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How to cite a newspaper article
News articles need the full publication date (day, month and year), the newspaper or magazine name in italics, and the page (print) or URL (online). Paste the article link and most details fill in.
Examples in each style
Woodward, B., & Bernstein, C. (1972, June 19). GOP security aide among five arrested in bugging affair. The Washington Post, A1.
Parenthetical: (Woodward & Bernstein, 1972)
Narrative: Woodward and Bernstein (1972)
Woodward, Bob, and Carl Bernstein. “GOP Security Aide among Five Arrested in Bugging Affair.” Washington Post, 19 June 1972, p. A1.
Parenthetical: (Woodward and Bernstein)
Woodward, Bob, and Carl Bernstein. “GOP Security Aide among Five Arrested in Bugging Affair.” The Washington Post, June 19, 1972.
Full note: 1. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, “GOP Security Aide among Five Arrested in Bugging Affair,” The Washington Post, June 19, 1972.
Short note: 2. Woodward and Bernstein, “GOP Security Aide among.”
Woodward, B. and Bernstein, C. (1972) ‘GOP Security Aide among Five Arrested in Bugging Affair’, The Washington Post, 19 June, p. A1.
Citation: (Woodward and Bernstein, 1972)
Narrative: Woodward and Bernstein (1972)
What to watch out for
- Use the full date: APA writes (1972, June 19); MLA writes 19 June 1972; Chicago writes June 19, 1972.
- APA 7 treats a news website without a print edition (like BBC News) as a web page, with the site name in plain text.
- For a print article, give the page number instead of the URL: p. A1 in MLA and Harvard; APA 7 adds the page only for print-only articles.
- MLA drops an initial “The” from a newspaper name (Washington Post); APA keeps the name as printed.
Woodward, B., & Bernstein, C. (1972, June 19). GOP security aide among five arrested in bugging affair. The Washington Post, A1.
In-text citation
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Questions students ask
What if a news article has no author?
Start with the headline. In APA the in-text citation uses a shortened headline in quotation marks with the year.
Should I cite the print or online version?
Cite the one you read. Online versions often have a different headline or date from the print edition.
Is a magazine article cited the same way?
Almost. Magazines often have volume and issue numbers; add them like a journal article, and use the month for monthly titles.