A few weeks ago, I attended an event sponsored by the Rutgers Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The guest speaker was Associated Press deputy standards editor, David Minthorn — the man behind “Ask the Editor” on the AP Stylebook website. Minthorn presented a program on the history and production of the AP Stylebook — otherwise known as the journalist’s bible.
For those not familiar with the AP Stylebook, it is a style and usage manual that is considered by many as the newspaper industry standard. Reporters, editors and student journalists use the AP Stylebook as “a guide for grammar, punctuation and principles and practices of reporting,” according to the Wikipedia AP Stylebook entry.
Minthorn called the AP Stylebook, “a framework for journalism in all formats.” He added that the Stylebook has been there as a guide for “the uniform presentation of news” for over five decades.
The AP Stylebook is updated annually by Associated Press editors. The 2010 printed version should be availableby the end of May. New this year: a social media section. On the AP Stylebook website, there is a also new audio pronunciation guide. And there’s an app for the Stylebook, which can be downloaded to your iPhone or iPod Touch for $28.99.
Minthorn also mentioned that The Associated Press is now offering 12-week paid internships for college juniors, seniors and recent grads at a local AP bureaus.
I own several copies of the Stylebook and refer to it frequently — especially the very useful “Guide to Punctuation” chapter. I purchase a new copy every three or four years. I definitely plan to get the 2010 version.
But the question remains; in light of the onslaught of alternate journalism (including the blog community), can the Stylebook remain relevant? How does an institution like the AP Stylebook stay current and necessary to the new wave of writers who will be primarily using the Web to communicate?
I hope the Stylebook remains an industry standard. I find it annoying to read articles with poor spelling and grammar. The Stylebook provides a guide to formatting your text consistently. For instance, have you ever wondered whether to put your commas and periods before or after the quotation marks? The Stylebook has the answer. (It’s always inside the “quotes.”)
The Stylebook isn’t the law; it’s just suggested formatting. But why not take advantage of an institution that has set journalistic standards for over fifty years?
