How to cite a newspaper article in APA Style

Newspaper articles are cited much like other periodical sources in APA style, with the specific publication date included if available, and the name of the newspaper written in italics.

Print newspaper citations include a page number or range; online newspaper citations include a URL.

Using the buttons below, you can explore how to cite an online newspaper article with one or more authors.

With the APA Citation Generator, you can automatically create citations for print or online newspaper articles and build your reference list.

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Citing newspapers in print

Printed newspapers are sometimes divided into sections, which are identified by a letter before the page number (e.g. A1, B4). Always include the letters when page numbers are formatted in this way.

Newspaper articles may also appear on discontinuous pages (for example, an article which begins on the front page but continues on page 20). Make sure to only cite the relevant pages, separating different pages and page ranges with commas:

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.

Note that with newspapers, unlike with other source types, APA requires you to write “p.” (for a single page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before page numbers in your reference list entry.

Citing newspaper articles accessed online

If you accessed the article on the newspaper’s website, include a URL instead of page numbers. APA recommends linking to the homepage rather than the specific article, because article links can stop working:

Schwartz, F., & McBride, C. (2019, November 18). Trump administration says Israeli settlements aren’t illegal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://wsj.com

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Online-only news sites

Don’t use the newspaper citation format for articles on news sites that are not linked to a print newspaper, such as Reuters or BBC News.

Instead, use the format of a website citation. The URL links directly to the article, and the name of the site is not included:

Frequently asked questions about APA newspaper citations

How do I cite a source with no author in APA?

When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization – for example, a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company’s website – use the organization’s name as the author in your reference list and in-text citations.

When no author at all can be determined – for example, a collaboratively-edited wiki or an online article published anonymously – use the title in place of the author. In the in-text citation, put the title in quotation marks and shorten it if necessary.

How do I cite a source with no page numbers in APA?

When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your in-text citation. If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website), you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:

(Caulfield, 2019, “Linking” section, para. 1).

Section headings can be shortened if necessary. Kindle location numbers should not be used in ebook citations, as they are unreliable.

If you are referring to the source as a whole, it’s not necessary to include a page number or other marker.

When should I use “et al.” in APA in-text citations?

Depending on the number of authors a source has, an APA in-text citation is shortened by using “et al.” (meaning “and others”) after the first author’s name.

Sources with 3–5 authors are written in full the first time and shortened from the second citation onwards. Sources with 6+ authors are always shortened, even the first time.

• First in-text citation: (Taylor, Kotler, Johnson, & Parker, 2018)
• Subsequent in-text citation: (Taylor et al., 2018)

When should I include an access date in an APA citation?

APA style usually does not require an access date. You never need to include one when citing journal articles, e-books, or other stable online sources.

However, if you are citing a website or online article that’s likely to change over time, it’s a good idea to include an access date. In this case, place the month, day, and year directly after the word “Retrieved”, and before the URL.