Citing a Newspaper Article in Chicago Style | Format & Examples

Chicago Citation Generator

In Chicago notes and bibliography style, it’s recommended to just cite newspaper articles in footnotes and omit them from the bibliography. Only list an article in the bibliography if it’s essential to your argument, if you cite it frequently, or if your university requires you to.

No page numbers are used in notes or bibliography entries for newspaper articles. Add a URL if you consulted the article online. Make sure to pay attention to the punctuation (e.g., commas and quotation marks) in your notes and citations.

In author-date style, you should always include any newspaper articles you cite in your reference list.

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Newspaper names and editions

When writing the name of a newspaper, use italics and omit any initial “The”:

• The New York Times
• New York Times

When a newspaper shares a name with other publications and could be confused with them, add the name of the city (or country, for a foreign national newspaper) where it is published. This appears in parentheses, in plain text, after the newspaper name.

• Gazette (Montreal)
• Times (UK)

Different editions of a newspaper may exist (e.g. “early edition,” “final edition,” “Midwest edition”); they can be listed where relevant:

Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. “Robert Giroux, Editor, Publisher and Nurturer of Literary Giants, Is Dead at 94.” New York Times, September 6, 2008, New York edition.

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Citing a magazine article

Magazine articles are cited in a very similar format to newspaper articles, but with a couple of key differences.

First, magazine articles must appear in the bibliography.

Second, page numbers (when available) may be used in footnote citations of magazines. However, do not include a page range in the bibliography entry, since magazine articles are often interrupted by other material (e.g., advertisements).

Citing articles in author-date style

In author-date style, your in-text citations consist of the author’s last name and the year of publication. A page number may be included for a magazine article.

In the corresponding reference list entry, the year appears twice: straight after the author’s name, and then again as part of the full date towards the end.

Author-date newspaper citation examples

Frequently asked questions about Chicago style citations

Should I use short notes or full notes for my Chicago citations?

In Chicago notes and bibliography style, the usual standard is to use a full note for the first citation of each source, and short notes for any subsequent citations of the same source.

However, your institution’s guidelines may differ from the standard rule. In some fields, you’re required to use a full note every time, whereas in some other fields you can use short notes every time, as long as all sources are listed in your bibliography. If you’re not sure, check with your instructor.

How do I cite a source with multiple authors in Chicago style?

In a Chicago style footnote, list 2 authors. If there are more than 2, name only the first author, followed by “et al.“

In the bibliography, list up to 6 authors. If there are more than 6, list the first 3 followed by “et al.”

	Full note	Short note	Bibliography
2 authors	Anna Burns and Robert Smith	Burns and Smith	Burns, Anna, and Robert Smith.
3–6 authors	Anna Burns et al.	Burns et al.	Burns, Anna, Robert Smith, Judith Green, and Nisha Patel.
7+ authors	Anna Burns et al.	Burns et al.	Burns, Anna, Robert Smith, Judith Green, et al.

The same rules apply in Chicago author-date style.

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator.

How do I cite a source with no author in Chicago style?

In a Chicago footnote citation, when the author of a source is unknown (as is often the case with websites), start the citation with the title in a full note. In short notes and bibliography entries, list the organization that published it as the author.

Type	Example
Full note	1. “An Introduction to Research Methods,” Scribbr, accessed June 11, 2020, https://www.scribbr.com/category/methodology/.
Short note	2. Scribbr, “Research Methods.”
Bibliography	Scribbr. “An Introduction to Research Methods.” Accessed June 11, 2020. https://www.scribbr.com/category/methodology/.

In Chicago author-date style, treat the organization as author in your in-text citations and reference list.

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator.

How do I cite a source with no date in Chicago style?

When an online source does not list a publication date, replace it with an access date in your Chicago footnotes and your bibliography:

Scribbr. “How to Write a Research Paper.” Accessed June 9, 2020. https://www.scribbr.com/category/research-paper/.

If you are using author-date in-text citations, or if the source was not accessed online, replace the date with “n.d.”

(Scribbr, n.d.)

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator. We also recommend using QuillBot’s online Notepad to help you keep track of source information.