In this blog, we will be looking at how to correctly cite newspaper articles in your legal writing. In addition, we will consider how they can strengthen your work and when you should have them as a reference. As always, remember to check your sources for reliability and accuracy before using them in your writing.
We will start by looking at how to evaluate sources and the pros and cons of using newspaper articles in your work. Feel free to skip ahead to the section on referencing below if you are already confident in your knowledge of this topic.
Why Use Newspaper Articles as a Reference?
Firstly, we will be considering what newspaper articles can add to your writing as a source. One important role they have is in old cases, where they act as a sort of primary source from the time, as they are giving the views from then on the case. This is a very valuable piece of information if, for example, you are considering changing opinions and attitudes to the law over time. Also, it may be able to add details to certain cases, which can help to build a complete picture.
However, it is important to remember that newspaper articles can’t generally be relied upon to give an unbiased account of events, especially if the publication is one which is known to be unreliable. Facts given to back up newspaper articles can be carefully selected to show what the author wants them to. Their authors will often give a subjective version of events, so keep this in mind as you are writing. It is best to balance out newspaper articles with other sources to give a more reliable idea of what happened.
This leads to another advantage of newspaper articles – you can look at different ones to compare multiple views on the same event. This may be as simple as two competing publications in the same area but aimed at different groups of readers. However, it may also include newspapers from a certain country compared with another, giving an international view of laws, events and cases.
Why Not Use Newspaper Articles as a Reference?
We will now be considering when newspaper articles are not an appropriate source to use in your writing. This will again depend on a number of factors, such as what sort of writing you are doing, what the newspaper is and what other sources you are using.
If you are writing something that is supposed to be factual or informative, it is less likely that a newspaper article will be appropriate. Newspapers are not reliable sources for what happened in a certain case or the effect of a particular law, but they should accurately represent public opinion for at least some people at the time.
If you are writing a piece which will compare opinions and discuss the various issues surrounding your topic, newspaper articles can be an excellent source. However, keep in mind that they are far from unbiased and are written in a way which sells to their readers – which may not necessarily be accurate.
Whether you use a newspaper article as a reference will also partly depend on what newspaper it comes from. Some newspapers, generally tabloids, are known to be less reliable. Broadsheets tend to be more accurate but will almost certainly still have some bias, so do bear this in mind when researching!
Another point to consider before citing a newspaper article in your writing is what other sources you are using. Newspaper articles probably shouldn’t be your main or only source for a particular point you are making, as they are too biased to rely on entirely. Instead, try to just use newspapers to back up other, more reliable sources or add to a discussion section, making sure your other sources are strong ones.
One of the key advantages of newspapers is their currency, as they are usually written at the time of the event you are discussing. However, they may also include some historical background to a particular topic, which is no longer current, so remember that the article cannot be used as a primary source of the opinion of the time for this section.
How Do You Reference Newspaper Articles?
The basic format for a citation of a newspaper articles is:
Author | ‘Article title’ | Newspaper title | (City of publication, | Date) | Page number
For example:
Jane Croft, ‘Supreme Court Warns on Quality’ Financial Times (London, 1 July 2010) 3.
Authors are cited as above in a footnote, with the full first name or initial first, then the surname, whereas in a bibliography the surname comes first, then the initial. So, the example above would be:
Croft J, ‘Supreme Court Warns on Quality’ Financial Times (London, 1 July 2010) 3
Remember that footnotes end with a full stop, whereas bibliography entries don’t.
If the piece is in the Editorial section of the newspaper, simply cite the author as ‘Editorial’.
If the newspaper is divided into sections with page numbers restarting each time, put the section in roman before the page number with a space between them. If you found the article online and don’t know the page number, give the web address and date of access instead.
Ian Loader, ‘The Great Victim of this Get Tough Hyperactivity is Labour’ The Guardian (London, 19 June 2008) <www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/justice.ukcrime> accessed 19 November 2009.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, you now know when and why newspaper articles can be a good source to strengthen your writing. Next time we will be looking at referencing interviews in OSCOLA, so come back in two weeks for that!
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