Template:Cite news

Template documentation

This documentation is transcluded from Template:Cite news/doc. (edit | history)

This template is used to cite sources in Wikipedia. It is specifically for news sources.

Usage

All parameter names must be lowercase.

Copy a blank version to use. Remember to use the "|" (pipe) character between each field. Please delete any unused fields to avoid clutter in the edit window.

Full version (copy and paste text below and delete parameters you don't need)
{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title= |curly=y |url= |format= |agency= |work= |publisher= |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate=2024-12-23 |language= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= }}
First example of commonly used fields (or you can use this and not have to delete as much) (This assumes English, HTML format, with today as automatically wikilinked access date)
{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= |curly=y |url= |work= |publisher= |date= |accessdate=2024-12-23 }}
Same commonly used fields, using day before month (common international style)
{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= |curly=y |url= |work= |publisher= |date= |accessdaymonth=23 December |accessyear=2024 }}
Same commonly used fields, using month before day (common US style)
{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= |curly=y |url= |work= |publisher= |date= |accessmonthday=December 23 |accessyear=2024 }}
Shorter example
{{cite news |first= |last= |coauthors= |title= |curly=y |work= |page= |date= |accessdate=2024-12-23|quote= |url= }}

All parameters, vertical format

{{cite news
 | first = 
 | last = 
 | authorlink = 
 | author = 
 | coauthors = 
 | title = 
 | curly = y 
 | url = 
 | format = 
 | agency = 
 | work = 
 | publisher = 
 | location = 
 | id = 
 | pages = 
 | page = 
 | date = 
 | accessdate = 
 | accessdaymonth = 
 | accessmonthday = 
 | accessyear = 
 | language = 
 | quote = 
 | archiveurl = 
 | archivedate = 
 }}

• title is required, rest is optional. Note that title must be on one line in order for the hyperlink to display properly. Do not enclose it in quotations marks, italics or other formatting, though it may be wikilinked.
  • curly=y causes the title to be enclosed in true curved quotes, not typewriter quotes. Currently has no effect on the quotation specified in quote.
• author: Author.
  • last works with first to produce last, first
  • authorlink works either with author or with last & first to link to the appropriate Wikipedia article. Does not work with URLs.
  • coauthors: Allows additional authors.
• url: Link to the news item if available online (note this is not for a link to the main web page of the work of publisher, but only to a copy of the item specified in title). Start the url with the communications protocol e.g. http://.
  • format: Format, e.g. PDF. Don’t specify for HTML (implied as default).

    Specify as ‘fee required’ if free access is no longer available.

    Specify as ‘Reprint’ if you use a full original version but not hosted by the original publisher.

• agency: The news agency (wire service) that provided the content, e.g. Associated Press, Reuters, etc. Spell out and link the full name.
• work: The publication that ran the item, e.g. Newsweek. Can also be used for the name of a column or subpart of an issue. Do not italicize.
  • location: Place of the publication, e.g. Toronto for The Globe and Mail. For student newspapers, include the name of the school.
• publisher: The company or organization that publishes the news source. Not necessary for major publications like The New York Times, but may add credibility for local papers that are part of a family of publications like The McClatchy Company.
• id: Identifier such as {{ISSN|0028–0836}} — remember, if you use this parameter, you must specify the kind of identifier, not just give a number.
• date: Date of publication. Use the same format as the main text of the article. If the ISO 8601 YYYY-MM-DD format is used it will be automatically wikilinked to enable date user preferences if used.
• page or pages: The page(s) on which the article is found. page inserts the abbreviation "p." before the number; pages inserts "pp." Use only one of these parameters. If numbers are entered for both, pages overrides page.
• Choose a date format from the following options that matches the main text of the article.

For producing a wikilinked date of retrieval:

• accessdate: Full date when item was accessed, in ISO 8601 YYYY-MM-DD format, for example "accessdate = 2024-12-23". Must not be wikilinked; it will be linked automatically. If the American/International date format is required for consistency within the article, use accessyear and accessmonthday or accessdaymonth, as American/International dates will not display correctly if used for accessdate.

For producing a non-wikilinked date of retrieval:

• accessmonthday and accessyear: Month and day when item was accessed, for example "accessmonthday = May 10", and year when item was accessed, for example "accessyear = 2006". Produces: Retrieved on May 10, 2006.
• accessdaymonth and accessyear: Month and day when item was accessed, for example "accessdaymonth= 10 May", and year when item was accessed, for example "accessyear = 2006". Produces: Retrieved on 10 May 2006.

• language: The language in which the source is written. If English (the default) do not use this parameter.
• quote: Relevant quotation. Adding a quotation can help locate online copies of the item using a text search, especially if the original link goes dead.
• archiveurl: URL of the archive location of the item (requires archivedate, title, and url); this is for archives such as those at internetarchive.org; for back-issues and the like that are on file at the publisher's site, use the "url" parameter.
• archivedate: Date when the item was archived (requires archiveurl, title, and url), in ISO 8601 YYYY-MM-DD format, e.g. 2006-02-17. Must not be wikilinked; it will be linked automatically. This field does not support American/International dates (they will display incorrectly as redlinks if used).

Examples

Using first and last to identify the author, and id to supply the ISSN

• {{cite news | first=John | last=Doe | title=News | curly=y | url=http://www.example.org/ | work=Encyclopedia of Things | publisher=News co. | location=Toronto | pages= 37–39 | date=[[2005-11-21]] | id={{ISSN|0028–0836}} | accessdate=2005-12-11 }}
  
  → Doe, John (2005-11-21). “News”, Encyclopedia of Things (Toronto), News co., pp. 37–39. ISSN 0028–0836. Retrieved on 2005-12-11. 

Using author instead of first and last, and adding a news agency

• {{cite news | author=Staff writer | title=News | curly=y | url=http://www.example.org/News.pdf | format=PDF | agency=Wireservice | publisher=News co. | pages= 37–39 | date=[[2005-11-21]] | accessdate=2005-12-11 }}
  
  → Staff writer (2005-11-21). “News” (PDF), Wireservice, News co., pp. 37–39. Retrieved on 2005-12-11. 

Using authorlink to link to the author’s article

• {{cite news | first=John | last=Doe | authorlink=John Doe | title=News | curly=y | url=http://www.example.org/background | format=Reprint | publisher=News co. | date=[[2005-11-21]] | accessdate=2005-12-11 }}
  
  → Doe, John (2005-11-21). “News” (Reprint), News co.. Retrieved on 2005-12-11. 

Using format

• {{cite news | title=News | curly=y | url=http://www.example.org/Archive/News | format=Fee required | publisher=News co. | date=[[2005-11-21]] | accessdate=2005-12-11 }}
  
  → “News” (Fee required), News co. (2005-11-21). Retrieved on 2005-12-11. 

Using page to identify the reference by page

• {{cite news | first=John | last=Doe | title=FooBar | curly=y | page=1 }}
  
  → Doe, John. “FooBar”, p. 1. 

A very simple citation

• {{cite news | title=FooBar | curly=y | page=1 }}
  
  → “FooBar”, p. 1. 

Using archiveurl and archivedate to refer to items that went away but are available from an archive site

• {{cite news | author=Staff writer | title=News | curly=y | url=http://www.example.org/News.pdf | format=PDF | publisher=News co. | pages= 37–39 | date=[[2005-11-21]] | accessdate=2005-12-11 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070628082911/http://www.example.org/News.pdf | archivedate=2007-06-28 }}
  
  → Staff writer (2005-11-21). “News” (PDF), News co., pp. 37–39. Retrieved on 2005-12-11. Archived from the original on 2007-06-28. 

COinS

This template produces COinS metadata; see COinS in Wikipedia for background information.

See also

• Wikipedia:Cite sources: Style guide
• Wikipedia:Template messages/Sources of articles/Generic citations: Related templates
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikicite
• Template:Cite web
• Template:Cite book