How do I cite a press release?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

How you cite a press release depends on its format and where you found it. As always, follow the MLA format template.

If you received the press release as a print document in the mail, list the title of the release and its publication details. For clarity, you might list “Press release” in the optional-element slot at the end of the entry.

“Modern Language Association Announces New and Improved MLA Language Map.” Modern Language Association of America, 18 Apr. 2006. Press release.

If you found the press release as an HTML document on a website or in a database, list the title of the release and the title of the site as the title of the container. If the name of the publisher is the same as the name of the website, as it is in the example below, omit the publisher’s name but list the date of the release and the URL.

“Governments Commit to Shared Climate Action through Least Developed Countries Fund.” Global Environment Facility, 26 Sept. 2019, www.thegef.org/news/governments-commit-shared-climate-action-through-least-developed-countries-fund. Press release.

If you cite a press release that you downloaded from a website or database as a PDF, cite the release in two containers. Cite the publication information for the PDF in the first container and the publication information for the site in the second container. At the end of the entry, you might include “PDF download” in the optional-element slot to make clear to the reader that the URL does not take you directly to an HTML version of the release.

“Climate Action Summit to Provide Solutions for Increasing Energy Efficiency and for Sustainable Cooling in a Warming World.” United Nations, 23 Sept. 2019. Climate Action Summit 2019, United Nations, www.un.org/en/climatechange/press-materials.shtml. Press release, PDF download.