What’s in the news today? Death, destruction and misery? Oh well. Let’s write an academic paper about it. Before we start, though, make sure you know how to cite a newspaper article using Chicago author–date referencing.
When to Cite a Newspaper
Chicago referencing doesn’t always require a full citation for newspaper or magazine articles. Instead, you can provide details of the source in the text:
In a Guardian article from 6 July 2017, Owen Jones argues…
If you give enough information for the reader to find the article, no entry is needed in the reference list. However, in practice, it’s always best to use formal citations in a university essay.
In-Text Citations
When giving a full reference, an in-text citation would be presented as follows:
The result has changed the electoral landscape (Jones 2017).
If quoting a print article, you should also include page numbers:
According to Jones (2017, 33), the political narrative was ‘fatally wounded’.
You do not need to give page numbers for online articles, however.
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Reference List
The details required for a newspaper article in a Chicago reference list are a little different to other sources. The basic format is:
Surname, First name. Year. ‘Article Title’. Newspaper Title, date of publication.
You would therefore list the Owen Jones article cited above as:
Jones, Owen. 2017. ‘Armageddon hasn’t happened – so the Labour right needs a rethink’. The Guardian, 6 July.
For an online newspaper article, you should give a URL too. You can also provide a date of access, like this:
Jones, Owen. 2017. ‘Armageddon hasn’t happened – so the Labour right needs a rethink’. The Guardian, 6 July. Accessed 13 August 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/06/armageddon-labour-right-jeremy-corbyn-no-going-back
As ever, the most important thing is providing enough information for readers to identify the sources you’ve used in your written work. If you do this, as well as making sure to use a consistent style, your references should be fine.