your local library to see if it offfers access to a database of newspaper and magazine text. The Chicago Public Library has Proquest and it can be accessed from a home computer. I’ve never used NexisLexis, so I can’t make a comparison. Proquest at the CPL doesn’t have full text for every publication, but it does have some important ones, like the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal. Full text can be available back to 1986 or earlier.
I have LexisNexis at work and I’ve used it for years. We pay $250/ month for a single user account at our otherwise small company and it’s a flat monthly rate. I’ve tried Dialog before and found it very distasteful because they charge you per search item viewed. The problem is, you never know how many stories you are going to pull up in a search, how many of them are the same story, etc., so while it seems great at first if you do only a few searches, in the long run, you get screwed and you never have any clue how much your bill is going to be at the end of the month because they nickel and dime you the whole time. Both services have about the same content but with LexisNexis, I have found stories going back as far as the late 1960s in a few rare cases. Generally the farther back you go in your searches, the fewer sources are available.
Perhaps if it is a simple search, I could do it for you. After all, it won’t cost us anything more since it’s a flat rate. What did you have in mind?
Most university libraries have access to a watered down version of the service known as ‘Academic Universe’. The version we have can get company records, mortgage records, court filings, and a lot more in addition to all the news sources.
Thanks for the offer Yarster, but I don’t need to search for anything specific right now. I was thinking of this because two debates going on in GD. One is about Black History Month and the other is about Osama. Both threads sort of lend themselves to the “how many times. . .?” question.
If you really wanna, you can see how many times GWB has mentioned OBL since he set his sights on Saddam and post it here, but only if you really wanna.
All that info, right at your fingertips. Drool
You have to drill down pretty deep sometimes, and sometimes they’re of the “if you have to ask …” um, er, I mean … “call for a quote” variety. 
Click on “Products & Services,” then pick a product, then click on “Pricing & Subscriptions.”
Actually, some libraries have the fancy new full-image subcription to the NY Times, which goes back to 1851. It doesn’t have EVERY issue available yet, but it has an awful lot.
My library didn’t buy it and I was quite perturbed. I can access with a friend’s library card through a library several states away. It even searches through the classifieds.