Many writers and authors tend to be confused when writing business names in newspapers, articles or books. Some believe that all organisation names, be they small or large, must be italicised. However, the italicisation of company names is unnecessary.
So, now the real question is, should you italicise business names? You must know when to use italics as a writing style to understand whether using them when writing company names is necessary. Italic is a popular typeface used to emphasise certain phrases or words.
Hence, you highlight the company name when using italics as the typeface. However, no companies use italics on their business titles. Instead, they capitalise on them. Italicising is not needed when writing business names in newspapers or magazines.
Is using the italic format for magazine, newspaper or book titles correct? Yes! You can use this typeface on the newspaper, book or album title. Never use italics for business names, as it is inappropriate. Neither APA nor MLA approves the italics format when citing an organisation name.
Let’s find out why the italicising business name is incorrect or inappropriate:
Why You Shouldn’t Italicize a Business Name?
Italics primarily highlight particular words or objects, not company names. Writers or authors italicise a word or title to stand out from the rest of the content. However, using italics for a business name, brand, social media platform, or card is unnecessary.
Besides, it is not required to italicise a restaurant or retail store name. Why shouldn’t you do that? People have a clear idea of what these companies or channels stand for, and they know what they deal with. For instance, individuals know what they can do on social media sites like Facebook or Instagram.
They know which food items are available at fast food restaurants like McDonald’s. Everyone knows about companies like Pepsi, Samsung, Apple or Gucci. There is no need to italicise them in magazines, newspapers or journals. Use capital letters instead when adding these company names to the content.
We will make the above statements clear by giving you 2 examples:
- David bought a pen from Walmart.
- I bought a MacBook yesterday from the store.
The first line indicates a store, and the second indicates a laptop. Hence, using italics for these company names is unnecessary. Besides, italicising the business names will distract the newspaper or journal readers. They might start thinking why the writer has italicised them suddenly.
How to Cite a Business or Company Name on Newspapers?
Most writers underline the business names or use bold when citing them in a newspaper. However, it needs to be corrected, and you should never do it when adding company names on paper. So, which writing styles should you use in a local newspaper?
APA is the most suitable writing style that you can use to refer to a company or business name. Check any newspaper, and the business names are written in APA style.
APA is short for American Psychology Association and is generally used when citing business and brand names. Additionally, scholars use this form of writing in social sciences like sociology, psychology and other educational fields.
Here are the other writing styles that you can use in a newspaper for citing business names:
MLA Style
Modern Language Association is another writing style you can use instead of italics when referring to a business name in newspapers. It is generally used in humanities disciplines like English language and literature. Writers and students widely use this writing format when preparing manuscripts.
Here are other languages where you can use the MLA style:
- Foreign languages
- Philosophy
- Cultural studies
AMA Style
American Medical Association is another writing format that is popular among writers. You can use this to refer to a business or company name in a newspaper. It is the most used citation style in the medical field.
The AMA style is mandatory when writing a journal for the American Medical Association. What does the AMA citation format include? It includes numerical in-text citations, which should be written in superscript – a distinctive symbol is written above a character. “2ⁿᵈ” is an example of a superscript.
When Should You Use AP, MLA and AMA when Referring to a Business Name in a Newspaper?
You must know when to use AP, MLA and AMA styles in a newspaper. Some agencies only accept the same format in some of the content sections. Hence, knowing the right place to use them will be useful.
Where to use the AP style in the newspaper? Writers must use it in the headlines of the news article. Use the MLA format when mentioning the publisher of the content.
Besides, you can use the AMA style when publishing news about a pharmaceutical company. AMA style can also be used in mentioning a business name in a medical journal.
How to Use the APA, AP and MLA Style in a Newspaper?
Simply, put the business name within the content when referring to it in the news articles. Writers can use other writing styles when mentioning a company name in the content. Don’t make any changes when writing the company name; keep it in the same way the company writes it.
Do you want to write the company name in the AP style? Mention the business name within the text when writing for a newspaper or journal. You don’t have to write the full company name whenever you mention it in the content. Consider using the abbreviations to make it easier for the readers to understand.
On the other hand, writers must write the full business name every time they mention it in MLA content. This writing format doesn’t include abbreviations like the AP writing style. So, be extremely careful when using these 3 writing formats to cite a company or business name in newspapers.
Is It Necessary to Use Italics in a Magazine Name?
The magazine title should be in italics if you are writing for the American Psychological Association (APA). Ensure to capitalise the important phrases or words in the content. However, the scenario will differ when writing the magazine name in the article’s middle part.
How to write a magazine name in the middle of a news article or journal? The title should be in quotation marks instead of capital letters or italics style. Writers must italicise the magazine name when quoting a text from it.
Is It Correct to Use the Italics Format when Citing a Charity and newspaper Name?
You must now understand that italicising an organisation name is not required and is incorrect. Hence, using italics when writing non-profit organisations’ names seems inappropriate.
So, you should avoid using this writing format when mentioning charity names in journals or magazines. Capitalise the charity name instead to highlight it in the content. Repeat the same every time you mention the charity name in the documents.
On the other hand, writers and authors can italicise the newspaper’s names in the book, journals or magazines. There is no need to use AP, APA or AMA writing style when mentioning newspaper companies’ names. However, you must enclose the newspaper title in quotations. Avoid adding the newspaper names in the content’s introductory part.
