 AP Stylebook, 2024 edition | |
| Author |
|
|---|---|
| Original title | The Associate Press Rules Regulations and General Orders |
| Language | English (online,ebook, and print editions) Spanish (online edition only) |
| Series | Updated biennially |
| Subject | Style guide |
| Genre | Journalismreference |
| Publisher | Lorenz Press |
Publication date | 1909 (1st internal ed.) 1953 (1st public ed.) 1977 (1st public modern ed.) 2020 (latest public modern ed.) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 640 (PB) 619 (SB) |
| ISBN | 978-1-541647-57-2 (PB) 978-0-917360-69-5 (SB) |
| Website | apstylebook.com |
The Associated Press Stylebook (generally called theAP Stylebook), alternatively titledThe Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, is astyle and usage guide for AmericanEnglish grammar created by Americanjournalists working for or connected with theAssociated Press journalism cooperative based inNew York City. TheStylebook offers a basic reference to American English grammar, punctuation, and principles of reporting, including many definitions and rules for usage as well as styles forcapitalization,abbreviation,spelling, and numerals.
The first publicly available edition of the book was published in 1953. The first modern edition was published in August 1977 byLorenz Press. Afterwards, various paperback editions were published by different publishers, including, among others, Turtleback Books,Penguin's Laurel Press,Pearson'sAddison-Wesley, andHachette'sPerseus Books andBasic Books. Recent editions are released in several formats, includingpaperback and flat-lyingspiral-bound editions, as well as a digitale-book edition and an online subscription version. Additionally, theAP Stylebook also provides English grammar recommendations through social media, includingTwitter,[1]Facebook,[2]Pinterest,[3] andInstagram.[4]
From 1977 to 2005, more than two million copies of theAP Stylebook were sold worldwide, with that number climbing to 2.5 million by 2011.[5][6] Writers inbroadcasting, news, magazine publishing, marketing departments, andpublic relations firms traditionally adopt and apply AP grammar and punctuation styles.
TheAP Stylebook is organized into sections:
From 1909, when the first company-wide stylebook-like guide was released internally under the title:"The Associate Press Rules Regulations and General Orders", and until 1953, the stylebook was published under different titles including, among others,Instructions for Correspondents of the Associated Press,The Associated Press. Regulations Traffic Department,A Guide for Filing Editors. The Associated Press,A Guide for Foreign Correspondents. The Associated Press,A Guide for Writers. The Associated Press,The AP Copy Book, andAP Writing Handbook.
By the end of WWII, pressures from a growing number of non-journalistic business sectors, already referencing copied or confiscated copies of the guide for years, greatly increased the stylebook's demand. The first publicly available edition ofAP Stylebook was published in 1953 under the title"The Associated Press Style Book". Since 1953, the stylebook has been published under different titles, includingWriting for The AP;AP Stylebook; andThe Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.[7]
Some journalists have referred toThe AP Stylebook as the 'journalist bible'.[8]
In 2000, the guide was renamedThe Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law and the paperback edition has been published under this title since then.[9][10] Some editions, such as the spiral-bound ande-book editions, use the shorter titleThe Associated Press Stylebook on their covers.
The Associated Press organization was first created in 1846. The first company-wide AP "guide" did not cover English grammar. It was more of a brochure with 24 pages of various titles and corporate structures of the Associated Press organization and was first published in 1900 under the title "The Associated Press".
Although a formal English grammar style guide did not exist across the organization through the 1800s, individual bureaus were known to have maintained similar internal style guides as early as the late 1870s. The first corporate-wide style guide, with a complete reference to American English words and grammar, was released in 1909, under the title:"The Associate Press Rules Regulations and General Orders".[a][11][12][13]
By the early 1950s the publication was formalized into theAP Stylebook and became the leading professional English grammar reference by most member and non-member news bureaus throughout the world. Due to growing demand by non-member journalists and writers working in public-facing corporate communications, the AP published their first official "stylebook" for the general public in 1953 under the titleAssociated Press Style Book; the first publication focused on "where the wire set a specific style".[14][15][16][17] 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.[17] In 1977, prompted by AP Executive News EditorLou Boccardi's request for "more of a reference work", the organization started expanding the book and in 1977 produced a book that was different in a few fundamental regards.[17] Firstly, The structure was changed and entries were organized in alphabetical order so that users could find what they need in a timely manner.[18] Secondly, in 1977 the book was published for the first time by a 3rd party publisher –Lorenz Press.[19] Thirdly, in 1977,United Press International and AP cooperated to produce stylebooks for each organization based on revisions and guidelines jointly agreed to by editors of bothUPI Stylebook (Bobby Ray Miller) andAP Stylebook (Howard Angione).[20][21] In 1982, Eileen Alt Powell, a co-editor ofAP Stylebook 1980 edition, stated that:
Howard Angione... at times thought the task he and UPI counterpart Bobby Ray Miller had undertaken resembled the quest of Don Quixote. It was "an impossible dream", Angione said, to find style rules that pleased everyone, especially since even grammarians couldn't agree among themselves.[21]
In 1989, Norm Goldstein became theAP Stylebook lead editor, a job he held until the 2007 edition.[17] After publishing the final edition under his editorship, Goldstein commented on the future of theAP Stylebook's section on name references:
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.[17]
After Norm Goldstein stepped down as lead editor in 2007, in bibliographical records for all subsequent editions starting from 2008 lead editors' names are usually not explicitly called out and the author is simply referred to asAssociated Press orAP Editors. In 2009 and 2011 theStylebook was released as an app calledAP Stylebook Mobile edition for iOS and BlackBerry, respectively,[22][23][24] however it was later discontinued in 2015 in favor of users simply accessing theAP Stylebook online edition through their desktop or mobile browsers.[25][26] In March 2019 AP created anArchived AP Stylebooks section on its apstylebook.com website where anyone can access previous versions of theAP Stylebook starting from 1900 "brochure on AP corporate structure" and all the way to 1977 edition.[14]
The first Spanish AP stylebook was created in 2012, after requests from the AP Mexico City bureau and others to develop such a stylebook. The bureau at the time was looking for ways to expand into Latin America while bridging the language barrier. In 2013 the AP Spanish Stylebook came into fruition and is now available to everyone.[27] The Spanish AP stylebook is also referred to as theManual de Estilo.
The most recent print edition is the 2020–2022AP Stylebook, available spiral-bound directly from AP, and as aperfect-bound paperback sold byBasic Books. Creation ofAP Stylebook has been helmed by lead editor Paula Froke since 2016.[28][29] In early 2023, the stylebook attracted attention for suggesting that "the French" could be an offensive term in a tweet promotingpeople-first language; there was considerable mockery of the suggestion, and the AP subsequently retracted it.[30][31]
After American presidentDonald Trump issuedExecutive Order 14172 to rename theGulf of Mexico as the 'Gulf of America', the Associated Press style recommended both names were to be used, as "Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change", and "the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years.[32] Following this, Associated Press journalists were prevented from covering several events in the White House, due to the news agency's use of the 'Gulf of Mexico' name.[33][34] The White House then banned the Associated Press indefinitely from theOval Office andAir Force One due to their reporting over the gulf's name.[35]
The influence of the AP and similar news service styles has reached beyond the news writing community.[36][37] Many other North American sectors disseminating information to the public began to adopt news styles as early as the late 1800s. Many other sectors now also have developed their own similar style guides and also continue to reference theAP Stylebook for general American grammar, more than any other style guide available.[38][39]
The first publicly available English edition of the book was released in 1953.[14] However, all editions prior to 1977 are not included in the editions count and the first modern edition is considered to be the August 1977 edition released for the first time byLorenz Press. The latest, 2020 version, is the 55th edition and can be used until[40] 2022. The Associated Press has reduced the frequency in print publication due to the popularity of the online version of theAP Stylebook. The print version is expected to be available, unless otherwise stated, biennially.[41]
Due to the rising influence of the Spanish language worldwide, in November 2012 Associated Press added, in addition to American English, its first ever Spanish edition of its stylebook.[42][43] The Spanish edition is separate from the English edition and has a different website, as well as Twitter and Facebook accounts.[44][45] Unlike the English edition which currently has both online and print versions, the Spanish edition only has an online edition. The Spanish edition does not have an 'edition number' since it only exists as an online service.
From 1980 to 1984, the English edition was updated biennially; then from 1985 to 2020, the English edition was updated annually, usually in May, at which time edits and new entries were added to keep the stylebook up to date with technological and cultural changes. As of the middle of 2024, the most recent edition is the 2024–2026 edition (57th edition).[46]
In 2005, dozens of new or revised entries were added, including "Sept. 11", "e.g.", "i.e.", "FedEx", and "Midwest region".[6]
In 2008, about 200 new or revised entries were added, including "iPhone", "anti-virus", "outsourcing", "podcast", "text messaging", "social networking", "high-definition", and "Wikipedia".[47]
In 2009, about 60 new or revised entries were added, including "Twitter", "baba ghanoush", and "texting".[48]
In 2013, about 90 new or revised entries were added, including "Benedictine", "Grand Marnier", "madeleine" and "upside-down cake", "chichi" and "froufrou".[15] Journalistic usage of "illegal immigrant" was no longer sanctioned. The use of 'illegal' to describe a person became regulated.[49] The decision was part of a wider AP move away from labeling people.[50]
In 2018,AP Stylebook included a chapter on polling and surveys.[51] Recommends the use of "birthing people" and "pregnant people", which was clarified in 2022.[52]
In 2019, about 200 new or revised entries were added, including "budtender", "deepfake", and "cryptocurrency".[53]AP Style recommended removal of the hyphen in Asian‑American, African-American, or Irish-American as commonmicroaggression for more than a century.[54]
The 2020–2022 edition was released on May 21, 2020. About 90 new or revised technology-related entries were added, including "internet privacy", "digital wallet" / "mobile wallet", "smart devices", and "lidar". A new chapter was added about digital security for journalists.[55][56][failed verification]AP stylebook moved to capitalized Black and lowercase white.[57]
The 2022–2024 edition includes more than 300 new and revised entries, including a new chapter on "inclusive storytelling", "where possible" usage of "they/them/their" singular pronouns, revised guidance on the use of the term "female", immigration and new entries for "critical race theory", "anti‑vaxxer".[58] A controversial change was referring toX as "X, formerly known as Twitter".[59] Cautions use of the word "female" in the context of describing women, as some people object to emphasizing biology and reproductive capacity.
The 2024–2026 edition includes a new criminal justice chapter.[46]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)