You only italicize the name of the newspaper itself. Think The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, or The Onion (yes, even fake news gets fake italics).
The actual article—“Why Your Cat Hates You”—gets wrapped in quotation marks. Not italics. Ever. I know, it feels wrong, like wearing socks with sandals, but it’s correct.
Why? Because italics signal a standalone work (books, movies, albums). Articles are just chapters in a giant, noisy newspaper. Chapters don’t get italics; they get quotes. Simple, right?
Wait, What About Online Articles?
Ah, the digital loophole. You’re reading this on a blog, not a printed page. Does that change anything? Nope. Even if it’s a blog post on Medium, the article title still gets quotes.
The website or publication name? Italics. So if I wrote for BuzzFeed, the article “27 Cats Who Look Like Your Ex” would be quoted. The site stays italicized. Yes, it’s that rigid—and I love it.
Unless you’re writing for AP Style, which hates italics with a fiery passion. Then you use quotes for everything. But we’re talking MLA, Chicago, or common sense here.
