How to Cite a Newspaper Article? APA, MLA, & Chicago

Newspaper articles are an invaluable source of information, providing you with insights on current topics and events. It’s a good idea to cite them in your academic work to strengthen your arguments and enhance the credibility of your research paper. However, now you must be wondering how to cite a newspaper article in your work.

If so, this guide is for you! We are going to discuss the different referencing styles, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago, along with specific examples and tips for accurately citing newspaper articles.

How to Cite a Newspaper Article in APA

You should follow the APA Handbook 7th edition to cite newspaper articles in your content perfectly. In this, the article title is plain text, and the name of the newspaper is in italics with typical heading capitalization. To give you a more precise idea, here are practical examples of how to cite a newspaper article:

Cite an Online Newspaper Article in APA

If you are accessing a newspaper article online, whether through BBC, CNN, or CBS News, you should follow the general format of APA citation. Then, add the URL of the article in it.

Author last name, Initials. (Year, Month, Day). Article title. Newspaper Name. URL

Example

Julie, R. (24 November 2024) Future of Sustainable Energy in America, New York Times, URL 

In-Text Citation: (Julie 2024)

Cite a Print Newspaper Article in APA

Suppose you cite a print newspaper article in your academic work. The referencing structure remains the same as the online one, but the URL will be replaced with the page number.

Author last name, Initials. (Year, Month, Day). Article title. Newspaper Name, Page number(s).

Example

Raghav. D. (27 February 2023), Ships Stuck at the Suez Canal – What’s the Future of Global Businesses? The Washington Post, A2, D3.

In-Text Citation: (Raghav 2023, D3)

How to Cite a Newspaper Article in MLA

The MLA, or Modern Language Association, is another referencing style that you can use to cite newspaper articles. The major difference between MLA and APA is that the former is focused on the Humanities while the latter is about social and behavioral sciences. In MLA, you write the Author’s Last Name and Full Name. In APA, you write it as Author’s Last Name, Initial.

Let’s now look at how to cite a newspaper article either in print or online form:

Cite an Online Newspaper Article in MLA

If you stumbled upon an article from online newspaper platforms that resonate with your topic and you want to cite it, follow the given template:

Author last name, First name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name, Day Month Year, URL

Example

Smith, John. “The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Communities.” The New York Times, 15 July 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/climate/coastal-cities-brace-for-climate-change.html 

In-Text Citation: (Smith)

If there are more than one author, then the format for the first author’s name is (Last Name, First Name), and for the second author, it’ll be (First Name, Last Name). Here’s an example to help you understand this better:

For Two Authors:

Smith, John and Jane Doe, “Article Title.” Newspaper Name, Day Month Year, URL

For Three or More Authors:

Smith, John, et al. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name, Day Month Year, URL

Cite a Print Newspaper Article in MLA

For newspaper articles in print form, the MLA Style includes replacing the URL with the page number or range of the article. By range, we mean that if the article is spread on non-consecutive pages, like one part on Page #1, while the second part of the article is on Page #5, you don’t have to write all the numbers. Instead, just write the first page number followed by a + sign.  

Author last name, First name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name, Day Month Year, pp. Page number(s).

Example

Steve, John. “The Impact of Increasing Energy Prices on the Global Business Landscape.” BBC, 15 July 2024, pp A3+.

In-Text Citation: (Steve A2)

How to Cite a Newspaper Article in Chicago Style

The Chicago referencing style is quite old and was first introduced in 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Currently, in its 17th edition, students and professionals still use this style to cite newspaper articles.

In contrast to MLA and APA, Chicago Style requires footnotes and bibliographic entries for citation. In addition, there’s no concept of page range in Chicago Style, as most articles are distributed unevenly.

If you also want to learn how to cite a newspaper article in Chicago Style, here are some practical examples:

Cite an Online Newspaper Article in Chicago Style

To cite a newspaper article that you found online in Chicago Style, you should follow this format:

Author last name, First name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

Example

Bibliography Entry: Smith, Joe. AI Detects Breast Cancer More Accurately Than Humans, Study Finds,” BBC News, July 5, 2024, URL.

Footnote: Joe Smith. AI Detects Breast Cancer More Accurately Than Humans, Study Finds,” BBC News, July 5, 2024 URL.

In-Text Citation: (Smith 2024)

Cite a Print Newspaper Article in Chicago Style

If the article is in print form rather than soft form, you should follow the given format:

Bibliography Entry: Hales, Alex. “The Rise of Electric Vehicles,” The New York Times, July 4, 2024.

Footnote: Alex Hales. “The Rise of Electric Vehicles,” The New York Times, July 4, 2024.

In-Text Citation: (Hales 2024)

Mistakes to Avoid When Citing a Newspaper Article

Now that you are aware of the different types of citation or referencing and how to use them, here are some mistakes that you must avoid when citing a newspaper article:

• Forgetting to Cite a Source: One of the most common mistakes many students and researchers make is forgetting to cite a source. This often happens when you get engrossed in writing and leave the citations and source linking until the end. To avoid this, simply keep track of all your sources and mention them as you write to maintain the content’s credibility.
• Plagiarism: In simple words, plagiarism in citation happens when you use someone else’s words without giving them proper credit. For instance, you may use or summarize BBC or New York Times articles without giving credit to them. Although this may seem like a small offense, it can end you up with failing grades and even probation and exclusion. However, you can use a citation generator to avoid plagiarism, as these tools help you cite and format the sources correctly, eliminating the risk of plagiarism.
• Incorrect Formatting: Know that different citation styles have varying formatting requirements. Therefore, you must first learn the ins and outs of the style you are going to use and stick to it throughout your content. For instance, if you are following the APA citation, then you should add a reference list sharing all the sources at the end of the paper, while in MLA, it’s called the Works Cited Page.
• Incorrect Information: When working with different newspaper articles, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and cite the wrong source or incorrect information. The only way you can avoid this issue in citing a newspaper article accurately is to proofread each citation carefully and make sure it makes sense to the readers.

How to Generate Newspaper Article Citations?

If you are unable to create accurate newspaper article citations for your paper, Arvin can do it for you! Featuring powerful AI tools like GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, Gemini 1.5, and many more, this platform curates professional-looking citations for you.

All you have to do is provide information regarding the newspaper article, such as its name, author name, title, and date of publication. Using this information, Arvin comes up with highly accurate citations in all formats, including APA, MLA, and Chicago.

Here’s an example of how you can use Arvin Chat to get newspaper article citations within seconds:

FAQs

How to Cite a Newspaper Article with No Page Number?

To cite a newspaper article with no page number, you can mention section headings, paragraph numbers, or both to make it easy for the readers to locate the actual information source.

What are the Main Elements of Newspaper Article Citation?

The main components of a newspaper article citation across MLA, APA, and Chicago include the author name, newspaper name, article title, date of publication, URL (if the article was accessed online), and page number (if the article is in print form). However, in Chicago Style, you don’t have to mention page range or page number.

Do You Need to Add DOI for a Newspaper Article?

Newspaper articles don’t have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). Therefore, you should add their URL (if available) when citing them in your research paper or other academic documents. For print newspaper article citations, you can write the page number or page range.

Conclusion

The simple answer to how to cite a newspaper article lies in learning the different types of reference styles and accurately formatting them. Arvin makes this whole citation process way easy for you! Just put in the necessary information regarding the newspaper article and tell Arvin which format you want from APA, MLA, and Chicago. It’ll provide you with error-free citations in no time, eliminating inaccuracies.