The parameter is an alias for I tend to prefer the specific to the general so for newspapers I normally use Now regarding the documentation that you linked it says publisher Name of publisher may be wikilinked if relevant The publisher is the company that publishes the work being cited Do not use the publisher parameter for the name of a work e g a book encyclopedia newspaper magazine journal website Not normally used for periodicals Corporate designations such as Ltd Inc or GmbH are not usually included Omit where the publisher s name is substantially the same as the name of the work for example The New York Times Co publishes The New York Times newspaper so there is no reason to name the publisher In the case of The Observer the company that publishes the work being cited is Guardian News and Media Limited not The Guardian This publication could be cited as However for The Guardian where the publisher s name is substantially the same as the name of the work we would use alone