This page provides detailed instruction for creating articles about newspapers. It is a model developed by the State Library of New South Wales as part of its participation in the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program. For more information on the project, talk to suebrass.

1. To create a stub article for each NSW newspaper as it is being digitised.
2. To provide sufficient published sources (references) to establish the notability of the entry and to support the claims being made.
3. Where entries already exist to edit them and add supplementary information.
4. To create a comprehensive list article of the current and defunct newspapers published in NSW.
5. To engage the public library network and the wider community in adding to the entries.

To create a stub-class entry:

• Ensure the newspaper is on the List of newspapers in New South Wales
• Determine whether an entry already exists for the paper (double check with / without A, An, The). If so, is this entry linked on the list? (If not, create the link and check the list for all name changes.)
• If no article exists, red-link the newspaper from the list and use this to create the newspaper article, including the article contents as shown in the subsections below.
  • NB: Many newspapers have the same name eg. The Advocate, the articles for these papers will be named The Advocate (New South Wales) (where it is the only paper in the State with the name), or The Advocate (Mullumbimby, New South Wales) (where there are or have been other newspapers with the same name). The Wikipedia guidelines for article titles are available at WP:Article titles

The procedures are written for editors using Visual Editor. Wikitext for editors who are not using Visual Editor is included in some sections.

Create the article's lead as follows:

• Insert the italic titles template - use the Insert menu, choose Template, then search for Italic title. (If using wikitext, place ((Italic title)) at the top
• If appropriate, use the newspapers infobox template (inserted via the Insert menu) and fill in as much information as you have

The introduction comes after any templates. A sample introduction is below:

Title of newspaper, also published as other title, was / is a daily / weekly / fortnightly English language newspaper published in Town of Publication, New South Wales, Australia.

The Deniliquin Independent, also published as The Independent, was a weekly English language newspaper published in Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia.

(NB - this section does not need a section heading.)

You should link to the Wikipedia article about the town of publication.

Create the section History. The section should have a heading (added using the Heading menu). The following should provide you with a starting point for researching the newspaper's history:

• Is the newspaper still in publication? (if so, what is the website? Add this as a reference)
• Where was / is it published?
• What are the dates of publication?
• Does it have any name changes?
• Who was / is the editor?
• How frequently was it / is it published?
• Does / did the paper have a focus on any particular issues? (And do you have a source to support this?)

Cite the sources of your information using the Cite templates. These will automatically generate the references section.

Some general references are listed below. You could also use the Trove page for the newspaper and/or its catalogue record in the State or Territory Library as a source of information about the newspaper. To add a reference, use the Cite menu to choose the appropriate type of reference and then fill in the relevant fields.

If the newspaper has been digitised, you can create a section to discuss this. The section should have a heading, Digitisation. A sample paragraph is below:

The paper has been digitised as part of the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program of the National Library of Australia.

Add relevant references using the Cite menu. Two examples are: Newspaper Titles and Newspaper Digitisation Program

Create the See also section. This is an alphabetical list of relevant Wikipedia articles, which have not been linked already in the article.

• Include List of Newspapers in Australia and List of Newspapers in New South Wales

Create the References section, to display all references used throughout your article.

• Insert the References list, which can be found under the Insert menu - you may need to click More to display the full list. (If using wikitext, insert ((reflist)))
• The References list template will automatically display all inline citations from the article, and will update automatically to include new citations
• NB - use inline references
• When adding a reference, use the Cite button at the top of the edit page, as it formats the reference automatically (select the type of reference to insert, eg book, web page etc)

Create the External Links section. This is a bullet list of relevant external websites.

• Add a link to the newspaper's website if it is still current.
• Add links to the digitised newspaper on Trove. Example:

The Burrowa News (NSW : 1874 - 1951) at Trove Digitised newspapers and more

• Add links to all name changes of the paper on Trove, if they are listed separately

After you have created and saved the article, add the following categories and others as relevant:

• Category:Defunct newspapers of Australia
• Category:Newspapers published in Australia
• Category:Newspapers published in New South Wales
• Category:Newspapers published in Sydney

NB - this section does not need a section heading. Never add categories to your sandbox.

Notes

• If creating the article from a red-link from the List of newspapers in NSW, add categories when you create the article.
• In some cases articles are created in a user sandbox, do not add categories until you have moved the article to the Mainspace (Articles)
• Check if the town where the newspaper was published has a category.

• Check that the new article is live and that the link from the master list is working
• Create redirects for all name changes and make sure they are on the master list
• Search for other articles which could link to your new article, for example articles about any key people in the history of the newspaper, the article for the town of publication, etc

Images should be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and linked from your article.

Use the license ((PD-Australia)) as appropriate for images. Potential categories include Newspapers of New South Wales and Newspapers digitized by the National Library of Australia.

Useful references about newspapers include:

• Two hundred years of Sydney newspapers : a short history / by Victor Isaacs and Rod Kirkpatrick, North Richmond, N.S.W. : Rural Press, 2003.
• Country conscience : a history of the New South Wales provincial press, 1841-1995 / by Rod Kirkpatrick, Canberra City, A.C.T. : Infinite Harvest Publishing, 2000.
• Looking good : the changing appearance of Australian newspapers / by Victor Isaacs, for the Australian Newspapers History Group, Middle Park, Qld. : Australian Newspaper History Group, 2007.
• Press timeline : Select chronology of significant Australian press events to 2011 / Compiled by Rod Kirkpatrick for the Australian Newspaper History Group
• Australian Newspaper History : A Bibliography / Compiled by Victor Isaacs, Rod Kirkpatrick and John Russell, Middle Park, Qld. : Australian Newspaper History Group, 2004.
• Newspapers in Australian libraries : a union list. 4th ed.
• Newspapers of the Blue Mountains at the Blue Mountains Local Studies blog
• Walker, R. B. (Robin Berwick) (1980), Yesterday's news : a history of the newspaper press in New South Wales from 1920 to 1945, Sydney University Press ; Forest Grove, Or : International Scholarly Book Services [distributor], ISBN 978-0-424-00079-4

Both the SLNSW and NLA catalogues are useful sources for checking name changes and date ranges:

• National Library of Australia catalogue
• State Library of NSW catalogue

• Kirkpatrick, Rod (1984), Sworn to no master : a history of the provincial press in Queensland to 1930, Darling Downs Institute Press, ISBN 978-0-909306-60-1
• Kirkpatrick, Rod; Queensland Country Press Association (2008), Purposely parochial : 100 years of the Country Press in Queensland (1st ed.), Queensland Country Press Association, ISBN 978-0-646-49194-3

• Kirkpatrick, Rod; Victorian Country Press Association (2010), The bold type : a history of Victoria's country newspapers, 1840-2010, The Victorian Country Press Association, ISBN 978-0-9775562-2-9
• A GAZETTEER OF NEWSPAPERS FROM THE CENTRAL VICTORIAN GOLDFIELDS (1851-1901)

The State Library of Victoria catalogue is a useful source of information about newspapers published in Victoria, including publication dates, locations and name changes. There is also a research guide for newspapers.