New AP Stylebook released

ondeadline · Jun 11, 2009

This story highlights some of the changes:

New edition of AP Stylebook adds entries and helpful features

NEW YORK -- Twitter, the social networking tool that has turned millions of people around the world into instant micro-bloggers, has made it into the 2009 edition of The Associated Press Stylebook, along with complicated business terms such as credit default swaps and derivatives that have gained more exposure amid the global recession.

The new edition of the Stylebook adds a "Quick Reference Guide" to make it easier for users to answer the most common questions on topics such as abbreviations and acronyms; homicide, murder and manslaughter; and polls and surveys.

Twitter, the Middle Eastern eggplant dish baba ghanoush and texting as a verb are among more than 60 new or updated entries in the new AP Stylebook, which includes more business, food, medical and Arabic terms and expanded information on major U.S. and international companies.

The range of new business terms also includes collateralized debt obligations, Libor, recession-proof, reverse auction, securitization and solvency.

The subscription-based AP Stylebook Online also has been improved, with audio pronunciation guides for newsmakers, an updated search function and detailed information on U.S. and international companies. The Online version is updated throughout the year and allows users to customize with their own listings, examples and local deviations from AP style.

Updates and additions in the AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, the standard reference tool in newsrooms and many professional offices across the country, reflect changes in word usages and in society.

There are new entries on adoption; storyline; the differences between coma, minimally conscious state and vegetative state; and different types of diabetes. The verb form of text, texted and texting has been added to the Stylebook.

The new entry for Twitter notes that the social networking Web site limits messages to short Tweets. The verb forms are to Twitter or to Tweet. Besides baba ghanoush, the new food entries include chipotle, Key lime and Parmesan.

New sports listings include knuckleball, timeout, tipoff, USGA for United States Golf Association, and water sports.

There also are more Arabic transliterations and terms, including Al-Quds, hajj, hijab and kaffiyeh.

Changes include the spelling of cesarean section, instead of caesarean section, allowing CEO on first reference for chief executive and mpg for miles per gallon, and requiring first and last names of sitting U.S. presidents.

The company names entry was updated and expanded to include 125 major U.S. companies and 65 non-U.S. companies. The Stylebook Online contains additional information, including each company's market capitalization, revenue, net income, size and business description, as provided by Capital IQ, a division of Standard and Poor's. That information will be updated online regularly, with certain statistics revised quarterly. Online subscribers will get access to this information at no additional charge. It does not appear in the print edition.
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Steak Snabler · Jun 11, 2009

"Knuckleball" just made the AP stylebook? Hoyt Wilhelm wept ...

SF_Express · Jun 11, 2009

Gee, thanks for timeout, which the Sports Style and Reference guide has had for years.

MileHigh · Jun 11, 2009

I haven't had a hard copy of the stylebook for three years. Online version is easier and it updates throughout the year. And you get an e-mail when updates are made. Plus, the frequently asked questions is a nice resource for things that aren't in the stylebook.

mediaguy · Jun 11, 2009

Finally, an authoritative stance on baba ghanoush. Now all the in-fighting can finally come to an end.

trifectarich · Jun 12, 2009

Has anyone at AP ever thought of putting new entries and changes in some kind of lightly shaded tint box to make it easier to identify them?

I guess not.

forever_town · Jun 12, 2009

Why the change to cesarean instead of caesarean?

Diabeetus · Jun 12, 2009

MileHigh said:

I haven't had a hard copy of the stylebook for three years. Online version is easier and it updates throughout the year. And you get an e-mail when updates are made. Plus, the frequently asked questions is a nice resource for things that aren't in the stylebook.
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Another useful thing they started not long ago is a Twitter account. If you message them asking for a question or clarification, they'll shoot you something back pretty fast.

fossywriter8 · Jun 12, 2009

forever_town said:

Why the change to cesarean instead of caesarean?
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Because they wanted to ... cut out the A.

Inky_Wretch · Jun 12, 2009

But did you notice the misspelling on page 5?

Johnny Dangerously · Jun 15, 2009

MileHigh said:

I haven't had a hard copy of the stylebook for three years. Online version is easier and it updates throughout the year. And you get an e-mail when updates are made.
Click to expand...

Such as:

An AP Stylebook Online entry has been updated. As an online subscriber, you can receive these updates whenever the Associated Press makes them. Every time you log into AP Stylebook Online, you can easily find recent updates on the main page.

Editor's Note: The Twitter entry has been corrected to say that to tweet as a verb and a tweet as a noun should be lowercase.

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Twitter

A community-based message-distribution system that allows users to post continual status updates of up to 140 characters detailing their activities for followers. The verb is to Twitter or to tweet. A Twitter message is known as a tweet.

Gutter · Apr 16, 2010

From Twitter:

APStylebook
1:00pm, Apr 16 from CoTweet
Responding to reader input, we are changing Web site to website. This appears on Stylebook Online today and in the 2010 book next month.

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