Noteworthy 2016 AP Stylebook Changes for PR Pros

The just-released 2016 AP Stylebook contains important changes public relations professionals should understand.

The new stylebook, considered the go-to writing guideline for journalists and PR pros, includes nearly 250 new or revised entries and the first interior page redesign in decades. There are 36 new and updated entries in the food chapter, from arctic char to whisky/whiskey, and eight new and updated entries in the fashion chapter, according to the AP’s announcement.

Because most publications follow the AP guidelines, PR pros who follow the style will have an advantage when submitting press releases and story pitches; those who ignore it face an additional, unnecessary hurdle.

Here are some of the noteworthy changes.

A Trend to Lowercasing

The internet is no longer capitalized. The stylebook initially called for internet to be capitalized because it was considered a single worldwide network of computers. However, critics argued that the word no longer is used in such a formal way. Web also is lowercase for the same reason. Critics of the rule also say decapitalizing words enables both faster writing and reading.

“Not only does decapitalization save a click of the shift key, but, as one marketing website put it, ‘Capital letters are speed bumps for the eyes when reading. They should be eliminated where possible,’” wrote Susan C. Herring at Wired.

However, lowercasing the web should come naturally to most, Ben Zimmer, a Wall Street Journal columnist and executive editor of vocabulary.com and Visual Thesaurus, told Poynter.org. The internet seems more like a proper noun, he said.

AP Stylebook changes sometimes generate controversy and opposition among copy editors and other language enthusiasts. They often view the book as a referee of language usage, but it’s really only reflecting current word use.

More Noteworthy Changes

Other changes include:

Media can be singular or plural, depending on the context. It is generally plural, especially when referring to individual outlets, but is used with a singular verb when referring to a monolithic group.

The plural of emoji is emojis,

Voicemail is one word instead of two.

Dashcam is one word.

Spokesperson was added to the entry on spokesman and spokeswoman. “This perhaps reflects a move toward more gender neutral terminology where the AP used to encourage the use of gender specific terms when possible,” comments Kenna Griffin, a mass communications professor, on the Prof KRG blog.

DJ is acceptable use for disc jockey on the first reference, in case anyone still knows what it means.

When using IM as a verb, write IM’ing or IM’d.

Use ride booking, not ride sharing, when writing about services like Uber or Lyft.

Bottom Line: The 2016 AP Stylebook contains some important changes on word use that warrants the attention of PR professionals. Whether you agree with the changes or not, it’s imperative to follow AP guidance when submitting news releases and story ideas to news outlets.