A
dateline is a brief piece of text included in
news articles that describes where and when the story occurred, or was written or filed, though the date is often omitted. In the case of articles reprinted from
wire services, the distributing organization is also included (though the originating one is not). Datelines are traditionally placed on the first line of the text of the article, before the first sentence. The location appears first, usually starting with the
city in which the
reporter has written or dispatched the report. City names are usually printed in uppercase, though this can vary from one publication to another. The
political division and/or
nation the city is in may follow, but they may be dropped if the city name is widely recognizable due to its size or political importance (a national
capital, for instance). The date of the report comes after, followed by an
em dash surrounded by spaces, and then the article.