When I was in graduate school, one of the first classes I taught was introductory news writing. My syllabus required students to buy the latest edition of the Associated Press Stylebook. I still require this in all my editing and writing courses. One of my best students in that long-ago class, who happened to be the daughter of a professor at the J-school, brought in her dad's 20-year-old copy of the book. I told her she -- or her father -- had to fork over the money for a newer version. As I remember, she earned the only A in the class. And I do mean earned.
I didn't share this story to make fun of the student or the professor, who is a great teacher and a respected historian, but rather to remind readers that the AP Stylebook is a living document. Language changes. These days, it seems like new words and phrases are popping up every day. It's up to journalists to keep up with the times. But doing so can be a daunting task for individual news organizations. That's one of the reasons the AP Stylebook is so important.
Each year, the editors at the AP cut things that have become unnecessary, update those that have changed, and add those that are needed. It usually takes a couple of years for the AP to decide whether new words and phrases are worthy of inclusion. In the meantime, it's up to individual editors to make those decisions. The point is to be accurate and consistent.
This year's version of the Stylebook has more than 200 new entries, including "iPhone," "wild card" and "outsourcing." The online version also contains a new section on food.
Among the entries discarded are "WAC," "malarkey" and "barmaid." I've used only one of these words in my 39-year existence. But the next time I'm sipping a cold one at the VFW, and a woman introduces herself as a former WAC, I'll ask the barmaid to pour her one on me. Then I'll whip out my iPhone, check the standings and see how many games my team needs to win in order to clinch a wild card berth. Actually, I don't have an iPhone yet, but as long as the University of Northern Colorado doesn't outsource my job in the next year, I'll have one soon. And that's no malarkey.
The new Stylebook is a steal at $11.75 for member news organizations, $11.75 for college bookstores and $18.95 retail.
Whether you're a student, a professional journalist or a word lover, order yours today by visiting the Associated Press Bookstore. And if you think this book -- or its online version -- is just for print journalists. AP members create and use news in print, audio, video, photo and graphic formats.
And here's some cool info for history geeks like me: The first edition of the AP Stylebook was published in 1953 and ran 62 pages. The 2008 edition features more than 300 pages. For more on the new edition and the history of the book, read the AP's press release.
4 comments:
While I agree that the Stylebook is a must-have, allow me to say that I absolutely hate AP style. I use it every day professionally, but I can't stand it.
I'm sure that those with more experience might counter every example I give with a perfectly rational explanation as to why it's that way, but I find myself disagreeing with it almost everytime I look something up.
That being said, long live the Stylebook.
It's funny you mention this now.
At my internship yesterday, I noticed almost every reporter has a different edition of the Stylebook. When I brought it up, one of them jokingly said the year of the Stylebook indicates when that reporter was at their peak.
It makes me wonder about those reporters with Stylebooks from the mid-1990s.
I agree with the entire article and thought paragraph five was great.
Is there a definition of "fair use"?
Post a Comment