Do I have to capitalize "the" in names of newspapers mid-sentence?
Hello,
Could someone please refer me to a reliable sourse for punctuation rules regarding whether the definite article must or must not be capitalised if it's part of a newspaper name/ book title etc in the middle of a sentence?

E.g.: " I found this interesting information in the/The Guardian" ?

I tried to research it myself and only got more confused:) It appears that there are different writing styles with different standards, and there is also the queston of when to use quotations VS italics...

Thanks!

Question

Do I have to capitalize "the" in names of newspapers mid-sentence?
Hello,
Could someone please refer me to a reliable sourse for punctuation rules regarding whether the definite article must or must not be capitalised if it's part of a newspaper name/ book title etc in the middle of a sentence?

E.g.: " I found this interesting information in the/The Guardian" ?

I tried to research it myself and only got more confused:) It appears that there are different writing styles with different standards, and there is also the queston of when to use quotations VS italics...

Thanks!

Answer

Yes, there are indeed many different styles, and many different style guides which give often conflicting advice. Just be aware that none of them are absolutely right, or that their prescriptions on style have much to do with correctness of English grammar. So unless you are confident in your own style, just choose one that is acceptable to your readership -- preferably one that does not take such an absolutist stance -- and follow it. Since your interest is in the Guardian, you could for example follow its own house rules: See the entry on "the" here: http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-t

Answer

Italics are reserved usually for emphasis or effect.  
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/punctuation/when/when-to-italicize.html

Capitals are used when naming.
Companies, Magazines, Shops and Names are capitalised.  English is does not require every noun to be capitalised as in German.
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/capitalization/10-rules-of-capitalization.html

There are many style guides and it depends mainly on who you are writing for.  For example different companies will have different expectations
Example: http://www.amazon.com/IBM-Style-Guide-Conventions-Writers/dp/0132101300
Example: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0143112724/braipick-20

Answer

I'm not sure if the Internet is the place where you find the truth, only opinion
but
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/capitalization/rules-for-capitalizing-proper-nouns.html
the issue here is what is the paper's name.  Is it  "The Guardian" or the "Guardian"?  I think that the UK paper is called "The Guardian" so you would use The Guardian.

Italics mean nothing in English, they are just a version of printing font.