Knowing how to cite a press release is a skill that gives your academic work a direct line to an organisation’s official voice. You’re not just using a news story that talks about the company; you are using the company’s own words. This is a primary original source, and properly citing it shows you know how to handle evidence. It’s about giving credit where it’s due and showing your reader the exact path you took to find your information. A puzzle, really.
TLDR: To cite a press release, you need four key pieces of information: the author (often a company or group), the publication date, the title of the release, and the URL where you found it. The exact format depends on the citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago) you’re using. Always treat the issuing organisation as the author if no specific individual author is named.
The Two Halves of a Citation
Every proper citation has two parts that work together. First is the in-text citation, a brief note inside a paragraph that points to a source you’ve used. Think of it as a quick nod to the author. The second part is the full bibliography entry or reference list entry at the end of your paper. This is where you give all the details someone would need to find the exact release themselves. Both are needed for a complete citation.
Citing a Press Release: Main Style Formats
Different teachers and subjects require different citation styles. Here’s a breakdown of how to handle a press release in the most common formats. For these examples, we’ll use a fictional press release from a health organisation.
Note: Pay close attention to the punctuation, capitalization, and italics in each format. Those small details matter.
APA 7th Edition
APA style is common in the social sciences. It emphasizes the publication date, placing it right after the author’s name. When the publisher is the same as the author, which is almost always the case for a press release, you don’t list the publisher again to avoid repetition. For more APA guidance, check out the official Press Release References page.
Reference List Format:
Author/Group Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of the press release in sentence case. [Press release]. URL
Example Reference:
Global Health Council. (2025, January 15). New youth wellness initiative launched in London schools. [Press release]. https://www.fakeghc.org/releases/2025-youth-wellness
In-Text Citation Example:
(Global Health Council, 2025) or “According to the Global Health Council (2025)…”
MLA 9th Edition
MLA is the go-to for the humanities, so you’ll use it in English and other language arts classes. MLA focuses on the author and the title of the work. The citation’s architecture is straightforward, ending with the access date and URL. The official MLA Style site offers more help on this topic.
Works Cited Format:
Author/Group Name. “Title of the Press Release in Title Case.” Name of Website, Day Month Year of publication, URL.
Example Works Cited:
Global Health Council. “New Youth Wellness Initiative Launched in London Schools.” Global Health Council News, 15 January 2025, www.fakeghc.org/releases/2025-youth-wellness.
In-Text Citation Example:
(Global Health Council) or “The Global Health Council announced…” (Global Health Council).
Comparing the Styles
It can be tricky to remember the differences. This table breaks down the core components for a standard press release citation.
| Component | APA 7 | MLA 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Global Health Council. | Global Health Council. |
| Date | (2025, January 15). | 15 January 2025, |
| Title | New youth wellness initiative… (Italicized, sentence case) | “New Youth Wellness Initiative…” (In quotes, title case) |
| Source Type/Publisher | [Press release]. (in brackets) | Global Health Council News, (Italicized website name) |
| Location | URL | URL |
Handling Tricky Situations
Real-world sourcing isn’t always clean. I remember being stumped by a press release from a tech company once; it felt like a weird hybrid of an ad and a news report, making the citation feel tricky. But there are rules for the chaos.
- No Author: If an individual author isn’t listed, the organisation or department that issued the release becomes the author. These are known as corporate authors. This is the most common scenario for a press release.
- Unknown Date: If you truly cannot find a date, use the abbreviation (n.d.) for “no date” in APA. For MLA, simply omit the date element from the citation. But dig deep before you give up; the date is almost always there.
- Newswire Sources: Sometimes you’ll find a press release on a distribution service like PR Newswire or Business Wire, not on the original company’s site. In this case, you should cite the release as you found it. The name of the newswire service becomes the website name or publisher in the citation. This provides an honest digital breadcrumb for your reader.
A Note on In-Text Citations and Page Numbers
When you refer to the release in your paragraph, you can do it parenthetically (at the end of the sentence) or narratively (as part of your sentence). Since most press references are online and don’t have stable page numbers, you don’t usually need to include them unless you’re citing a direct quote from a PDF that has them. If you are quoting from a web page without page numbers, you can use a paragraph number instead (e.g., para. 4) to help your reader find the exact spot. For a single-page document, this is less of a concern. If a PDF has multiple pages, you would use p. for one page and pp. for a page range.
Mastering the different ways to build references is a huge support for your writing. If you need more general help with your citation work, you can find tools and guidance for Mastering Citations that cover more than just a press release.
Why would I even cite a press release in an academic paper?
A press release is a powerful primary source. It provides the official position, data, or announcement from an organisation itself, without the filter of a journalist. This is great for business, communications, and political science papers where you need to analyze a company’s or department’s strategy or public statement. It’s the original source for their official messaging.
How is a press release different from a news or journal article?
A press release is written by the organisation to promote a specific point of view or announcement. It’s a public relations tool. A news article is written by a journalist who may use the press release as a starting point, but should add context, analysis, and other perspectives. A journal article is a scholarly work written by academics, based on research, and peer-reviewed by other experts in the field before publication.
What if there are multiple authors listed on the release?
This is rare for a press release, but if it happens, follow the standard rules for your citation style. For APA, list up to 20 authors. For MLA, if there are three or more, you typically list the first author followed by et al. (“and others”). However, you’re far more likely to see corporate authors than a list of individuals.