Yes. In most school work, you should put The New York Times in italics. AP style is a key exception. It uses plain type for the name of a news paper.
The best rule is simple. Use the style guide your class, boss, or editor asks for. Then use that style from start to end.
The short answer
For most school papers, put the name of the paper in italics. MLA treats a news paper as a full work. The title of one story is a smaller work, so it goes in quote marks.
The MLA Style Center explains the same basic split between a full work and a short work inside it.
- I read the story in The New York Times.
- “Title of the Story” ran in The New York Times.
MLA style
MLA puts the name of a news paper in italics. It uses quote marks for the name of a story in that paper. This full-work rule can help with many title questions.
If you write many school papers, an MLA Handbook can be a handy desk book.
APA style
APA also puts the news paper name in italics in a source list. The story title is not in italics. APA has its own rules for dates, names, links, and source lists.
If your class uses APA often, an APA Publication Manual can help you check those rules fast.
Chicago style
Chicago style also tends to put news paper names in italics. The paper is the full work. A story is one part of that work.
AP style
AP style is not the same. News copy often uses plain type for the names of papers. If you write for a news site, use that site’s own rules first.
What about “The”?
The full name is The New York Times. How you treat the word “The” can depend on the style and the sentence. Do not make it hard. Use the guide you were given and stay with it.
Paper name or company name
The paper and the company are not the same thing. The New York Times is the paper. The New York Times Company is the business.
That matters. A paper title may be in italics. A company name stays in plain type.
Do story titles get italics?
Most often, no. In MLA work, a story title goes in quote marks. The name of the paper goes in italics.
This rule can help when you learn how to find the publisher of a website. Ask one thing: am I naming the full source, or one part of it?
Why the look of the Times can fool us
The Times has its own look. Its logo, heads, and story text do not all use the same type. That design choice is not the same as the rule you use in your own paper.
Our guide to the fonts used by The New York Times looks at that design side. The New York Times dialect quiz is also a good case of a work that sits inside a larger news site.
On the web, a theme can change how italics look. This guide to free versus premium WordPress themes shows how type can change from one site to the next, while the writing rule stays the same.
Quick cheat sheet
- MLA: use italics for The New York Times.
- APA: use italics for the paper name in the source list.
- Chicago: use italics for the paper name in most cases.
- AP: use plain type.
- Story title: use quote marks in MLA.
- Company name: use plain type.
If your teacher or editor gives you a guide, that guide wins.
The bottom line
For most school work, yes, The New York Times should be in italics. AP news style is the main common exception.
Check the style once. Then use it the same way all through your work. That keeps your page neat and saves time.
