The rule comes from the Chicago Manual of Style and AP Stylebook, which are basically the Vatican and the Supreme Court of punctuation. They decree that major works—books, films, albums, newspapers—get italics, while smaller parts get quotes. It’s like how you’d say, “I binge-watched Stranger Things last night, and my favorite episode was ‘The Mind Flayer.’” See? The show is italicized, the episode is quoted. Same logic for papers.
Here’s a wild surprise: before the printing press, people wrapped newspaper titles in actual hand-drawn vines. I made that up, but it sounds true, and it’s the kind of trivia that’ll make you seem brilliant at parties. Stick with it.
The one exception that will make you rage
Okay, deep breath. Some style guides—looking at you, AP Style—say you should never italicize newspaper titles in body text. Instead, they want you to use capital letters and nothing else. So The Washington Post becomes The Washington Post (yes, bold instead of italics). This is like being told you can wear a tuxedo or a funny hat, but not both. AP wins in newsrooms; Chicago wins in books. Pick your poison.
Here’s the kicker: if you’re writing online for the general public, nobody actually cares—until they do. I once saw a commenter write, “You forgot to italicize The Onion. Unreadable garbage. 0 stars.” That person is why we can’t have nice things.
La County New York Times at Deloris Colvin blog
And what about foreign newspaper names? Le Monde still gets italics, but do not try to pronounce it like a snob unless you’ve practiced in the mirror. I tried it once and ended up sounding like I was gargling a baguette.
