Article in a Newspaper
MLA:
Sullivan, Ronald. "Jury Quickly Acquits Man Charged in Brush with Officer."
[author by last name.] [“article title.”]
New York Times. 27 Apr. 1991: A28.
[newspaper title.] [date:] [page number.]APA:
Sullivan, R. (1991, April 27). Jury quickly acquits man charged in brush with officer.
[last name, initial.] [(date in parentheses).] [article title, no quotation marks.]
New York Times, p. A28.
[newspaper title,] [page number.]Chicago:
10. Sullivan, “Jury Quickly Acquits,” A28.
[fn. #.] [author last name, “shortened title,” page quoted.]
[Shortened Chicago reference; see More Notes on Chicago Style for more information.]
In the context of research writing, the word “newspaper” indicates a publication that comes out on a regular schedule (usually daily or weekly) with a common publisher or editorial board. One way to distinguish a newspaper from a magazine or a journal is that most newspapers are printed on newsprint, a rougher and less stiff kind of paper than that used for magazines.
In popular understanding, newspapers convey an impression of reliability. When compared to glossy magazines, many of which carry celebrity photographs on their covers, newspapers seem more serious and factual. But the fairness and reliability of publications produced on newsprint varies considerably. These differences don’t affect how you compile a Works Cited or list of References, but they make a big difference in how you use the sources when developing your argument. See the discussion of Scholarly vs. Popular Sources for more information.
The listing for an article in a newspaper begins with the name of the article’s author and the title of the article. (In APA style, the publication year appears between the author and title.) These are followed by the title of the newspaper. In MLA style, the date of publication comes next. Then come the page numbers, if they run consecutively. If the article skips pages and is continued later in the magazine, MLA style calls for just the first page number and a plus sign; APA style requires listing all the page numbers.
Some papers publish more than one edition each day, adding changes for late news and sports scores; in that case, list the edition after the date (first, early, late, etc.). Also note whether the paper is divided into sections, in which case you should include the section in front of the page numbers. In the example above, the article began on page 28 of section A.
Note: Some stories in magazines and newspapers are printed without identifying an author. In that case, list by the title of the article, and make sure to include 1-2 key words from the title in your essay so that readers can find the bibliographical information they need to retrieve your source.
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