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Guide · Updated 13 November 2026

How to cite a news article that has been updated

Online stories change, so a citation needs to point to the version you actually read. Here is how APA, MLA and Chicago handle it, and one habit that makes any style more reliable.

The examples below use an invented article from an invented site, Example News, so the formats are easy to see.

The habit that helps whatever the style: archive what you cite

Before you rely on an article, save a copy to the Wayback Machine ("Save Page Now") and note the archive address it gives you. If the story changes later, you and your readers can still see the version you used. Several style guides, including APA's, treat an archived copy as the better alternative to a "retrieved on" date.

APA (7th edition)

A story on a news website is cited like this:

Rivera, T. (2026, November 3). Council approves new bus routes. Example News. https://www.example.com/news/bus-routes

APA normally leaves out the date you read a page. It asks for a retrieval date only when a page is designed to change over time and is not archived. If you are citing a fast-moving story and have no archived copy, add one:

Rivera, T. (2026, November 3). Council approves new bus routes. Example News. Retrieved November 13, 2026, from https://www.example.com/news/bus-routes

APA treats online newspapers (sites of papers that also print) slightly differently from online-only news sources, so check which template your instructor or publisher expects.

MLA (9th edition)

Rivera, Tomás. "Council Approves New Bus Routes." Example News, 3 Nov. 2026, www.example.com/news/bus-routes. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

In MLA the access date at the end is optional. The MLA Handbook recommends one when a work has no publication date or is likely to be revised or deleted, which describes many news stories. If the page shows when it was last updated, many guides suggest using that date, since it matches the version you read.

Chicago (18th edition)

1. Tomás Rivera, "Council Approves New Bus Routes," Example News, November 3, 2026, updated November 4, 2026, 2:15 p.m. ET, https://www.example.com/news/bus-routes.

Chicago asks for the publication date or the date of the most recent revision, and an access date only when no other date can be found. Because news sites update stories as they unfold, the Manual says it may be appropriate to include the time stamp shown on the article.

If the article changed after you read it

  • Cite the version you used, with the date or time stamp it carried, and add the archive address if you have one.
  • If the change matters to your argument, say so in the text: "an earlier version of the article reported…".
  • If the outlet added a correction, it is good practice to mention it, especially if you relied on the part that was corrected.

Citing a NewsFacts record

If you are writing about how a story changed, you can cite our record alongside the article itself. How to cite a NewsFacts record, including the version fingerprint that identifies exactly which text you mean.

Style guides are revised from time to time, and instructors and journals sometimes set their own rules. Where they differ from this summary, follow them.