Stylin' With The Pros

Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual

All writers have their own set of reference books without which they could not survive. These reference books are often dog-eared copies that are kept near the place where the writer most often practices the craft. If they have more than one writing spot, then they probably own more than one copy of the book.

Personally, I have three reference books (not counting dictionaries or thesauruses) that I own multiple copies of so that I can keep one at work and one at home. Then there is The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. I'm not even sure how many copies of this book I own. Certainly from the time I was in high school until I left newspaper editing six years ago, I bought one copy a year as the Associated Press released their latest editions.

Every publishing organization, whether be a newspaper, magazine, or book publisher, has its own style. The English language is an ever dynamic creature, and there are many "right" ways of expressing things. An organization has to determine which of the many options it will choose as its style so that it can be consistent in the way it publishes material. It is pretty common for an organization to have a published stylebook which it uses and then a supplemental stylebook that they create and responds to the individual publication needs of their organization. (For example, your local newspaper may have a local style book that puts into writing how certain street names will be referred to, or what abbreviations can be used in headlines.)

For most newspapers, the AP Style Guide (which is the shorthand for the full title) is there standard stylebook with any exceptions being put into their personal stylebook.

The History

According to Louis Boccardi, the president and general manager of the Associated Press in 1992, work on the stylebook began in 1975. He stated their goal as Make clear and simple rules, permit few exceptions to the rules, and rely heavily on the chosen dictionary as the arbiter of conflicts.

He then went on to say that as they created a style guide, they discovered there were other factual references they should include and the stylebook became a reference book. They committed to reviewing it annually, sending out changes via the wire to newspapers, and publishing a new edition each year.

I've watched some of the evolutions that the stylebook has made. As an example, computer terms used to be covered in an appendix. Now, as computer usage and reporting has become more widespread, the computer terms have been incorporated into the regular text.

The Format

The AP Stylebook's most important section is the alphabetical stylebook listing. Each entry is organized like a dictionary entry, but typically without the pronunciations. They also include a decent amount of cross-referencing, which is helpful as not all entries are intuitive. You may have to go to a couple different entries before you figure out the answer to your questions.

However, for the most part, you can find answers to your questions in multiple locations. For example, say you want to know whether you should write Governor John Engler or Gov. John Engler for an article you're submitting to a magazine that uses AP style. You could look up either of two entries:

governor Capitalize and abbreviate as Gov. or Govs. when used as a formal title before one or more names in regular text. Capitalize and spell out when used as a formal title before one or more names in direct quotations. Lowercase and spell out in all other uses.

There is then a full page entry under titles and a medium-length entry under abbreviations and acronyms.

Following the A to Z listing are several more focused guides. There is a sports guidelines and style, a business guidelines and style, and a guide to punctuation.

The next major section is the libel manual. This is must reading for anyone who writes for a newspaper. Any reporter or copyeditor who does not have a basic grasp on libel laws is asking to be sued and is certainly lacking in professionalism. The libel manual gives a basic overview of what a journalist needs to know when it comes to libel in language that a journalist can understand.

Basic topics include:

@ Libel, defenses, and privilege
@ Public officials, public figures, public issues
@ Right of privacy
@ Applying the rules
@ Closed courtrooms
@ Points to remember
@ Procedures for handling kills and correctives (this mostly applies to AP wire stories and how to quickly incorporate kills and correctives to protect against lawsuits and avoid disseminating information known to be false)

There are then brief sections on copyright guidelines and the Freedom of Information Act. The next two sections-photo captions and filing the wire-are really of importance only to those people who submit stories to the Associated Press through one of their affiliates.

I have always liked the section on proofreaders' marks as I use most of them. It is helpful to have a reference sheet that I can refer authors to so they can understand the editing marks I make on their copy.

Its Use

The copy that I have at work right now is a perfect-bound copy published for the general public. It is not the version that I prefer. The best versions are those that have a spiral binding. You can then open the book up to the page you need and have it lie flat to check lists in articles while on deadline.

If you are writing for a publication that uses AP style, I would highly recommend reading this book from the first entry to the last entry. While it is set up as a dictionary for the purpose of looking up individual words on an as-needed basis, there are many elements that you might never think to look up if you haven't read it through first.

The AP stylebook was always the first and last arbiter of arguments in the newsroom. There may have been times when we disagreed with what AP decided, but if we were on deadline, AP won out. Afterward, we might discuss an item and decide to disregard AP, but not until we'd done some careful thinking on the subject.

The style guide also has some very helpful, short explanations on points of grammar and usage. An entry I refer to over and over again is the one on possessives. It explains the rules for making a possessive for plural nouns not ending is s, plural nouns ending in s, nouns plural in form but singular in meaning, nouns the same in singular and plural, singular nouns not ending in s, singular common nouns ending in s, singular proper names ending is s, special expressions, pronouns, compound words, joint possession, individual possession, descriptive phrases, descriptive names, quasi-possessives, double possessive, and inanimate objects.

I no longer use AP style in most of my writing, but I find the book has helpful as ever. It clarifies terms and defines organizations. It serves to remind me of some of the finer points of libel. It's a great guide to punctuation. All in all, it's a tool that every writer should have and read.

--B. Redman