AP Stylebook

The Associated Press Stylebook
AP Stylebook, 2004 edition
Author	Norm Goldstein (editor 1979-2007); AP Editors (since 2008)
Original title	The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law
Country	United States
Language	American English
Series	Updated annually
Subject(s)	Style guide
Genre(s)	Journalism reference
Publisher	Basic Books
Publication date	June 8, 2009
Media type	Paperback
Pages	416 (43rd edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0465012620

The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, usually called the AP Stylebook, is a style and usage guide used on newspapers and in journalism classes in the United States. The stylebook is updated annually by Associated Press editors, usually in June, and is available in both trade and spiral-bound editions, with the latter containing extra content specific to journalists working for the AP.^[1]

Reporters and editors use the AP Stylebook as a guide for grammar, punctuation, reporting guidelines and media law. Although some publications prefer to use a modified style guide, the AP Stylebook is often considered a newspaper industry standard. The actual style guide of the book is an A-to-Z listing of guides to capitalization, abbreviation, spelling, numerals and usage.

The AP considers its stylebook "the journalist's Bible."

Sections

The AP Stylebook is broken down into numerous sections which include:

STYLEBOOK An A to Z listing of style that is the one common standard. The majority of the journalism industry refers to this for consistency and accuracy on points including clarification on topics such as abbreviation, capitalization, grammar, punctuation, spelling, numerals and titles. Example: If the title of governor is used before a name, it should be capitalized and abbreviated e.g. Gov. Janet Napolitano, but when it's used generically by itself or after the name it should be lowercase and not abbreviated.

BUSINESS A guideline for reporters covering business and financial news including general knowledge of accounting, bankruptcy, mergers and international bureaus. For instance, it includes explanations of five different chapters of bankruptcy.

SPORTS GUIDELINES AND STYLE Includes terminology, statistics, organization rules and guidelines commonly referenced by sports reporters. Example: The correct way to spell and use basketball terminology e.g. half-court pass, field goal and goaltending

GUIDE TO PUNCTUATION A specific guide on how to use punctuation in journalistic materials which includes rules regarding hyphens, commas, parentheses and quotations. Example:In a series use commas to separate items but no comma before a conjunction. e.g. We bought eggs, milk and cheese at the store.

BRIEFING ON MEDIA LAW An overall legal review of terminology, guidelines, legal issues and expectations for working in the journalism industry. Example: The difference between slander and libel. Slander is spoken; libel is written, to start with.

PHOTO CAPTIONS The simple formula of what to include when writing a photo caption.

GRAPHICS

EDITING MARKS A key of editing symbols to assist the journalist with the proofreading process. Example: When a word is circled it means that the word should be abbreviated or vice versa.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Use Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Wiley, Hoboken, N.J. as first reference after the AP Stylebook for spelling, style, usage and foreign geographic names.

Title

For many years the AP Stylebook was titled The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.^[2]; circa 2000^[3][4], the guide was renamed The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, though in recent years, the title used on the cover has been simplified to The Associated Press Stylebook.^[3]

Versions

Associated Press also offers subscription-based online versions of the stylebook, which is updated with style changes as they are made and supports the addition of local style entries.[1]

An individual online subscription is available for $25 with existing members qualifying for reduced renewals. [2] The online subscription contains additional features, including the option to create your own notes to an AP listing and several ways to search for an AP entry. [3] There are also site license discounts available when buying online subscriptions in bulk from 10 to 50,000 copies. [4]

The AP Stylebook is also available as an iPhone application costing $28.99 annually per individual subscriber.[5]

The AP Stylebook costs $11.75 from most college bookstores and AP member newspapers. The AP Style book costs $18.95 at retail price.[6]

History

The AP Stylebook in its modern form started in 1953, though experts disagree as to whether the original publication was between 60 or 62 pages.[7]The 1953 publication focused on "where the wire set a specific style [8]; for nearly a quarter century it assumed its reader had a "solid grounding in language and a good reference library" and thus omitted any guidelines in those broader areas.[9] In 1977, prompted by AP's executive news editor Lou Boccardi's request for "more of a reference work", the AP Stylebook started expanding.[10] In 1989, Norm Goldstein became the AP Stylebook editor, a job he held until the 2007 edition.[11] After the publication of the final edition under his editorship, Goldstein commented on changes:

I think the difference...now is that there is more information available on the Internet, and I'm not sure, and at least our executive editor is not sure, how much of a reference book we ought to be anymore. I think some of our historical background material like on previous hurricanes and earthquakes, that kind of encyclopedic material that's so easily available on the Internet now, might be cut back.

Associated Press editors Darrell Christian, Sally Jacobsen and David Minthorn edited the recent 2009 edition, [12] which features an updated entry for company names that include “125 major U.S. companies and 65 major non-U.S. companies.” The new edition also includes separate groupings for U.S. financial institutions and major oil companies and a Quick Reference Guide that lists the most popular entries and subject matter.

While nearly 2 million copies of the AP Stylebook have been distributed since 1977, [13] today the AP Stylebook is developing an online presence with profiles on social media Web sites like Twitter (@APStylebook) [14]and Facebook [15].

Revision Process

The stylebook is updated annually by Associated Press editors, usually in June, and at this time edits and new entries may be added. In 2008, 200 new entries were added, including words and phrases like “podcast,” “text messaging,” “social networking” and “high-definition.” The 2009 edition added the entries “Twitter,” “texting” and “baba ghanoush.” This is done to keep the stylebook up to date with technological and cultural changes.

The Associated Press Stylebook
and Libel Manual.

References

External links

• Official website for the AP Stylebook
• AP Stylebook Top 10 List and exercises on CubReporters.org
• June 2009 article about growing sales of the stylebook
• The COM Writing Center. Quick Associated Press Style
• Associated Press Web site
• AP Style Quizzes
• AP Style on Twitter
• AP Stylebook to APP Store
• The Basics of Associated Press Style
• AP Style on Facebook