Cite electronic media correctly

Electronic media include film, television, radio and podcasts. When you write about electronic media you could also be referring to a script or a review.

Many of the general naming rules apply:

• Use sentence case – retain initial capitals for the first word, proper nouns and proper adjectives.
• Use italics for published works and roman type for unpublished works.
• Use roman type and quotation marks for parts of works, such as episodes.
• Use roman type and the spelling and capitalisation that the company uses for the names of channels, streaming services and networks.
• Use full names of organisations the first time you mention them.

Italicise the titles of films, television and radio programs, and podcasts.

Place the names of episodes in quotation marks and roman type.

Examples of in-text citations and reference lists on this page follow the author–date system, as this is the most common way of citing film, television and radio programs in government content.

Use italics and sentence case for film titles

Write the title as it appears in film information. Include punctuation marks and any intentional misspelling. Italicise the title and use sentence case.

If the film is part of a series, include the number of the series in the same format as in the original title of the film. For example, if the original title has the number written as a word, use the word.

In-text citations of films often include the year of production. Place this after the title in roman type and enclosed in parentheses.

If you mention the date in the text, you don’t have to include it in parentheses.

After the first mention, you can abbreviate the title as long as it makes sense. You can also omit the date in parentheses. This often happens with well-known and longer titles because it improves the flow of the text.

Reference list entries for films

In a reference list, use the director and the year of release. Include the place of production if known. If there is no credited director, use the name of the producer.

Rule: Director D (director) or Producer P (producer) (Year) Title of film: subtitle of film [motion picture], Name of Studio or Publisher, Place of Production.

Italicise television programs

Use sentence case, roman type and quotation marks for episodes of a program.

Use roman type and no quotation marks for the names of:

• production companies
• networks
• channels
• streaming services.

Include the year of production of television programs in roman type and brackets.

Use arabic – not roman – numerals for the numbers of seasons.

Reference list entries for television programs

In a reference list, include the name of the director or producer and the year of release. Include the place of production if known.

Rule: Director D (director) or Producer P (producer) (Year) ‘Title of episode: subtitle of episode’ [television program], Name of series (season number, episode number), Name of Station or Studio, Place of Production.

If the episode doesn’t have a name, write the name of the program first.

Italicise radio programs and use roman type for episodes

To cite radio programs:

• Use italics for the titles of programs.
• Write the year of production in parentheses. Use roman type after the title.
• Enclose the names of individual episodes in single quotation marks and use roman type.
• Use sentence case.

Reference list entries for radio programs

In a reference list, include the full date the episode went to air. Include the place of production if known.

Rule: Presenter P (presenter) (Day Month Year) ‘Title of episode: subtitle of episode’ [radio program], Name of program, Name of Station or Studio, Place of Production.

Italicise podcast series and use roman type for episodes

To cite podcasts:

• Use italics for the name of the program series.
• Use roman type and quotation marks for the names of individual podcast episodes.
• Use sentence case.

Reference list entries for podcasts

Hyperlink the episode’s title if you played it from a webpage. Don’t link to the podcast’s file name. Always link to the webpage that hosts the podcast episode. Include the date it was accessed at the end of the reference.

Rule: Host H (host) and Producer P (producer) (Day Month Year) ‘Title of podcast: subtitle of podcast’ [podcast], Name of podcast, Name of Podcast Network, accessed Day Month Year.

Apply the same rules for script titles as for books

Published script titles follow the same rules as book titles:

• Use italics and sentence case for published script titles.
• Use roman type and quotation marks for unpublished script titles.

Reference list entries for scripts

Reference the script as you would a book.

Rule: Author A (Year) Title of script: subtitle of script, Name of Publisher, Place of Publication.

If you are referencing an online film script, hyperlink the title and include the date you accessed it.

Use roman type and quotation marks for review titles

Write titles of published reviews in roman type enclosed in single quotation marks. Write the title of the reviewed material in italics and use sentence case.

You may be able to hyperlink to the online review, depending on copyright restrictions. If you access it online, include an accessed date.

Reference list entries for reviews

If the name of the reviewed work appears in the title of the review, use italics for the work name but roman type for the rest of the title.

Rule: Reviewer R (Day Month Year) ‘Title of review: subtitle of review’ [review of Title of work by Creator], Name of Blog, Newspaper or Magazine, accessed Day Month Year.