Newspapers think they already have wised up -- they charge for their archives and make stories inaccessible online otherwise.

Qubit, have you already set yourself up with Google alerts? At least that way you may be able to spot the things you want when they're first posted.

Check with your local public library, which may make article databases accessible to you at no charge. They probably won't be the heavy hitters (Nexis, Factiva), but they'll be something.

There's a good list here www.ibiblio.org/slanews/in...chives.html of newspaper archives, but "all-consuming and free" ... I don't think there is one.