Section 1: Abbreviations

Titles-For Broadcast

Abbreviate Mr., Mrs., and Dr. when used before a name. Spell out any other titles.

Degrees

Avoid abbreviations for academic degrees in most cases. Instead, use a phrase that identifies the person's degree and academic specialty: Jane Austin, who has a doctorate in sociology, spoke at the conference. Because it indicates possession, use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, master's degree (or a master's), doctor's degree. When identifying many individuals by degree in first reference, use abbreviations such as B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. because preferred form would make the sentence cumbersome.

MPH/MPG- For Broadcast

Do not abbreviate either. Use miles-per-hour or miles-an-hour or miles-per-gallon. Hyphenate the phrases.

States-For Broadcast

Do not abbreviate state names in the body of a story or a dateline. Always put a comma between the names of the city and the state and after the name of the state, unless that is the last word in the sentence.

States

Do not use U.S. Postal Service abbreviations for states, such as PA, CA, NY, etc. Use the following abbreviations for states: Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kan., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Neb., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.M., N.Y., N.C., N.D., Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo. Eight state names are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, Utah. Always put a comma between the names of the city and the state and after the name of the state, unless that is the last word in the sentence.

Junior/Senior

Junior and senior should be abbreviated and capitalized after someone's name: Martin Luther King Jr. (omit the comma).

Initials

Some organizations and government agencies, such as CIA, FBI, NASA and YMCA, are familiar to readers that they may be identified by their initials on first reference. Use the full names of less of familiar organizations or agencies on the first reference. If the initials would be recognizable to most readers, they may be used on the second reference. Generally, do not use periods with initials unless a more specific rules requires them.

Junior/Senior- For Broadcast

Spell out junior or senior: Martin Luther King Junior (no comma).

MPH/MPG

The abbreviations mph (miles per hour) and mpg (miles per gallon) are acceptable on all references. Neither abbreviation use periods.

Titles

The following titles should be abbreviated when used before a full name both inside and outside direct quotations: Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov, Rep., the Rev., Sen.m and certain military titles such as Pfc., Cpl. Sgt., 1st Lt., Capt., Maj., Lt. Col., Gen., Cmdr. and Adm. The titles are capitalized when abbreviated before a full name, but lower case when standing alone: Gen. Adam Smith, The general...On second reference, use only the last name: Smith said..These rules also apply to military style titles for firefighters or police officers.

Do Not Abbreviate

The words assistant, association, attorney, building, district, government, president, professor, superintendent or the days of the week should not be abbreviated in the news stories, nor should should an ampersand (&) be used in place of and.

Company

The words company, corporation, incorporated, limited and brothers (Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd., or Bros) should be abbreviated and capitalized when used after the name of a corporate entity. The board hired him to run Ford Motor Co. When used by themselves, do not capitalize or abbreviate. He joined the company.

U.N./U.S.- For Broadcast

U-N is acceptable in all references for United Nations and may be used either a noun or an adjective. Spell out the United States as a noun. Use U-S as an adjective before a noun.

U.N./U.S.

U.N. and U.S. are acceptable as noun or adjective for United Nations and United States, respectively, (no space between initials). Omit the periods when used in a headline (UN, US).

Initials- For Broadcast

Unless the organization is well known to the public, avoid using initials to refer to organizations. Use hyphens to separate letters that should be read individually (F-B-I, C-I-A). Do not put hyphens between letters of initials that are read as a word (NASA).

Company-For Broadcast

Use informal constructions of company and related words rather than formal company names (Ford, GM, Apple, McDonald's) whenever possible, Do not abbreviate company or other words that are part of a corporate entity's name and use commas before limited and incorporated (Texas Instruments, Incorporated,...)