Bluebook Guide: Types of Periodicals

The Bluebook provides specific guidelines for citing newspaper and magazine articles, depending on whether they are print or online sources.

The Bluebook also offers instruction on the following newspaper-related topics:

• Consecutively Paginated Newspapers (R16.6(c), p. 162)
• Wire Services (R16.6(d), p. 162)
• Commercial Electronic Databases (R16.6(e), p. 162)
• Internet & Online Newspapers (R16.6(f), p. 162)

The Bluebook provides more examples of basic citation forms for various periodicals for academic legal writing at R16.1, pp. 157-58, and for court documents at B16, pp. 23-25.  Also, there are some examples on The Bluebook's Quick Style Guide.

Works appearing in newspapers will be cited by author, title of work, periodical name, date of issue as it appears on the cover, the word "at," the first page of work, and (if applicable) the page(s) on which specific material appears.  Also, the following considerations may be applicable for works appearing in newspapers:

• If appropriate, the work should be designated as an "Editorial," "Opinion," or "Letter to the Editor" in ordinary type, following the author’s name but before the title or at the beginning of the citation when there is no author.
• After the date, present the section designation where the work is located (in a parenthetical if necessary) to identify the page unambiguously.
• Give only the first page of the work and do not indicate the location of specific material.
• Substitute "Letter to the Editor" or another designation for an untitled work.
• Include the place of publication in ordinary type in a parenthetical after the newspaper’s name if not clear from the name.
• Abbreviate the newspaper or magazine title using T13, pp. 320-22 (Institutional Names in Periodical Titles) and T10, pp. 312-18 (Geographic Terms).

The following is an example of a general newspaper citation.

• Paul Mozur et al., China’s Rush to Dominate A.I. Comes With a Twist: It Depends on U.S. Technology, N.Y. Times, Feb. 21, 2024, at 1.
• John Smith, The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Cities, N.Y. Times, Dec. 25, 2023, at A1.

The Bluebook provides examples for the foregoing points.  See R16.6(a) & (b), pp. 161-162.

If the periodical is consecutively paginated throughout each volume but does not have a volume number, the year of publication can be used as the volume number, and the parenthetical reference to the year can be omitted.  See R16.4, p. 160.

• Jean C. Love, Landlord's Liability for Defective Premises: Caveat Lessee, Negligence, or Strict Liability, 1975 Wis. L. Rev. 19, 41-42.

Online newspapers can replace print versions.  Cite them as per R18.2.2., including pagination if possible.  If the posting time is known, add it in the citation also following R18.2.2.  In the following examples, note using the Internet archival method per R18.2.1(d).

• See Ernie Suggs, The Michael Brown Killing: What You Need to Know, The Atlanta J. Const., www.ajc.com/news/ferguson-brown-faq/ [perma.cc/3AA4-69QK] (last visited Feb. 16, 2023) (describing the killing of Michael Brown).
• See Ed Pilkington, Trump’s Scrapping of Obama-era Reforms Hinders Police Reform, The Guardian (June 7, 2020), www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/07/police-consent-decrees-trump-administration-oversight [perma.cc/3U68-MPN6] (noting that under the Obama administration the use of consent decrees frequently followed “high-profile police killings of unarmed black men”).