Searching for a specific phrase in media coverage

December 2, 2018 10:37 AM

I want to find as many instances as I can, in articles or media about police brutality cases in the U.S., of someone supporting the accused officer by saying the officer "wouldn't hurt a fly" (that phrase, not just that sentiment) or the officer himself/herself saying "I wouldn't hurt a fly." Anything documented – the person might have said this in writing or in video/audio. What search strategies can I use other than exact-phrase google searches?
posted by kalapierson to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

The Internet Archive has a searchable database of TV captions going back to 2009.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:44 AM on December 2, 2018 [5 favorites]

If you have a library in your orbit that has access to searching magazine databases, sometimes you can find print magazines and newsletters that may be another good place for full-text searching. Judging from your profile information, I'd start here and narrow things down. Also the Archive tool is GREAT.
posted by jessamyn at 11:47 AM on December 2, 2018

My library offers access to NewsBank, which is a great way to search newspaper archives for exact phrases in quotes. I'd start by seeing what your library's online portal offers.
posted by AppleTurnover at 1:34 PM on December 2, 2018

You can also search for this sort of thing in LexisNexis, to which many libraries also provide access.
posted by limeonaire at 7:06 PM on December 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah, LexisNexis if you can get access via a college or similar. For TV and radio, you may need to look at services like Critical Mention.
posted by bifter at 11:38 PM on December 2, 2018