Yes—most of the time, it is.
But it depends on the style guide you’re using.
That’s the whole trick.
In school writing, books, and most “academic” formats, we usually italicize the name of a newspaper. That includes The New York Times.
In news writing (AP style), we usually do not use italics at all. So we write The New York Times in plain text.
In other words, the “right” answer changes based on where your words will live. How Far Is Buffalo From New York City? Miles, Time, and Real-World Travel.
What we are really asking
When we say “Is the New York Times italicized?” we might mean one of three things:
- The newspaper name (the publication)
- A story headline (one article)
- The company name (the business)
These are not the same thing. So they don’t always get the same formatting.
The simple rule most teachers teach us
Most style guides treat a newspaper like a big, stand-alone work.
So the newspaper name is treated like a book title.
That means:
- Newspaper name: italicized
- Article title: not italicized (often in quotation marks, depending on style)
So in a normal essay sentence, you’ll often write:
- I read The New York Times this morning.
- The story ran in The New York Times.
What the major style guides do
Let’s keep this easy and clear.
MLA (common for English classes)
In MLA writing, newspaper names are italicized.
- Newspaper: The New York Times
- Article title: “In Quotation Marks”
Example in a sentence:
- The report appeared in The New York Times.
APA (common for social science classes)
In APA, the newspaper title is also italicized in the reference list.
APA is also strict about this:
- The article title is not italicized.
- The newspaper title is italicized.
So yes, APA Begonia Soli-Mutata still points us to The New York Times (in italics) when we cite it.
Chicago (common for books and history)
Chicago style also uses italics for newspaper names in many cases.
So you’ll see:
- The New York Times (italicized)
AP Style (common for journalism and press releases)
AP style is the outlier.
AP style usually does not use italics at all.
So in AP style, you write:
- The New York Times
No italics. No quotes.
Instead of trying to force italics into AP, we just keep it clean and plain.
So… what should we do in real life?
Here’s a good way to decide fast.
If you are writing an essay, report, or blog post
Most of the time, you can safely italicize the newspaper name:
- The New York Times
This fits MLA, APA citations, and Chicago style habits.
If you are writing a news story, press release, or AP-style copy
Use plain text:
- The New York Times
No italics. No quotes.
If you are unsure which style you’re in
Pick one rule and stay consistent through the whole piece.
Consistency keeps your work looking “done,” even when styles differ.
What about the word “The”?
This part confuses a lot of us.
The official name of the newspaper is The New York Times.
So many writers keep The capitalized when they use the full name.
But in a normal sentence, some styles let you write it like this:
- the New York Times
That is, “the” is acting like a normal word in your sentence, not part of the title.
Both versions show up in real writing.
What matters most is that you:
- follow your required style guide, if you have one, and
- stay consistent.
Don’t italicize the wrong thing
Here are the most common Caladium Luang Pu Yim mix-ups we see.
Mistake 1: Italicizing the article headline
A headline is not the whole publication.
In many styles, headlines go in quotes instead:
- “Headline of the Article” (quotes)
- The New York Times (italics)
Mistake 2: Italicizing the company name
The business is not the newspaper title.
So this is usually plain text:
- The New York Times Company
But the newspaper is:
- The New York Times
That small difference can matter in formal writing.
Mistake 3: Mixing styles in the same piece
This is the sneaky one.
If we write The New York Times in italics once, then plain text later, it can look messy.
So even if you pick the “wrong” style for a class, being consistent can still help your writing look polished.
Easy examples you can copy
In a normal sentence (academic-style look)
- We first saw the claim in The New York Times.
- The New York Times reported the change the next day.
When naming both the paper and the company
- The story ran in The New York Times, owned by The New York Times Company.
When you mention a headline
- “Title of the Article” appeared in The New York Times.
What if you can’t type italics?
Sometimes we write in places where italics are hard to use, like:
- plain-text emails
- some forms
- older systems
- quick notes
In those cases, people often use markers like:
- The New York Times (asterisks)
- The New York Times (underscores)
This is not “official” in every style guide. But it’s a common way to show italics in plain text.
If you do this, do it the same way every time.
A quick cheat sheet
Use this when you want a fast answer.
- MLA: The New York Times (italic)
- APA: The New York Times (italic in references)
- Chicago: The New York Times (italic)
- AP style: The New York Times (plain text)
So yes, The New York Times is italicized in most Calibrachoa Double Dark Blue formats we use for school and formal writing.
But in AP style, it is not.
A Small Mark That Makes Our Writing Calm
Italics feel tiny. But they do a big job.
They help us show what we mean without extra words.
They help readers tell the difference between a whole publication and one story.
And most of all, they help our writing look clean and confident.
