What’s new in the AP Stylebook? Royal wedding words and more
Dear editors,
Last week, I went to the American Copy Editors Society Conference, along with 700 other copy editors. People from BuzzFeed, the Washington Post, Merriam-Webster, and various other media companies ran workshops on grammar, style, and editing, but the highlight may have been the AP editors’ session, where they announced updates to the stylebook.
Here’s some key intel:
Writers influence changes to the dictionary and the stylebook.
As Merriam-Webster editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski put it, the dictionary exists to “tell the truth about words.” That means dictionary entries are updated to reflect usage, rather than dictate it.
Several of the AP Stylebook’s changes make that clear. 3D is now one word, unhyphenated, which has been our style at Curbed and Eater for a while. Also one word: smartwatch and homepage. And the latest edition of the stylebook includes an entry on the word victim that cautions against its use in certain contexts:
Also be alert to potential biases and assumptions inherent in the word victim. A phrase such as AIDS victim, for instance, not only makes it unclear whether the subject is alive or dead, but many AIDS patients do not consider themselves victims. Instead, use neutral, precise descriptions: He has AIDS. She has hepatitis. In crime stories, avoid alleged victim if possible; it is too easily construed as skepticism. In stories in which sexual misconduct or other allegations are leveled, consider calling the person making the allegations an accuser instead of a victim if shorthand is needed, to avoid implications of guilt on the part of the accused.
The three criteria for dictionary inclusion, according to Sokolowki, are increasing use, widespread use, and meaningful use.
Many changes to the dictionary and the stylebook begin when authoritative sources — like Curbed, Eater, and Racked — use (or perhaps avoid, as with victim) a word over a sustained period of time.
#MeToo presents a challenge to journalists.
There was a lot of talk about the terminology surrounding #MeToo — take the above entry on the term victim, for instance. Here’s the AP Stylebook’s updated entry on sexual harassment, sexual misconduct:
These are broad terms that can cover a wide variety of actions or behavior. In stories, be as specific as possible in describing the kinds of behavior that is being alleged or admitted — such as groping, unwanted kissing, disrobing, or verbal or physical abuse or assault.
If a shorter term is needed, for example in a headline, AP uses the generalized description sexual misconduct, rather than sexual harassment, because it encompasses a broader range of sexual misbehavior and does not run the risk of diminishing some of the alleged acts.
As with all accusations, these allegations should be well-documented and corroborated in some way, including an effort to get comment from the accused individuals or their representatives.
Remember to run all stories about sexual misconduct by a manager.
Any questions or thoughts about all this? Let me know in the copy-edit Slack channels or over DM/email (now officially one word in Merriam-Webster)!
Royal Wedding Style
Are you writing about the real estate or cake angle of the royal wedding? Here’s some guidance!
royal wedding. Always lowercase.
royal couple. Also lowercase.
Buckingham Palace
Windsor Castle
St. George’s Chapel
Meghan Markle’s title. She will not be formally known as Princess Meghan, although tabloid headline writers may use that moniker. She is likely to be known by whatever title the queen gives her the day of the wedding. Many royal observers think the queen will make the newlyweds the duke and duchess of Sussex, one of the few remaining “dukedoms” that are available.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will officiate as the couple make their wedding vows. On second reference he can be called Welby, or the archbishop, or the archbishop of Canterbury.
the dean of Windsor, the Rev. David Conner, will conduct the service. He can be called Conner or the reverend or the dean on second reference.
BBC. Acceptable on all references to the British Broadcasting Corp.
The United Kingdom. The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The abbreviation U.K. is acceptable as a noun or adjective.
Capitalize king, queen, prince and princess when they are used directly before one or more names; lowercase when they stand alone.
In Other News
Using two spaces between sentences is bad for trees (silent letters are another culprit — looking at you, the French language). The strange grammar of Melania Trump’s Be Best campaign. And Merriam-Webster now says “copyeditor” is one word.
Have a good week!
Emma