AP STYLE and News Judgement
Are two groups at odds over a proposal? Not every news story must have disagreement at its core, but a good percentage of news originates from disputes of one kind or another.
Conflict
If numbers are below 10 you...
Spell it out
Write out the month if it....
Stands Alone (ex. His birthday is in October.)
What Stylebook made more than 200 additions, including emojis, medical marijuana, Biracial/Multicultural replaces "Mixed race," phrases dealing with sexual harassment and assault, and more?
the 2018 style book
Datelines on stories should contain...
the city name in ALL CAPS, followed by (in most cases) the name of the state, province, county, or territory. Ex.: RICHMOND, Va. (AP)
Always spell out states unless...
they are preceded by a city, county or military base name. Abbreviate on the second reference.
The AP style book was first published when?
1953
The "Basic" style book was printed and updated every year after this year?
1977
The AP style book was updated every two years until what year?
1977
How is height written in AP style?
6-foot-3
In AP style large numbers are separated by...
Hyphens (Thirty-five)
Abbreviate these months when they are associated with dates...
January, February, August, September, October, November, and December. (ex: Dec. 15)
it takes good __________________ when you pitch a good news story
News Judgement
For age and percentages always use...
Numerals (Age:4-years-old) (Percentage: 9 percent)
State Abbreviations are different from...
Postal ones (Pa. instead of PA)
Is the central figure in our story widely known? If the mayor is arrested for drunken driving, that's a big story. If a worker at a local factory is arrested on the same charge, it's unlikely to even make the newscast/paper.
Prominence
Did the event happen in our city/county/state? The truck that caught fire while loading at a factory at the Inner Harbor is much more important to viewers/readers in Baltimore than it is to people 100 miles away in Philly or DC.
Proximity
Never Abbreviate these 8 states....
Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Utah, Texas
How are dates written in AP?
Ex: May 14.
In numbered addresses directions are...
Abbreviated (North, East, South, West)
what races are always capitalized in AP
Asian and Native Americans
What words do you abbreviate after numbered addresses?
Avenue, Boulevard, Street
➤What are the implications of the event we are reporting? What will happen? If the answer to those questions is "not much," then perhaps we have a story with a lot of flash but little power.
significance
Many of the most memorable news stories contain a strong element of drama. The lawyer in a high-stakes case calls a surprise witness. A president fights to keep from being removed from office. A teacher tries to talk a student into turning in a gun.
Drama
What words do you never abbreviate in addresses?
Drive, Highway, Way, Circle, Place
how do you write decades in AP?
simply add an "s" (ex. In the 1990s...) no apostrophes unless it shows possession.
An event that happened this morning has a much better chance of making today's newscast or paper than something that happened yesterday or last week - unless we can update the story.
Timeliness
Elements of News Judgement
Timeliness, Prominence, Proximity, Drama, Interest, Conflict, Significance
Political office holders have specific titles, ie Mayor, Senator, Governor, Congresswoman, President, etc.
Titles should be capitalized and abbreviated on first reference. Ex.: U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, Gov. Tom Wolf, State Rep. Dwight Evans, Mayor Muriel Bowser.
If numbers are greater than and equal to 10 you...
Use the numeral, unless it is the start of a sentence
how is time written in AP?
a.m. and p.m. are written lowercase with periods in between. Avoid saying "9 a.m. this morning." If it's the same day, no need for morning/afternoon/evening/today/tonight
Always write out years...
regardless where they are in a sentence. (Ex. 2008 was the year President Obama was Elected.)
The thing that goes into determining whether or not that pitch is picked up as a story depends on things such as.....
relevance, importance, and uniqueness
A well-thought-out news pitch is the _____________ for a story that is well reported, which then is the ______________ for a story that is well written. It is those stories that have the greatest impact on viewers/readers/listeners.
foundation is the framework
pitch
idea of what you're going to write about
No hyphens...
in ethnic groups
➤A story can be lacking many of the above elements, but if viewers find it intriguing, that's often enough. ➤Conversely, if we fail to make significant events interesting, then that's largely on the writer and editor.
interest
in AP style race is only capitalized when...
it is the proper name of an organization.
president and vice president are....
not to be abbreviated