The pattern at a glance
- APA 7Last, F. (Year, Month Day). Headline. Newspaper. URL
- MLA 9Last, First. "Headline." Newspaper, Day Mon. Year, URL.
- Chicago (notes-bibliography)Last, First. "Headline." Newspaper, Month Day, Year. URL.
- Harvard (Cite Them Right)Last, F. (Year) 'Headline', Newspaper, Day Month. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
The facts every newspaper citation needs
Reporter: the byline. If the article is signed by a news agency or by "staff", that name can stand as the author in most styles; if there is no byline at all, styles start with the headline instead.
Headline: the main title of the story as it appears on the article page. Search results and social posts often show rewritten headlines, so open the article itself.
Newspaper: the paper's own name, such as The Guardian or The New York Times. Date: day, month and year, because papers publish daily. Location: the URL for online articles, the page or section for print copies.
Online edition, print edition or e-paper?
Cite the version you read. Online articles can differ from the print story: headlines change, articles are updated, and some pieces exist only online. If you read the print paper, give the page number; if you read the website, give the URL.
E-paper replicas (the scanned print edition in an app) count as print for most purposes, because they reproduce the printed pages. Give the page number and, if your style asks for it, the name of the database or app.
Dates can differ between versions too. An article posted online late in the evening may appear in the next morning's print edition with the following day's date. Match the date to the version you cite.
How the four styles differ for news
- APA puts the full date right after the author in parentheses and italicises the newspaper.
- MLA puts the headline in double quotation marks and writes the date as day, abbreviated month, year.
- Chicago notes-bibliography writes Month Day, Year after the newspaper and uses double quotation marks.
- Harvard (Cite Them Right) uses single quotation marks and adds an access date for online articles.
Field by field: the newspaper form
These fields work for all styles in the generator.
| Field | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Authors | Reporter or agency. | Byline. |
| Title | Headline as on the article page. | Top of the article. |
| Newspaper | Name of the paper. | Masthead. |
| Date | Year, month and day. | Byline area. |
| Pages | Print page or section, e.g. A3. | Print copy or e-paper. |
| URL and accessed | Article link; access date for Harvard and undated pages. | Address bar; your reading date. |
Same article, four styles
Two October 2026 news stories, each formatted by the engine in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and Harvard. Both were read online on 25 October 2026.
The Guardian, single reporter
APA 7th: Reference entry
Hambling, D. (2026, October 23). How citizen science is tracking changes in shorelines around the world. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/23/how-citizen-science-is-tracking-changes-in-shorelines-around-the-world
In-text citation: (Hambling, 2026)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
Hambling, David. “How Citizen Science Is Tracking Changes in Shorelines around the World.” The Guardian, 23 Oct. 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/23/how-citizen-science-is-tracking-changes-in-shorelines-around-the-world.
In-text citation: (Hambling)
Chicago 18th (notes and bibliography): Reference entry
Hambling, David. “How Citizen Science Is Tracking Changes in Shorelines around the World.” The Guardian, October 23, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/23/how-citizen-science-is-tracking-changes-in-shorelines-around-the-world.
First footnote: David Hambling, “How Citizen Science Is Tracking Changes in Shorelines around the World,” The Guardian, October 23, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/23/how-citizen-science-is-tracking-changes-in-shorelines-around-the-world.
Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed.): Reference entry
Hambling, D. (2026) ‘How citizen science is tracking changes in shorelines around the world’, The Guardian, 23 October. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/23/how-citizen-science-is-tracking-changes-in-shorelines-around-the-world (Accessed: 25 October 2026).
In-text citation: (Hambling, 2026)
The headline is identical in all four entries, but APA keeps it in sentence case without marks, MLA and Chicago convert it to title case in double quotation marks, and Harvard uses single quotation marks with an access date.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). From the Guardian Science feed: byline David Hambling, 23 October 2026.
The New York Times, reporter with a middle name
APA 7th: Reference entry
Andrews, R. G. (2026, October 22). Earth and Mars may have formed in weirdly different ways. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/science/space/earth-mars-formed-different.html
In-text citation: (Andrews, 2026)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
Andrews, Robin George. “Earth and Mars May Have Formed in Weirdly Different Ways.” The New York Times, 22 Oct. 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/science/space/earth-mars-formed-different.html.
In-text citation: (Andrews)
Chicago 18th (notes and bibliography): Reference entry
Andrews, Robin George. “Earth and Mars May Have Formed in Weirdly Different Ways.” The New York Times, October 22, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/science/space/earth-mars-formed-different.html.
First footnote: Robin George Andrews, “Earth and Mars May Have Formed in Weirdly Different Ways,” The New York Times, October 22, 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/science/space/earth-mars-formed-different.html.
Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed.): Reference entry
Andrews, R.G. (2026) ‘Earth and Mars may have formed in weirdly different ways’, The New York Times, 22 October. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/science/space/earth-mars-formed-different.html (Accessed: 25 October 2026).
In-text citation: (Andrews, 2026)
Robin George Andrews becomes Andrews, R. G. in APA and Harvard, but keeps the full given names in MLA and Chicago.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). From the New York Times Science feed: byline Robin George Andrews, 22 October 2026.
Formatted by the same citation engine that runs the generator above (citeproc-js with the official CSL style file). Italics follow the style.
In-text citations for newspaper articles
Online articles have no page numbers, so most in-text citations are author and year, or just the author in MLA.
- APA 7: (Hambling, 2026)
- MLA 9: (Hambling)
- Chicago notes: 1. David Hambling, "How Citizen Science Is Tracking Changes in Shorelines around the World," The Guardian, October 23, 2026, followed by the URL.
- Harvard: (Andrews, 2026)
- No byline: Use a shortened headline in place of the author in every style.
Newspaper citation mistakes
- Year only. Newspapers need the exact date to tell daily stories apart.
- Citing the search result headline. Copy the headline from the article page, not from Google or social media.
- Homepage URL. Link to the article itself.
- Wrong version date. Online and print versions may carry different dates; cite the one you read.
Newspaper article citation FAQ
How do I cite an online newspaper article?
Give the reporter, the headline, the newspaper, the full date and the URL, in the order your style requires. Harvard also asks for the date you accessed it.
How do I cite a print newspaper article?
Replace the URL with the page or section and page, such as A1. Some styles add the edition, for example late edition.
How do I cite an article with no author?
Start with the headline and use a shortened headline in your in-text citation.
Is a news website the same as a newspaper?
Not in APA, which cites news websites as webpages. MLA, Chicago and Harvard treat them much like newspapers.
Style guides used on this page
Rules on this page were checked against these pages on 25 October 2026.