AP Stylebook 2000

412 Pages·2000·1.1 MB·English

Associated Press
Stylebook
and Briefing on Media Law
with Internet Guide and Glossary
Click here to search
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AP material that follows, including copyright. This material may not
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Editor
Norm Goldstein
Published by
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
50 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
© 2000 by The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without the prior written permission of
the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in connection
with reviews written specifically for inclusion in a
magazine or newspaper.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-070484
ISBN: 0-917360-19-2
Typesetting and design by 18:29, LLC
Printed in the United States of America
Printed by Banta Book Group
First Edition, August 1977
35th Edition, 2000
CONTENTS
FOREWORD 5
STYLEBOOK
Key 6
An A to Z listing of guides to capitalization, abbreviation,
spelling, numerals and usage 7
Internet guidelines 129
Sports guidelines and style 285
Business guidelines and style 305
A Guide to Punctuation 325
Bibliography 338
BRIEFING ON MEDIA LAW
Foreword 340
Introduction 341
What Is Libel? 342
Liability for Republication 343
Privileges 344
Defenses 350
Supreme Court Decisions Regarding Libel Law 353
Summary of First Amendment Rules 358
Public and Private Plaintiffs 359
Miscellaneous 361
Applying the Rules 362
Points to Remember 364
Procedures for Handling Kills and Correctives 365
Access to Places of Information 369
The Right of Privacy 374
Copyright Guidelines 378
PHOTO CAPTIONS 380
Caption Corrections, Additions, Eliminations 382
Photo Kills and Eliminations 383
NAA/IPTC Header Fields 383
Supplemental Categories 386
FILING THE WIRE
Coding Requirements 387
Keyword Slug Line 389
Version Section 390
Reference Number Section 392
Format Identifiers 393
Special Note to Members 393
FILING PRACTICES 394
PROOFREADERS’ MARKS 406
ABOUT THE AP
Headquarters 408
U.S. Bureaus 409
AP PUBLICATIONS
Order Form 412
FOREWORD
Work on this Stylebook began in mid-1975. The orders were: Make
clear and simple rules, permit few exceptions to the rules, and rely heavily
on the chosen dictionary as the arbiter of conflicts.
As work progressed, we became convinced that while style would
remain the chief purpose, there were many factual references we should
include to make things a bit easier for busy editors.
So we have a Stylebook, but also a reference work.
As for the “style” itself, we thought at the outset that it wouldn’t be
possible to please everyone. Of course, we were right.
Journalists approach these style questions with varying degrees of
passion.
Some don’t think it is really important. Some agree that basically there
should be uniformity for reading ease if nothing else. Still others are
prepared to duel over a wayward lowercase.
We encountered all three of these types and, in their special ways, all
were helpful.
It is customary at this place to thank those whose aid and counsel
produced the volume that follows.
That list is long. It ranges from the staff of The Associated Press to
editors and writers on member newspapers, to other individuals and
groups with special interests in some subjects. In particular we sought
and received many member views on a variety of difficult questions so
that this book could reflect what members wanted.
We are particularly grateful to those newspaper editors who agreed to
review the final draft and give us their comments as well as those of their
staffs.
The completed book incorporates many of their suggestions.
We have tried to make the Stylebook current and trust it will be a
lasting work. But language changes, and we will review entries annually,
making necessary changes by wire notes during the review period.
Each new printing of the Stylebook will incorporate the changes that
have been announced on the wires.
LOUIS D. BOCCARDI
President and
Chief Executive Officer
STYLEBOOK KEY
This updated and revised version of The Associated Press Stylebook
has been organized like a dictionary. Need the acronym for a government
agency? Look under the agency’s name. Should you capitalize a word?
Check the word itself or the capitalizationentry. What’s the format for
baseball boxes? See baseball.
Following is a key to the entries:
airportCapitalize as part of a prop- Entry words, in alphabetical
order, are in boldface.
er name: La Guardia Airport, Newark In -
They represent the accepted
ternational Airport.
word forms unless
The first name of an individual and otherwise indicated.
the word i n t e r n a t i o n a l may be deleted
from a formal airport name while the
remainder is capitalized: John F.
Kennedy International Airport, Kennedy
Text explains usage.
International Airport, or K e n n e d y
Airport. Use whichever is appropriate in
the context.
Do not make up names, however.
There is no Boston Airport, for example.
Examples of correct and
The Boston airport (lowercase a i r p o r t)
incorrect usage are in
would be acceptable if for some reason italics.
the proper name, Logan International
Airport,were not used.
airtight Many entries simply give
the correct spelling,
hyphenation and/or
air traffic contro l l e r (no hy- capitalization.
phen.)
airways The system of routes that
the federal government has established
Abbrev. indicates the
for airplane traffic. correct abbreviation of a
See the airline, airlines entry for its word.
use in carriers’ names.
A l a b a m a Abbrev.: A l a . See s t a t e Related topics are in
boldface.
names.
Other abbreviations used in the Stylebook:
n.: noun form adj.: adjectives
v.: verb form adv.: adverbs
A
AAA Formerly the American A few universally recognized
Automobile Association. On sec- abbreviations are required in
ond reference, the automobile as- some circumstances. Some others
sociationor the associationis ac- are acceptable depending on the
ceptable. context. But in general, avoid al-
Headquarters is in Heathrow, phabet soup. Do not use abbrevi-
Fla. ations or acronyms which the
reader would not quickly recog-
a, anUse the article abefore nize.
consonant sounds: a historic Guidance on how to use a par-
event, a one-year term(sounds as ticular abbreviation or acronym is
if it begins with a w), a united provided in entries alphabetized
stand(sounds like you). according to the sequence of let-
Use the article anbefore vowel ters in the word or phrase.
sounds: an energy crisis, an hon- Some general principles:
orable man(the h is silent), an
NBA record(sounds like it begins BEFORE A NAME: Abbreviate
with the letter e), an 1890s cele- the following titles when used be-
bration. fore a full name outside direct
quotations: Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov.,
a- The rules of prefixes apply, Mr., Mrs., Rep., the Rev., Sen.and
but in general no hyphen. Some certain military designations list-
examples: ed in the military titlesentry.
achromatic atonal Spell out all except Dr., Mr., Mrs.
and Ms.when they are used be-
A&PAcceptable in all refer- fore a name in direct quotations.
ences for Great Atlantic & Pacific For guidelines on how to use
Tea Co. Inc.Headquarters is in titles, see courtesy titles; legisla-
Montvale, N.J. tive titles; military titles; reli-
gious titles;and the entries for
AARP Use only the initials; the most commonly used titles.
it’s the official name of the Ameri-
can Association of Retired Per- AFTER A NAME: Abbreviate ju-
sons. nioror senior after an individual’s
name. Abbreviate company, corpo-
abbreviations and ration, incorporatedand limited
acronymsThe notation abbrev. when used after the name of a
is used in this book to identify corporate entity. See entries
the abbreviated form that may be under these words and company
used for a word in some contexts. names.
4
In some cases, an academic AVOID AWKWARD CON-
degree may be abbreviated after STRUCTIONS: Do not follow an
an individual’s name. See acade- organization’s full name with an
mic degrees. abbreviation or acronym in
parentheses or set off by dashes.
WITH DATES OR NUMERALS:
If an abbreviation or acronym
Use the abbreviations A.D., B.C.,
would not be clear on second ref-
a.m., p.m., No., and abbreviate
erence without this arrangement,
certain months when used with
do not use it.
the day of the month.
Names not commonly before
Right: In 450 B.C.; at 9:30
the public should not be reduced
a.m.; in room No. 6; on Sept. 16.
to acronyms solely to save a few
Wrong: Early this a.m. he
words.
asked for the No. of your room.
The abbreviations are correct only
SPECIAL CASES: Many abbre-
with figures.
Right: Early this morning he viations are desirable in tabula-
asked for the number of your tions and certain types of techni-
room. cal writing. See individual entries.
See monthsand individual
entries for these other terms. CAPS, PERIODS: Use capital
letters and periods according to
IN NUMBERED ADDRESSES: the listings in this book. For
Abbreviate avenue, boulevardand words not in this book, use the
streetin numbered addresses: He first-listed abbreviation in Web-
lives on Pennsylvania Avenue. He ster’s New World Dictionary. If an
lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. abbreviation not listed in this
See addresses. book or in the dictionary achieves
widespread acceptance, use capi-
STATES: The names of certain
tal letters. Omit periods unless
states and the United Statesare
the result would spell an unrelat-
abbreviated with periods in some
ed word.
circumstances.
See state names; datelines;
ABCAcceptable in all refer-
and individual entries.
ences for American Broadcasting
Cos.(the plural is part of the cor-
ACCEPTABLE BUT NOT RE-
porate name).
QUIRED: Some organizations and
government agencies are widely Divisions are ABC News, ABC
recognized by their initials: CIA, Radioand ABC-TV.
FBI, GOP.
ABCs
If the entry for such an organi-
zation notes that an abbreviation
able-bodied
is acceptable in all references or
on second reference, that does
not mean that its use should be ABM, ABMsAcceptable in
automatic. Let the context deter- all references for anti-ballistic mis-
mine, for example, whether to use sile(s), but the term should be de-
Federal Bureau of Investigationor fined in the story.
FBI. Avoid the redundant phrase
See second reference. ABM missiles.
5
A-bomb Use atomic bomb See doctor.
unless a direct quotation is in-
volved. academic departments
See Hiroshima. Use lowercase except for words
that are proper nouns or adjec-
abortionUse anti-abortion tives: the department of history, the
instead of pro-lifeand abortion history department, the department
rightsinstead of pro-abortionor of English, the English department,
pro-choice. Avoid abortionist, or when departmentis part of the
which connotes a person who official and formal name: Universi-
performs clandestine abortions; ty of Connecticut Department of
use a term such as abortion doc- Medicine.
toror abortion practitioner.
academic titles Capitalize
aboveboard and spell out formal titles such as
chancellor, chairman, etc., when
absent-minded they precede a name. Lowercase
elsewhere.
absent without leave Lowercase modifiers such as
AWOLis acceptable on second departmentin department Chair-
reference. man Jerome Wiesner.
See doctorand titles.
academic degrees If men-
tion of degrees is necessary to es- academySee military acad-
tablish someone’s credentials, the emies.
preferred form is to avoid an ab-
breviation and use instead a Academy AwardsPresented
phrase such as: John Jones, who annually by the Academy of Mo-
has a doctorate in psychology. tion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Use an apostrophe in bache- Also known as the Oscars.
lor’s degree, a master’s, etc. Lowercase the academyand
Use such abbreviations as the awards whenever they stand
B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. only alone.
when the need to identify many
individuals by degree on first ref- accept, except Accept
erence would make the preferred means to receive.
form cumbersome. Use these ab- Exceptmeans to exclude.
breviations only after a full name
— never after just a last name. accommodate
When used after a name, an
academic abbreviation is set off accused A person is accused
by commas: Daniel Moynihan, of, not with, a crime.
Ph.D., spoke. To avoid any suggestion that
Do not precede a name with a an individual is being judged be-
courtesy title for an academic de- fore a trial, do not use a phrase
gree and follow it with the abbre- such as accused slayer John
viation for the degree in the same Jones, use John Jones, accused of
reference: the slaying.
Wrong: Dr. Pam Jones, Ph.D. For guidelines on related
Right: Dr. Pam Jones, a words, see allege; arrest; and in-
chemist. dict.
6
AceA trademark for a brand a year, the year is presumed to be
of elastic bandage. A.D.
See B.C.
acknowledgment
-addedFollow this form in
acreEqual to 43,560 square sports stories: The $50,000-
feet or 4,840 square yards. The added sweepstakes.
metric equivalent is .4 (two-fifths)
of a hectare or 4,047 square me- addressesUse the abbrevia-
ters. tions Ave., Blvd.and St.only with
One square mile is 640 acres. a numbered address: 1600 Penn-
To convert to hectares, multi- sylvania Ave. Spell them out and
ply by .4 (5 acres x .4 equals 2 capitalize when part of a formal
hectares). street name without a number:
See hectare. Pennsylvania Avenue. Lowercase
and spell out when used alone or
acronymsSee the abbrevia- with more than one street name:
tions and acronymsentry. Massachusetts and Pennsylvania
avenues.
actCapitalize when part of All similar words (alley, drive,
the name for pending or imple-
road, terrace, etc.) always are
mented legislation: the Taft-Hart-
spelled out. Capitalize them when
ley Act.
part of a formal name without a
number; lowercase when used
actingAlways lowercase, but
alone or with two or more names.
capitalize any formal title that
Always use figures for an ad-
may follow before a name: acting
dress number: 9 Morningside Cir-
Mayor Peter Barry.
cle.
See titles.
Spell out and capitalize First
through Ninth when used as
act numbersUse Arabic fig-
street names; use figures with
ures and capitalize act: Act 1; Act
two letters for 10thand above: 7
2, Scene 2. But: the first act, the
Fifth Ave., 100 21st St.
second act.
Abbreviate compass points
actor (man) actress(woman) used to indicate directional ends
of a street or quadrants of a city
Actors’ Equity Association in a numbered address: 222 E.
Headquarters is in New York. 42nd St., 562 W. 43rd St., 600 K
St. N.W.Do not abbreviate if the
A.D.Acceptable in all refer- number is omitted: East 42nd
ences for anno Domini: in the year Street, West 43rd Street, K Street
of the Lord. Northwest.
Because the full phrase would See highway designations.
read in the year of the Lord 96,
the abbreviation A.D. goes before adjectivesThe abbreviation
the figure for the year: A.D. 96. adj.is used in this book to identi-
Do not write: The fourth centu- fy the spelling of the adjectival
ry A.D.The fourth centuryis suffi- forms of words that frequently are
cient. If A.D.is not specified with misspelled.