If you learn to use indexes and to locate articles, you will be much more efficient and successful in your research. Periodicals cover events more quickly and concisely than books. While books usually are better at presenting a thoughtful, historical view of broader topics, newspapers and news magazines provide timely, focused information, and specialized magazines and journals give in-depth coverage of countless subjects. Periodical articles are usually on specific topics. Many important topics that appear in periodicals will never be covered in books.
Periodicals are more likely to cover local and state topics.
The ACC libraries get several periodicals published in Austin and Texas that cover regional issues. Since the great majority of books are published by national companies, they don't address these issues very often. There is often a large difference between popular magazines and scholarly journals. Magazines don't require deep background knowledge of a topic. They may cover serious issues, but entertaining the reader is stressed.