Poynter. » Grammar and style

Los Angeles Times, too, moves away from ‘illegal immigrant’

Andrew Beaujon — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:11:52 +0000

Articles in the Los Angeles Times “will no longer refer to individuals as ‘illegal immigrants’ or ‘undocumented immigrants,’ but instead will describe a person’s circumstances,” Times reader representative Deirdre Edgar writes.

New guidance to the newsroom … Read more

Timeline shows changes to AP style

Andrew Beaujon — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:19:39 +0000

Journalism in the Americas

“Ms.” arrived in 1980. “Illegal immigrant” entered in 2004 (and left this year). The hyphen in “e-mail” left the building in March 2011.

Zach Dyer catalogs these and other changes to the AP Stylebook… Read more

AP changes style on ‘underway’: Copy editors react

Andrew Beaujon — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:07:46 +0000

Two days after changing its style on the term “illegal immigrant,” the Associated Press issued a Stylebook update that’s significant but in a much quieter way:

underway
One word in all uses.

OK, it’s a big deal mostly to copy … Read more

5 ways that social media benefits writing and language

Mallary Jean Tenore — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:20:33 +0000

It’s easy to assume that new forms of technology have dumbed down the English language. Text messaging has reduced phrases to letters (CU L8r) and tweets have so many abbreviations and hashtags they’re barely legible.

Less obvious, though, are … Read more

AP stylebook adds entry on mental illness

Julie Moos — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:39:08 +0000

AP Stylebook | NAB
The Associated Press has introduced guidance on how to use information about mental illness in coverage. “Do not describe an individual as mentally ill unless it is clearly pertinent to a story and the diagnosis is … Read more

AP issues style guide for papal succession

Andrew Beaujon — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:00:01 +0000

Associated Press
The Associated Press has issued a helpful style guide for what promises to be an eventful March in the Roman Catholic Church. For example: Mass is “celebrated, not said.” The word “pontiff” is “not a formal title and … Read more

ProPublica releases style guide for news apps

Jeff Sonderman — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:41:31 +0000

News applications editor Scott Klein has written a “ProPublica News Apps Style Guide” that codifies “the typographic and technical best practices” its developers follow.

Much like the AP Stylebook, the News Apps Style Guide helps journalists resolve uncertainty … Read more

Your quick Election Day (note the uppercase) styleguide

Julie Moos — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:13:58 +0000

The Associated Press released its Election Day styleguide in August, but honestly, who was paying attention then? (OK, we were. But you weren’t.) Here are the most common phrases to get right.

Uppercase

Democrat, Democratic Party
Republican, Republican

Jose Antonio Vargas ‘disappointed’ NYT not budging on ‘illegal immigrant’

Andrew Beaujon — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:14:17 +0000

The Atlantic Wire | The New York Times
Jose Antonio Vargas will continue trying to persuade The New York Times to stop using the term “illegal immigrant,” he tells The Atlantic Wire’s John Hudson, even though New York Times Public … Read more

The New York Times explains why it still uses ‘illegal immigrant’

Mallary Jean Tenore — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:05:10 +0000

Time Magazine | ABC News | Politico | Poynter
Jose Antonio Vargas is asking news organizations to stop using the term “illegal immigrant,” saying it’s inhumane and inaccurate.

During his keynote speech at the Online News Association conference on … Read more