Question

How is the information that historians get from old newspapers is different from that found in police reports?

Answer 1

For writing about any period in history, a historian needs to gather information from various sources so that he/she can get a clearer picture of the life and times of the period concerned. The archived official documents provide information from the point of view of the people in power. A police report is one such official document. The very nature of police records restricts the amount or the kind of information one can possibly get from them.

Another problem with official recordings is that often they only present what the persons in authority want to be presented. Therefore for getting wider and balanced view of a period in history, a historian has to go through unofficial records relating to that period, like the diaries of people, an account of pilgrims and travelers, autobiographies of important personalities, popular booklets, newspapers, etc. Recordings such as newspapers have the advantage of providing varied information to the historian.