Q. I am having a disagreement with an author regarding her quoting of newspaper articles in her paper. I think that all the details of the article quoted should be provided, including the title. She thinks it’s enough to just give the name of the publication and date. Which of us is right?
A. Although Chicago-style citations of newspaper articles include the titles, such titles are not always stable—they can change from one edition to the next and can be different in print and online—so there might be reason to omit them. Citations that back up quotations, however, should always serve to (1) verify the writer’s assertions and (2) help the reader find the source of the quotation. If omitting the title gets in the way of either purpose, it’s not a good idea.