Following these Chicago newspaper citation examples helps you add current events to your school paper. Your teacher may assign a history paper that requires a Chicago 17 style format. After you find out if you need to use the author-date style or notes-bibliography style, refer to these easy citation formats to create your reference page or bibliography.
Format for Chicago Newspaper Citation
Follow these easy formats to cite your sources correctly in Chicago style. There is no need to add page numbers in the parenthetical citation.
Reference List Format
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper, Month Day, Year.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Author’s Last Name Year)
Example Reference List
Scherer, Phil. 2019. “$400 Grant Awarded for Railroad Ave. Project.” Las Vegas Optic, December 1, 2019.
Example Parenthetical Citation
(Scherer 2019)
Citation Examples for Online Newspaper Articles
If you accessed the source online, you should add the URL. Usually, newspaper articles aren’t assigned a DOI, but if you do find one, use that instead. If you find the article in a database, include that information.
Reference List Format
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper, Month Day, Year. URL or DOI or Database.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Author’s Last Name Year)
Example Reference List
Barajas, Julia. 2019. “Los Angeles is Trying to Create the Perfect Streetlamp – and Right Inequities as Well.” Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-13/la-streetlight-design-competition
Example Parenthetical Citation
(Barajas 2019)
Chicago Notes-Bibliography Format
Cite newspaper articles in the Notes section only. If you cite an article frequently or if it’s critical to your research argument, you may include it in the bibliography following the basic article format. Do not add the page numbers.
Bibliography Citation Format
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year.
Notes Citation Format
Author’s First Last Name, “Title of Article”, Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year.
Example Bibliography Entry
Hale, Alan. “Comet Borisov.” New Mexico Enchantment, October 23, 2019.
Example Notes Entry
1. Alan Hale, “Comet Borisov”, New Mexico Enchantment, October 23, 2019.
Citing Online Newspaper Articles
With Chicago notes-bibliography style, you will need to add the URL, DOI or name of the database to the citation for online newspaper articles.
Bibliography Citation Format
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year. URL.
Notes Citation Format
Author’s First Last Name, “Title of Article.” Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
Example Bibliography Entry
Hayden, Tyler. “The Changing Santa Barbara Channel.” Santa Barbara Independent. December 12. 2019. https://www.independent.com/2019/12/11/the-changing-santa-barbara-channel.
Example Notes Entry
Tyler Hayden, “The Changing Santa Barbara Channel.” Santa Barbara Independent, December 12, 2019, https://www.independent.com/2019/12/11/the-changing-santa-barbara-channel.
- Omit The from titles of journals, newspapers, and newspapers.
- You can add the name of the city to the newspaper title, if needed.
- Omit page numbers in the parenthetical citation.
- Use the title in place of the author’s name, if there is no byline.
Find Local Sources for Your Research
Add a personal touch to your Chicago style citation paper by finding local newspaper articles to back up your research. For example, look for historical events that happened near you. Not only will that add local flavor, you’ll learn about interesting history. Who knows? You may even find one or two of your ancestors contributed to the history of your area.