General Rules: Citing Newspaper Articles
In-text Citation: Information to Include
In-text citations and signal phrases can be woven into sentences and paragraphs in multiple ways, and what you emphasize depends on what information will be most relevant and/or persuasive to your reader. However, the following information should always be included:
Reference Citation: Information to Include
Authorlastname, Authorfirstinitial. (Year, Month Day). Article title in sentence case. Title of Newspaper in Italics. URL_but_not_active_hyperlink
or
Authorlastname, Authorfirstinitial. (Year, Month Day). Article title in sentence case. Title of Newspaper in Italics. Sectionindicatorpagenumber.
or, if no author
Article title in sentence case. (Year, Month Day). Title of Newspaper in Italics. URL_but_not_active_hyperlink
Specific Example: Online Newspaper Article with an Author
In-text Citation Options
In a New York Times article, correspondent Kevin Allison (2016) reported that P&G will have to invest more in their own brands or buy trendy new players at inflated prices to neutralize the threat of their competitors.
According to The New York Times, because of new threats to the marketing industry, P&G will have to invest more in their own brands or buy trendy new players at inflated prices to neutralize the threat of their competitors (Allison, 2016).
Because of these new threats to the marketing industry, P&G will have to invest more in their own brands or buy trendy new players at inflated prices to neutralize the threat of their competitors (Allison, 2016).
References Page Entry
Allison, K. (2016, August 3). Online upstarts pose a threat to Procter & Gamble. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/business/dealbook/online-upstarts-pose-a-threat-to-procter-gamble.html
Specific Example: Newspaper Article with an Author from a Database; No Pages or Sections
In-text Citation Options
The Washington Post reported that “Russia is fighting more than 190 forest fires in Siberia” (Dixon, 2021).
Fires in Siberia have “closed airports and roads, forced widespread evacuations and sent a pall of smoke across the North Pole” (Dixon, 2021).
References Page Entry
Dixon, R. (2021, August 12). Siberia blazes bigger than total of world’s other fires. The Washington Post.
Note: articles from library databases that encompass many different publications do not include the database name or url.
Specific Example: Online Newspaper Article without an Author
An article in a newspaper without an author is usually an editorial, authored by editorial staff from the newspaper and reflective of the editorial board’s point of view. For example, editorials from The Wall Street Journal will be right of center, while editorials from The New York Times will be left of center.
In-text Citation Options
The New York Times argued that we’ve known about the consequences of carbon emissions for 30 years, missing many chances to mitigate the effects that are now almost guaranteed, meaning we face “more droughts, more forest fires, more crippling heat waves, more sea level rise, more floods” (“Finding the Will,” 2021).
Over the past 30 years, we’ve had the chance to mitigate the effects of carbon emissions, but those effects are now almost guaranteed, meaning we face “more droughts, more forest fires, more crippling heat waves, more sea level rise, more floods” (“Finding the Will,” 2021).
References Page Entry
Finding the will to stave off a darker future. (2021, August 14). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/14/opinion/climate-change-summit.html
Specific Example: Newspaper Article from a Print Edition
In-text Citation Options
A report from the National Retail Federation, cited in The Washington Post, showed that shoplifting is often linked to organized crime (Peiser, 2023).
A recent article in The Washington Post discussed a report from the National Retail Federation that showed that shoplifting is often linked to organized crime (Peiser, 2023).
References Page Entry
Peiser, J. (2023, October 8). Is there a shoplifting crisis? What you need to know about retail crime. The Washington Post, G03.
When to include "The" in the Title of a Newspaper
Use “The” as part of a newspaper’s title if “The” appears on the front page where the name of the publication is listed. So, The New York Times is correct, but so is Chicago Tribune, since the Chicago Tribune doesn't include “the” as part of its official name.