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Briefing on Media Law with Internet Guide and Glossary

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Published by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 50 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10020

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in connection with reviews written specifically for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-070484 ISBN: 0-917360-22-2

Design and content management by Satchmo Publishing, Inc. Printed in the United States of America Printed by Banta Book Group Cover design by Christine Tash

First Edition, August 1977 38th Edition, 2003 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page iii

CONTENTS

FOREWORD vi BIBLIOGRAPHY viii STYLEBOOK Key 2 An A to Z listing of guides to capitalization, abbreviation, spelling, numerals and usage 3 Internet guidelines 125 Sports guidelines and style 285 Business guidelines and style 307 A Guide to Punctuation 328 BRIEFING ON MEDIA LAW Foreword 342 Introduction 343 What Is Libel? 344 Liability for Republication 345 Privileges 346 Defenses 352 Supreme Court Decisions Regarding Libel Law 355 Summary of First Amendment Rules 360 Public and Private Plaintiffs 361 Miscellaneous 364 Applying the Rules 364 Points to Remember 366 Procedures for Handling Kills and Correctives 367 Access to Places of Information 373 The Right of Privacy 378 Copyright Guidelines 382 PHOTO CAPTIONS 386 Caption Corrections, Additions, Eliminations 388 Photo Kills and Eliminations 389 Text Wire Formats 389 NAA/IPTC Header Fields 391 Supplemental Categories 392 FILING THE WIRE Coding Requirements 395 Format Identifiers 397 Keyword Slug Line 398 Reference Number Section 399 Version Section 399 FILING PRACTICES 401 PROOFREADERS’ MARKS 419 ABOUT THE AP 421 Headquarters 424 U.S. Bureaus 425 AP PUBLICATIONS 428 Order Form 430 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page v

FOREWORD

Work on this Stylebook began in mid-1975. The orders were: Make clear and simple rules, permit few exceptions to the rules, and rely heavily on the chosen dictionary as the arbiter of con- flicts. As work progressed, we became convinced that while style would remain the chief purpose, there were many factual references we should include to make things a bit easier for busy editors. So we have a Stylebook, but also a reference work. As for the ‘style’ itself, we thought at the outset that it wouldn’t be possible to please everyone. Of course, we were right. Journalists approach these style questions with varying degrees of passion. Some don’t think it is really important. Some agree that basically there should be uniformity for reading ease if nothing else. Still others are prepared to duel over a wayward lowercase. We encountered all three of these types and, in their special ways, all were helpful. It is customary at this place to thank those whose aid and counsel produced the volume that follows. That list is long. It ranges from the staff of The Associated Press to editors and writers on member newspapers, to other individuals and groups with special interests in some subjects. In particular we sought and received many member views on a variety of difficult questions so that this book could reflect what members wanted. We are particularly grateful to those newspaper editors who agreed to review the final draft and give us their comments as well as those of their staffs. The completed book incorporates many of their suggestions. We have tried to make the Stylebook current and trust it will be a lasting work. But language changes, and we will review entries annually, making necessary changes by wire notes during the review period. Each new printing of the Stylebook will incorporate the changes that have been announced on the wires.

LOUIS D. BOCCARDI President and Chief Executive Officer 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page vi

In Memory of CHRISTOPHER W. FRENCH 1940-1989 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page vii

WHAT’S NEW In this edition of the AP Stylebook

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New entries: al-Qaida, Amber Alert, assassination, Bahai Faith, bioterrorism, earthquakes, farmworker, Founding Fathers, Global Positioning System, ground zero, hand-held, hillbilly, blog and PDA (in Internet section), Line of Control, 9-11, Saddam, software titles, special forces, SWAT, Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, till, watt. Changes and updates: abbreviations and acronyms, Bank of America Corp., bay, CARE, Chicago Board of Trade, Coast Guard, Department, judge, Korean names, obscenities, profanities, vulgarities, Safeway Inc., sentences, Texaco, 3M, titles. Deletions: Hollywood, innocent, listserv (in Internet section), USX Corp. BIBLIOGRAPHY 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/0310:00AMPageviii BIBLIOGRAPHY 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page ix

BIBLIOGRAPHY — ix

BIBLIOGRAPHY Following are reference books used in the preparation of The Associated Press Stylebook. They are the accepted reference sources for material not covered by the Stylebook.

First reference for spelling, style, usage and foreign geographic names: Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Wiley, Hoboken, N.J.

Second reference for spelling, style and usage: Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass.

Second reference for foreign geographic names: National Geographic Atlas of the World, National Geographic So- ciety, Washington, D.C. www.nationalgeographic.com/index.html

First reference for place names in the 50 states: National 5-Digit ZIP Code and Post Office Directory; U.S. Postal Service, Washington, D.C.

For aircraft names: Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft; Jane’s Yearbooks, London, and Franklin Watts Inc., New York.

For military ships: Jane’s Fighting Ships; Jane’s Yearbooks, London, and Franklin Watts Inc., New York.

For non-military ships: Lloyd’s Register of Shipping; Lloyd’s Register of Shipping Trust Corp. Ltd., London.

For railroads: Official Railway Guide — Freight Service, and Official Railway Guide — Passenger Service, Travel Edition; Official Railway Guide, New York.

For federal government questions: Official Congressional Directory; U.S. Government Printing Of- fice, Washington, D.C.

For foreign government questions: Political Handbook of the World; McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.

For the formal name of a business:Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives; Standard & Poor’s Corp., New York. 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page x

x— BIBLIOGRAPHY

For religion questions: Handbook of Denominations in the United States; Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn., and New York. World Christian Encylopedia; Second Edition; Oxford University Press, New York, N.Y. Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches; Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn., and New York, for the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., New York.

Other references consulted in the preparation of the AP Style- book: Bernstein, Theodore M. The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. Atheneum, 1965. Bernstein, Theodore M. More Language That Needs Watching. Channel Press, 1962. Bernstein, Theodore M. Watch Your Language. Atheneum, 1958. Cappon, Rene J. The Word. The Associated Press, 1982; second edition, 1991. Follett, Wilson (edited and completed by Jacques Barzun). Mod- ern American Usage. Hill & Wang, 1966. Fowler, H.W. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Oxford Uni- versity Press, 1965. The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition. University of Chica- go Press, 1995. Morris, William and Morris, Mary. Harper Dictionary of Contem- porary Usage. Harper & Row, 1975; second edition, 1985. Newton, Harry, Newton’s Telecom Dictionary, 15th Edition. Miller Freeman, Inc., 1999. Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Problem Words & Expressions. Mc- Graw-Hill Book Co., 1975. Skillin, Marjorie E. and Gay, Robert M. Words Into Type. Pren- tice-Hall Inc., 1974. Strunk, William Jr. and White, E.B. The Elements of Style, second edition. The Macmillan Co., 1972.

Also consulted were the stylebooks of the Boston Globe, Indi- anapolis News, Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, Miami Her- ald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Newsday, New York Times, Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal, and the U.S. Government Print- ing Office. 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page xi STYLEBOOK

STYLEBOOK 001-012_FRONT.qrk 3/4/03 10:00 AM Page xii

STYLEBOOK KEY This updated and revised version of The Associated Press Stylebook has been organized like a dictionary. Need the acronym for a government agency? Look under the agency’s name. Should you capitalize a word? Check the word itself or the capitalization entry. What’s the format for baseball boxes? See baseball. Following is a key to the entries:

airport Capitalize as part of a prop- Entry words, in alphabetical order, are in boldface. er name: La Guardia Airport, Newark In- They represent the accepted ternational Airport. word forms unless The first name of an individual and otherwise indicated. the word international may be deleted from a formal airport name while the remainder is capitalized: John F. Kennedy International Airport, Kennedy Text explains usage. International Airport, or Kennedy Airport. Use whichever is appropriate in the context. Do not make up names, however. There is no Boston Airport, for example. Examples of correct and The Boston airport (lowercase airport) incorrect usage are in would be acceptable if for some reason italics. the proper name, Logan International Airport, were not used. Many entries simply give airtight the correct spelling, hyphenation and/or air traffic controller (no hy- capitalization. phen.) airways The system of routes that the federal government has established Abbrev. indicates the for airplane traffic. correct abbreviation of a See the airline, airlines entry for its word. use in carriers’ names. Related topics are in Alabama Abbrev.: Ala. See state boldface. names.

Other abbreviations used in the Stylebook: n.: noun form adj.: adjectives v.: verb form adv.: adverbs 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 3 A a- The rules of prefixes apply, A few universally recognized but in general no hyphen. Some abbreviations are required in examples: some circumstances. Some others achromatic atonal are acceptable depending on the context. But in general, avoid al- AAA Formerly the American phabet soup. Do not use abbrevi- Automobile Association. On sec- ations or acronyms that the read- ond reference, the automobile as- er would not quickly recognize. sociation or the association is ac- Guidance on how to use a par- ceptable. ticular abbreviation or acronym is Headquarters is in Heathrow, provided in entries alphabetized Fla. according to the sequence of letters in the word or phrase. a, an Use the article a before An acronym is a word formed consonant sounds: a historic from the first letter or letters of a event, a one-year term (sounds as series of words: laser (light ampli- if it begins with a w), a united fication by stimulated emission of stand (sounds like you). radiation). An abbreviation is not Use the article an before vowel an acronym. sounds: an energy crisis, an hon- Some general principles: orable man (the h is silent), an BEFORE A NAME: Abbreviate NBA record (sounds like it begins the following titles when used be- with the letter e), an 1890s cele- fore a full name outside direct bration. quotations: Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Mr., Mrs., Rep., the Rev., Sen. and A&P Acceptable in all refer- certain military designations list- ences for Great Atlantic & Pacific ed in the military titles entry. Tea Co. Inc. Headquarters is in Spell out all except Dr., Mr., Mrs. Montvale, N.J. and Ms. when they are used before a name in direct quotations. AARP Use only the initials for For guidelines on how to use the organization formerly known titles, see courtesy titles; legisla- as the American Association of tive titles; military titles; reli- Retired Persons. gious titles; and the entries for the most commonly used titles. abbreviations and AFTER A NAME: Abbreviate ju- acronyms The notation abbrev. nior or senior after an individual’s is used in this book to identify name. Abbreviate company, corpo- the abbreviated form that may be ration, incorporated and limited used for a word in some contexts. when used after the name of a 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 4

corporate entity. See entries STRUCTIONS: Do not follow an under these words and company organization’s full name with an names. abbreviation or acronym in In some cases, an academic parentheses or set off by dashes. degree may be abbreviated after If an abbreviation or acronym an individual’s name. See acade- would not be clear on second ref- mic degrees. erence without this arrangement, WITH DATES OR NUMERALS: do not use it. Use the abbreviations A.D., B.C., Names not commonly before a.m., p.m., No., and abbreviate the public should not be reduced certain months when used with to acronyms solely to save a few the day of the month. words. Right: In 450 B.C.; at 9:30 SPECIAL CASES: Many abbre- a.m.; in room No. 6; on Sept. 16. viations are desirable in tabula- Wrong: Early this a.m. he tions and certain types of techni- asked for the No. of your room. cal writing. See individual entries. The abbreviations are correct only CAPS, PERIODS: Use capital with figures. letters and periods according to Right: Early this morning he the listings in this book. For asked for the number of your words not in this book, use the room. first-listed abbreviation in Web- See months and individual ster’s New World College Dictio- entries for these other terms: nary. Generally, omit periods in IN NUMBERED ADDRESSES: acronyms unless the result would Abbreviate avenue, boulevard and spell an unrelated word. But use street in numbered addresses: He periods in two-letter abbrevia- lives on Pennsylvania Avenue. He tions: U.S., U.N., E.U, U.K., B.A., lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. B.C. (AP, a trademark, is an ex- See addresses. ception.) STATES: The names of certain Use all caps, but no periods, states and the United States are in longer abbreviations and abbreviated with periods in some acronyms when the individual let- circumstances. ters are pronounced: ABC, CIA, See state names; datelines; FBI. and individual entries. Use only an initial cap and ACCEPTABLE BUT NOT RE- then lowercase for acronyms of QUIRED: Some organizations and more than six letters, unless list- government agencies are widely ed otherwise in this Stylebook or recognized by their initials: CIA, Webster’s New World College Dic- FBI, GOP. tionary. If the entry for such an organization notes that an abbreviation ABC Acceptable in all refer- is acceptable in all references or ences for American Broadcasting on second reference, that does Cos. (the plural is part of the cor- not mean that its use should be porate name). automatic. Let the context deter- Divisions are ABC News, ABC mine, for example, whether to use Radio and ABC-TV. Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI. ABCs See second reference. AVOID AWKWARD CON- able-bodied 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 5

ABM, ABMs Acceptable in — never after just a last name. all references for anti-ballistic mis- When used after a name, an sile(s), but the term should be de- academic abbreviation is set off fined in the story. by commas: Daniel Moynihan, Avoid the redundant phrase Ph.D., spoke. ABM missiles. Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic de- A-bomb Use atomic bomb gree and follow it with the abbre- unless a direct quotation is in- viation for the degree in the same volved. reference: See Hiroshima. Wrong: Dr. Pam Jones, Ph.D. Right: Dr. Pam Jones, a Aborigine Capitalize when chemist. referring to Australian indigenous See doctor. people. academic departments abortion Use anti-abortion Use lowercase except for words instead of pro-life and abortion that are proper nouns or adjec- rights instead of pro-abortion or tives: the department of history, pro-choice. Avoid abortionist, the history department, the de- which connotes a person who partment of English, the English performs clandestine abortions; department, or when department use a term such as abortion doc- is part of the official and formal tor or abortion practitioner. name: University of Connecticut Department of Medicine. aboveboard academic titles Capitalize absent-minded and spell out formal titles such as chancellor, chairman, etc., when absent without leave they precede a name. Lowercase AWOL is acceptable on second elsewhere. reference. Lowercase modifiers such as department in department Chair- academic degrees If men- man Jerome Wiesner. tion of degrees is necessary to es- See doctor and titles. tablish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an ab- academy See military acad- breviation and use instead a emies. phrase such as: John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology. Academy Awards Present- Use an apostrophe in bache- ed annually by the Academy of lor’s degree, a master’s, etc., but Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. there is no possessive in Bachelor Also known as the Oscars. (Both of Arts or Master of Science. Academy Awards and Oscars are Use such abbreviations as trademarks.) B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. only Lowercase the academy and when the need to identify many the awards whenever they stand individuals by degree on first ref- alone. erence would make the preferred form cumbersome. Use these ab- accept, except Accept breviations only after a full name means to receive. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 6

Except means to exclude. actor (man) actress (woman) accommodate Actors’ Equity Associa- tion Headquarters is in New accused A person is accused York. of, not with, a crime. To avoid any suggestion that A.D. Acceptable in all refer- an individual is being judged be- ences for anno Domini: in the year fore a trial, do not use a phrase of the Lord. such as accused slayer John Because the full phrase would Jones; use John Jones, accused of read in the year of the Lord 96, the slaying. the abbreviation A.D. goes before For guidelines on related the figure for the year: A.D. 96. words, see allege; arrest; and in- Do not write: The fourth centu- dict. ry A.D. The fourth century is sufficient. If A.D. is not specified with Ace A trademark for a brand a year, the year is presumed to be of elastic bandage. A.D. See B.C. acknowledgment addresses Use the abbrevia- acre Equal to 43,560 square tions Ave., Blvd. and St. only with feet or 4,840 square yards. The a numbered address: 1600 Penn- metric equivalent is .4 (two-fifths) sylvania Ave. Spell them out and of a hectare or 4,047 square me- capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: ters. Pennsylvania Avenue. Lowercase One square mile is 640 acres. and spell out when used alone or To convert to hectares, multi- with more than one street name: ply by .4 (5 acres x .4 equals 2 Massachusetts and Pennsylvania hectares). avenues. See hectare. All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) always are acronyms See the abbrevia- spelled out. Capitalize them when tions and acronyms entry. part of a formal name without a number; lowercase when used act Capitalize when part of alone or with two or more names. the name for pending or imple- Always use figures for an ad- mented legislation: the Taft-Hart- dress number: 9 Morningside Cir- ley Act. cle. Spell out and capitalize First acting Always lowercase, but through Ninth when used as capitalize any formal title that street names; use figures with may follow before a name: acting two letters for 10th and above: 7 Mayor Peter Barry. Fifth Ave., 100 21st St. See titles. Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends act numbers Use Arabic fig- of a street or quadrants of a city ures and capitalize act: Act 1; Act in a numbered address: 222 E. 2, Scene 2. But: the first act, the 42nd St., 562 W. 43rd St., 600 K second act. St. N.W. Do not abbreviate if the 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 7

number is omitted: East 42nd admit, admitted These Street, West 43rd Street, K Street words may in some contexts give Northwest. the erroneous connotation of See highway designations. wrongdoing. Use periods in the abbrevia- A person who announces that tion P.O. for P.O. Box numbers. he is a homosexual, for example, may be acknowledging it to the adjectives The abbreviation world, not admitting it. Said is adj. is used in this book to identi- usually sufficient. fy the spelling of the adjectival forms of words that frequently are ad nauseam misspelled. The comma entry provides Adrenalin A trademark for guidance on punctuating a series the synthetic or chemically ex- of adjectives. tracted forms of epinephrine, a The hyphen entry provides substance produced by the guidance on handling compound adrenal glands. modifiers used before a noun. The nonproprietary terms are epinephrine hydrochloride or ad-lib (n., v., adj.) adrenaline.

administration Lowercase: Adventist See Seventh-day the administration, the president’s Adventist Church. administration, the governor’s administration, the Reagan adminis- adverbs The abbreviation tration. adv. is used in this book to iden- See the government, junta, tify the spelling of adverbial forms regime entry for distinctions that of words frequently misspelled. apply in using these terms and See the hyphen entry in the administration. Punctuation chapter for guidelines on when an adverb should administrative law judge be followed by a hyphen in con- This is the federal title for the po- structing a compound modifier. sition formerly known as hearing examiner. Capitalize it when used adverse, averse Adverse as a formal title before a name. means unfavorable: He predicted To avoid the long title, seek a adverse weather. construction that sets the title off Averse means reluctant, op- by commas: The administrative posed: She is averse to change. law judge, John Williams, dis- agreed. adviser Not advisor.

administrator Never abbre- advisory viate. Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name. Aer Lingus The headquar- See titles. ters of this airline is in Dublin, Ireland. admiral See military titles. Aeroflot The headquarters of admissible this airline is in Moscow. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 8

Aeromexico This airline for- African-American The pre- merly was known as Aeronaves ferred term is black. Use African- de Mexico. American only in quotations or Headquarters is in Mexico the names of organizations or if City. individuals describe themselves so. aesthetic See black.

affect, effect Affect, as a after- No hyphen after this verb, means to influence: The prefix when it is used to form a game will affect the standings. noun: Affect, as a noun, is best aftereffect afterthought avoided. It occasionally is used in Follow after with a hyphen psychology to describe an emo- when it is used to form com- tion, but there is no need for it in pound modifiers: everyday language. after-dinner drink after-theater snack Effect, as a verb, means to cause: He will effect many afterward Not afterwards. changes in the company. Effect, as a noun, means re- Agency for International sult: The effect was overwhelm- Development AID is accepting. He miscalculated the effect of able on second reference. his actions. It was a law of little effect. agenda A list. It takes singular verbs and pronouns: The Afghan (adj.) Afghani is the agenda has run its course. Afghan unit of currency. The plural is agendas.

AFL-CIO Acceptable in all ref- agent Lowercase unless it is erences for the American Federa- a formal title used before a name. tion of Labor and Congress of In- In the FBI, the formal title is dustrial Organizations. special agent. Use Special Agent William Smith if appropriate in a A-frame special context. Otherwise, make it agent William Smith or FBI African Of or pertaining to agent William Smith. Africa, or any of its peoples or See titles. languages. Do not use the word as a synonym for black or Negro. ages Always use figures. In some countries of Africa, When the context does not re- colored is used to describe those quire years or years old, the fig- of mixed white and black ances- ure is presumed to be years. try. In other societies colored is Ages expressed as adjectives considered a derogatory word. before a noun or as substitutes Because of the ambiguity, for a noun use hyphens. avoid the term in favor of a Examples: A 5-year-old boy, phrase such as mixed racial an- but the boy is 5 years old. The cestry. If the word cannot be boy, 7, has a sister, 10. The avoided, place it in quotation woman, 26, has a daughter 2 marks and provide its meaning. months old. The law is 8 years See colored. old. The race is for 3-year-olds. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 9

The woman is in her 30s (no apos- ment’s Centers for Disease Con- trophe). trol and Prevention in Atlanta. See also boy; girl; infant; and A note about AIDS tests: Rou- youth. tine AIDS tests look for the pres- See comma in punctuation ence of antibodies the body has guidelines. made to defend against the AIDS virus. A positive antibody test is ages of history See the his- evidence of an infection with the torical periods and events AIDS virus. People who test posi- entry. tive are often described as being HIV-positive. (Hyphenate HIV-pos- agnostic, atheist An agnostic is a person who believes it is itive only when used as a com- impossible to know whether there pound adjective. HIV virus is re- is a God. dundant.) An atheist is a person who be- A positive result does not lieves there is no God. mean the person tested has AIDS. People infected with the virus do aid, aide Aid is assistance. not have AIDS until they develop An aide is a person who serves serious symptoms. Many remain as an assistant. infected but apparently healthy for years. aide-de-camp, aides-de- AIDS antibody tests should be camp A military officer who distinguished from tests for the serves as assistant and confiden- AIDS virus itself. The presence of tial secretary to a superior. the AIDS virus can be confirmed by laboratory cultures or by the AIDS Acceptable in all refer- much more sensitive polymerase ences for acquired immune defi- chain reaction, or PCR, test. ciency syndrome, sometimes written as acquired immunodeficiency ain’t A dialectical or substan- syndrome. dard contraction. Use it only in AIDS is an affliction in which a quoted matter or special contexts. virus has weakened the body’s immune system and cancer or se- air base Two words. Follow rious infections have occurred. the practice of the U.S. Air Force, AIDS is spread most often through sexual contact; contami- which uses air force base as part nated needles or syringes shared of the proper name for its bases by drug abusers; infected blood in the United States and air base or blood products; and from preg- for its installations abroad. nant women to their offspring. On second reference: the Air The scientific name for the Force base, the air base, or the virus is human immunodeficiency base. virus, or HIV. The most common Do not abbreviate, even in type of the virus is often designat- datelines: ed HIV-1 to distinguish it from LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, another type called HIV-2. Texas (AP) — National AIDS statistics, which are updated monthly, are avail- Air Canada Headquarters is able from the federal govern- in Montreal. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 10

air-condition, air-condi- the DC-8, DC-9, and DC-10; the L- tioned (v. and adj.) The nouns 1011; and the VC-10. are: air conditioner, air condition- See the engine, motor entry. ing. air force Capitalize when re- aircraft names Use a hy- ferring to U.S. forces: the U.S. Air phen when changing from letters Force, the Air Force, Air Force reg- to figures; no hyphen when ulations. Do not use the abbrevia- adding a letter after figures. tion USAF. Some examples for aircraft Congress established the Army often in the news: B-1, BAC-111, Air Forces (note the s) in 1941. C-5A, DC-10, FH-227, F-15 Eagle, Prior to that, the air arm was F-16 Falcon, L-1011, MiG-21, Tu- known as the U.S. Army Air 144, 727-100C, 747, 747B, VC- Corps. The U.S. Air Force (no s) 10. Airbus A300 or A300 (no hy- was created as a separate service phen) is an exception. in 1947. This hyphenation principle is Use lowercase for the forces of the one used most frequently by other nations: the Israeli air force. manufacturers and users. Apply This approach has been adopt- it in all cases for consistency. For ed for consistency, because many other elements of a name, use the foreign nations do not use air form adopted by the manufactur- force as the proper name. er or user. If in doubt, consult See the military academies Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft. and military titles entries. NO QUOTES: Do not use quotation marks for aircraft with air force base See air base. names: Air Force One, the Spirit of St. Louis, Concorde. Air Force One The Air Force PLURALS: DC-10s, 747s. But: applies this name to any of its 747B’s. (As noted in plurals, the aircraft the president of the Unit- apostrophe is used in forming the ed States may be using. plural of a single letter.) In ordinary usage, however, SEQUENCE: Use Arabic fig- Air Force One is the name of the ures to establish the sequence of Air Force plane normally reserved aircraft, spacecraft and missiles: for the president’s use. Apollo 10. Do not use hyphens. Air France Headquarters is aircraft terms Use engine, in Paris. not motor, for the units that pro- pel aircraft: a twin-engine plane Air-India The hyphen is part (not twin engined). of the formal name. Use jet plane or jetliner to de- Headquarters is in Mumbai, scribe only those aircraft driven India. solely by jet engines. Use turboprop to describe an aircraft on Air Jamaica Headquarters is which the jet engine is geared to a in Kingston, Jamaica. propeller. Turboprops sometimes are called propjets. airline, airlines Capitalize Jet planes in commercial use airlines, air lines and airways include the BAC-111; Boeing 707, when used as part of a proper air- 727, 737, 747; the Convair 880; line name. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 11

Major airlines are listed in this airtight book separately by name. Companies that use airlines air traffic controller (no include Alitalia, American, Conti- hyphen) nental, Hawaiian, Japan, North- west, Trans World, United and airways The system of routes Western. that the federal government has Delta uses air lines. established for airplane traffic. Companies that use airways See the airline, airlines entry include British and Qantas. for its use in carriers’ names. Companies that use none of these include Aer Lingus, aka (no spacing is an excep- Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air tion to Webster’s) France, Air-India, Air Jamaica, Hughes Airwest, Iberia, KLM and Alabama Abbrev.: Ala. See Western Alaska. state names. On second reference, use just the proper name (Delta), an ab- a la carte breviation if applicable (TWA), or the airline. Use airlines when re- a la king, a la mode ferring to more than one line. Do not use air line, air lines or Alaska Do not abbreviate. airways in generic references to Largest land area of the 50 states. an airline. See state names. airmail Alaska Standard Time The time zone used in all of Alaska, airman See military titles. except the western Aleutian Is- lands and St. Lawrence Island, Air National Guard which are on Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time. airport Capitalize as part of a There is also an Alaska Day- proper name: La Guardia Airport, light Time. Newark International Airport. See time zones. The first name of an individual and the word international may Alberta A province of west- be deleted from a formal airport ern Canada. Do not abbreviate. name while the remainder is capi- See datelines. talized: John F. Kennedy Interna- tional Airport, Kennedy Interna- albino, albinos tional Airport, or Kennedy Airport. Use whichever is appropriate in Alcoa Inc. Alcoa is accept- the context. able in all references to the for- Do not make up names, how- merly named Aluminum Compa- ever. There is no Boston Airport, ny of America. for example. The Boston airport Alcoa also is a city in Ten- (lowercase airport) would be ac- nessee. ceptable if for some reason the proper name, Logan International alcoholic Use recovering, not Airport, were not used. reformed, in referring to those af- 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 12

flicted with the disease of alco- not: The district attorney accused holism. her of allegedly taking a bribe. —Do not use alleged to de- alderman Do not abbreviate. scribe an event that is known to See legislative titles. have occurred, when the dispute is over who participated in it. Do alert See weather terms. not say: He attended the alleged meeting when what you mean is: Al Fatah A Palestinian guer- He allegedly attended the meet- rilla organization. Drop the article ing. Al if preceded by an English arti- —Do not use alleged as a rou- cle: the Fatah statement, a Fatah tine qualifier. Instead, use a word leader. such as apparent, ostensible or align reputed. For guidelines on related Alitalia Airlines Headquar- words, see accused; arrest; and ters is in Rome. indict.

all- Use a hyphen: Allegheny Mountains Or all-around (not all-round) all-out simply: the Alleghenies. all-clear all-star See all right and the all time, alley Do not abbreviate. See all-time entries. addresses.

Allahu akbar The Arabic allies, allied Capitalize allies phrase for “God is great.” or allied only when referring to the combination of the United allege The word must be States and its Allies during World used with great care. War I or World War II: The Allies Some guidelines: defeated Germany. He was in the —Avoid any suggestion that Allied invasion of France. the writer is making an allegation. allot, allotted, allotting —Specify the source of an allegation. In a criminal case, it all right (adv.) Never alright. should be an arrest record, an in- Hyphenate only if used colloquial- dictment or the statement of a ly as a compound modifier: He is public official connected with the an all-right guy. case. —Use alleged bribe or similar all time, all-time An all- phrase when necessary to make it time high, but the greatest runner clear that an unproved action is of all time. not being treated as fact. Be sure Avoid the redundant phrase that the source of the charge is all-time record. specified elsewhere in the story. —Avoid redundant uses of al- allude, refer To allude to leged. It is proper to say: The dis- something is to speak of it with- trict attorney alleged that she took out specifically mentioning it. a bribe. Or: The district attorney To refer is to mention it direct- accused her of taking a bribe. But ly. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 13

allusion, illusion Allusion AM Acceptable in all refer- means an indirect reference: The ences to the amplitude modulation allusion was to his opponent’s system of radio transmission. war record. Illusion means an unreal or Amalgamated Transit false impression: The scenic direc- Union Use this full name on first tor created the illusion of choppy reference. seas. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. alma mater ambassador Use for both almost never Do not use men and women. Capitalize as a the phrase. Instead use seldom or formal title before a name. hardly ever. See titles.

al-Qaida Amber Alert A procedure for rapdily publicizing the abduc- also-ran (n.) tion of a child. altar, alter An altar is a amendments to the Con- tablelike platform used in a reli- stitution Use First Amendment, gious service. 10th Amendment, etc. To alter is to change. Colloquial references to the Fifth Amendment’s protection Aluminum Company of against self-incrimination are America Now Alcoa Inc. best avoided, but where appropri- See Alcoa. ate: He took the Fifth seven times.

alumnus, alumni, alum- American An acceptable de- na, alumnae Use alumnus scription for a resident of the (alumni in the plural) when refer- United States. It also may be ap- ring to a man who has attended a plied to any resident or citizen of school. nations in North or South Ameri- Use alumna (alumnae in the ca. plural) for similar references to a woman. American Airlines Head- Use alumni when referring to a quarters is in Fort Worth, Texas. group of men and women. American Baptist Associ- Alzheimer’s disease This ation See Baptist churches. is a progressive, irreversible neurological disorder. Most victims American Baptist Church- are older than 65, but Alzheimer’s es in the U.S.A. See Baptist can strike in the 40s or 50s. churches. Symptoms include gradual memory loss, impairment of judg- American Bar Associa- ment, disorientation, personality tion ABA is acceptable on sec- change, difficulty in learning and ond reference. Also: the bar asso- loss of language skills. ciation, the association. No cure is known. Headquarters is in Chicago. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 14

American Broadcasting American Federation of Cos. See ABC. Television and Radio Artists AFTRA is acceptable on second American Civil Liberties reference. Union ACLU is acceptable on Headquarters is in New York. second reference. Headquarters is in New York. American Hospital Asso- ciation AHA is acceptable on American Federation of second reference. Also: the hospi- Government Employees Use tal association, the association. this full name on first reference to Headquarters is in Chicago. prevent confusion with other unions that represent government Americanisms Words and workers. phrases that have become part of Headquarters is in Washing- the English language as spoken ton. in the United States are listed with a star in Webster’s New American Federation of World Dictionary. Labor and Congress of In- Most Americanisms are ac- dustrial Organizations AFL- ceptable in news stories, but let CIO is acceptable in all refer- the context be the guide. ences. See word selection. Headquarters is in Washing- American Legion Capitalize ton. also the Legion in second refer- American Federation of ence. Members are Legionnaires, just as members of the Lions Musicians Use this full name on Club are Lions. first reference. Legion and Legionnaires are The shortened form Musicians’ capitalized because they are not union is acceptable on second ref- being used in their common noun erence. sense. A legion (lowercase) is a Headquarters is in New York. large group of soldiers or, by de- rivation, a large number of items: American Federation of His friends are legion. A legion- State, County and Munici- naire (lowercase) is a member of pal Employees Use this full such a legion. name on first reference to prevent See the fraternal organiza- confusion with other unions that tions and service clubs entry. represent government workers. Headquarters is in Washing- American Medical Asso- ton. ciation AMA is acceptable on second reference. Also: the med- American Federation of ical association, the association. Teachers Use this full name on Headquarters is in Chicago. first reference to prevent confusion with other unions that repre- American Newspaper sent teachers. Publishers Association See Headquarters is in Washing- Newspaper Association of ton. America. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 15

American Petroleum In- American Telephone & stitute API is acceptable on sec- Telegraph Co. See AT&T Corp. ond reference. Headquarters is in Washing- American Veterans of ton. World War II, Korea and Vietnam AMVETS is acceptable American Postal Workers in all references. Union This union represents Headquarters is in Washing- clerks and similar employees who ton. work inside post offices. Use the full name on first ref- America West Headquarters erence to prevent confusion with is in Tempe, Ariz. the National Association of Letter Amex See American Stock Carriers. The shortened form Exchange. Postal Workers union is acceptable on second reference. amid Not amidst. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. amidships

American Press Institute ammunition See weapons. API is acceptable on second reference. amnesty See the entry that Headquarters is in Reston, Va. reads pardon, parole, probation. American Society for the amok Not amuck. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals This organization is among, between The limited to the five boroughs of maxim that between introduces New York City and neighboring two items and among introduces Suffolk County in providing ani- more than two covers most ques- mal adoption services, although it tions about how to use these The funds were divided has offices elsewhere that offer words: among Ford, Carter and Mc- legal advice and other services to Carthy. other animal welfare organiza- However, between is the cor- tions. ASPCA is acceptable on rect word when expressing the re- second reference. lationships of three or more items See Society for the Preven- considered one pair at a time: Ne- tion of Cruelty to Animals. gotiations on a debate format are under way between the network American Society of and the Ford, Carter and Mc- Composers, Authors and Carthy committees. Publishers ASCAP is acceptable As with all prepositions, any on second reference. pronouns that follow these words Headquarters is in New York. must be in the objective case: among us, between him and her, American Stock Ex- between you and me. change In second reference: the American Exchange, the Amex, or ampersand (&) Use the am- the exchange. persand when it is part of a com- 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 16

pany’s formal name: Procter & anchorman, anchor- Gamble, Wheeling & Lake Erie woman (not anchor or co-an- Railway. chor) The ampersand should not otherwise be used in place of and. anemia, anemic amplitude modulation Anglican Communion AM is acceptable in all references. This is the name for the worldwide association of the 22 sepa- a.m., p.m. Lowercase, with rate national Anglican churches. periods. Avoid the redundant 10 Each national church is inde- a.m. this morning. pendent. A special position of honor is accorded to the arch- Amtrak This acronym, drawn bishop of Canterbury, as the pre- from the words American travel eminent officer in the original An- by track, may be used in all refer- glican body, the Church of Eng- ences to the National Railroad land. Passenger Corp. Do not use AM- The test of membership in the Anglican Communion traditional- TRAK. ly has been whether a church has The corporation was estab- been in communion with the See lished by Congress in 1970 to of Canterbury. No legislative or take over intercity passenger op- juridical ties exist, however. erations from railroads that want- BELIEFS: Anglicans believe in ed to drop passenger service. Am- the Trinity, the humanity and di- trak contracts with railroads for vinity of Christ, the virginity of the use of their tracks and of cer- Mary, salvation through Christ, tain other operating equipment and everlasting heaven and hell. and crews. A principal difference between Amtrak is subsidized in part Roman Catholics and Anglicans by federal funds appropriated is still the dispute that led to the yearly by Congress and adminis- formation of the Church of Eng- tered through the Department of land — refusal to acknowledge Transportation. that the pope, as bishop of Rome, Amtrak should not be con- has ruling authority over other fused with Conrail (see separate bishops. See catholic, catholi- entry). However, the legislation cism. that established Conrail provided ANGLICAN CHURCHES: Mem- for Amtrak to gradually take over bers of the Anglican Communion, ownership of certain trackage in in addition to the Church of Eng- the Boston-Washington corridor land, include the Scottish Episco- pal Church, the Anglican Church and from Philadelphia to Harris- of Canada, and, in the United burg. States, the Protestant Episcopal Amtrak headquarters is in Church. Washington. See Episcopal Church.

AMVETS Acceptable in all Anglo- Always capitalized. No references for American Veterans hyphen when the word that fol- of World War II, Korea and Viet- lows is in lowercase: nam. Anglomania Anglophobe 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 17

Anglophile Right: Ten people took the test; Use a hyphen when the word another 10 refused. that follows is capitalized: Wrong: Ten people took the Anglo-American Anglo-Indian test; another 20 refused. Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Saxon Right: Ten people took the test; 20 others refused. angry At someone or with someone. Antarctic, Antarctica, Antarctic Ocean animals Do not apply a personal pronoun to an animal un- ante- The rules in prefixes less its sex has been established apply, but in general, no hyphen. or the animal has a name: The Some examples: dog was scared; it barked. Rover antebellum antedate was scared; he barked. The cat, which was scared, ran to its bas- anthems See composition ket. Susie the cat, who was titles. Lowercase the term nation- scared, ran to her basket. The bull al anthem. tosses his horns. Capitalize the name of a spe- anti- Hyphenate all except the cific animal, and use Roman nu- following words, which have spe- merals to show sequence: cific meanings of their own: Bowser, Whirlaway II. antibiotic antipasto For breed names, follow the antibody antiperspirant spelling and capitalization in anticlimax antiphon antidote antiphony Webster’s New World Dictionary. antifreeze antiseptic For breeds not listed in the dictio- antigen antiserum nary, capitalize words derived antihistamine antithesis from proper nouns; use lowercase antiknock antitoxin elsewhere: basset hound, Boston antimatter antitrust terrier. antimony antitussive antiparticle* *And similar terms in physics anno Domini See A.D. such as antiproton. annual An event cannot be This approach has been adopt- described as annual until it has ed in the interests of readability been held in at least two succes- and easily remembered consisten- sive years. cy. Do not use the term first annu- Note these exceptions to Web- ster’s New World: al. Instead, note that sponsors anti-aircraft anti-labor plan to hold an event annually. anti-bias anti-Semitic anti-inflation anti-social annual meeting Lowercase anti-intellectual anti-war in all uses. See Antichrist, anti-Christ. anoint Antichrist, anti-Christ An- tichrist is the proper name for the another Another is not a individual the Bible says will synonym for additional; it refers challenge Christ. to an element that somehow du- The adjective anti-Christ would plicates a previously stated quan- be applied to someone or some- tity. thing opposed to Christ. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 18

anticipate, expect Antici- Do not capitalize the when it pate means to expect and prepare precedes AP. for something; expect does not in- See Associated Press. clude the notion of preparation: They expect a record crowd. apostolic delegate, papal They have anticipated it by nuncio An apostolic delegate is a adding more seats to the auditori- Roman Catholic diplomat chosen um. by the pope to be his envoy to the church in a nation that does not Antiochian Orthodox have formal diplomatic relations Christian Archdiocese of with the Vatican. North America Formed in A papal nuncio is the pope’s 1975 by the merger of the Anti- envoy to a nation with which the ochian Orthodox Christian Arch- Vatican has diplomatic relations. diocese of New York and All North America and the Archdiocese of apostrophe (’) See entry in Toledo, Ohio, and Dependencies Punctuation in North America. It is under the section. jurisdiction of the patriarch of Antioch. Appalachia In the broadest See Eastern Orthodox sense, the word applies to the en- churches. tire region along the Appalachian Mountains, which extend from anybody, any body, any- Maine into northern Alabama. one, any one One word for an In a sense that often suggests indefinite reference: Anyone can economic depression and poverty, do that. the reference is to sections of Two words when the emphasis eastern Tennessee, eastern Ken- is on singling out one element of tucky, southeastern Ohio and the a group: Any one of them may western portion of West Virginia. speak up. The Appalachian Regional Commission, established by fed- AOL Time Warner Inc. A eral law in 1965, has a mandate merger of America Online and to foster development in 397 Time Warner Inc., approved in counties in 13 states — all of January 2000. West Virginia and parts of Alaba- Time Warner holdings includ- ma, Georgia, Kentucky, Mary- ed CNN, Time magazine, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, HBO, land, Mississippi, New York, Warner Music Group, Fortune, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsyl- Sports Illustrated, Entertainment vania, South Carolina, Tennessee Weekly and Looney Tunes. The and Virginia. online company AOL owned When the word Appalachia is Netscape Communications, used, specify the extent of the MovieFone, CompuServe and a area in question. stake in Hughes Electronics, a maker of electronic equipment. Appalachian Mountains Or simply: the Appalachians. AP Use in logotypes. Accept- able on second reference for The appeals court See U.S. Associated Press. Court of Appeals. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 19

apposition A decision on The articles al- or el- may be whether to put commas around a used or dropped depending on word, phrase or clause used in the person’s preference or estab- apposition depends on whether it lished usage. Osama el-Baz, el- is essential to the meaning of the Baz or Moammar Gadhafi, Gad- sentence (no commas) or not es- hafi. sential (use commas). The Arabic word for son (ibn or See the essential phrases, bin depending on personal prefer- nonessential phrases entry for ence and the nation) is sometimes examples. part of a name (Rashid bin Hu- maid). On second reference, use approve See the entry that only the final word in the name: reads adopt, approve, enact, Humaid. pass. The word abu, meaning father of, occasionally is used as a last April See months. name (Abdul Mohsen Abu Maizer). Capitalize and repeat it on second April Fools’ Day reference: Abu Maizer. The titles king, emir, sheik and Aqua-Lung A trademark for imam are used, but prince usually an underwater breathing appara- replaces emir. Some Arabs are tus. known only by the title and a See scuba. given name on first reference (King Hussein). Others are known Arabic names In general, by a complete name (Sheik Sabah use an English spelling that ap- Salem Sabah). Follow the com- proximates the way a name mon usage on first reference. On sounds in Arabic. second reference, drop the title, If an individual has a preferred using only the given name if it Hussein spelling in English, use that. If stood alone ( ) or the final name in the sequence if more usage has established a particu- than one was used on first refer- lar spelling, use that. ence (Sabah). Make an exception Problems in transliteration of to this procedure for second refer- Arabic names often are traceable ence if an individual commonly is to pronunciations that vary from known by some other one of the region to region. The g, for exam- names used on first reference. ple, is pronounced like the g of go The al, when found in front of in North Africa, but like the j of many newspaper names, means joy in the Arab Peninsula. Thus it the. It should be capitalized, as in is Gamal in Egypt and Jamal in The New York Times, El Pais, Die nations on the peninsula. Follow Welt. local practice in deciding which letter to use. Arabic numerals The nu- Arabs commonly are known by merical figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, two names (Fuad Butros), or by 8, 9, 10. three (Ahmed Zaki Yamani). Fol- In general, use Arabic forms low the individual’s preference on unless denoting the sequence of first reference. On second refer- wars or establishing a personal ence, use only the final name in sequence for people or animals. the sequence. See Roman numerals. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 20

Separate entries list more de- tic Circle, arctic fox, Arctic tails and examples. For a full list, Ocean see the numerals entry. are A unit of surface measure arbitrate, mediate Both in the metric system, equal to terms are used in reports about 100 square meters. labor negotiations, but they An are is equal to approxi- should not be interchanged. mately 1,076.4 square feet or One who arbitrates hears evidence from all people concerned, 119.6 square yards. then hands down a decision. See hectare and metric sys- One who mediates listens to tem. arguments of both parties and tries by the exercise of reason or area codes See telephone persuasion to bring them to an numbers. agreement. Arizona Abbrev.: Ariz. See arch- No hyphen after this state names. prefix unless it precedes a capitalized word: Arkansas Abbrev.: Ark. See archbishop arch-Republican state names. archenemy archrival Armenian Church of archaeology America The term encompasses two independent dioceses that co- archbishop See Episcopal Church; Roman Catholic Church; operate in some activities: the and religious titles. Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, for areas out- archbishop of Canter- side California, and the Western bury In general, lowercase arch- Diocese of the Armenian Church bishop unless it is used before the of America, which serves Califor- name of the individual who holds nia. the office. See Eastern Orthodox Capitalize Archbishop of Can- Churches. terbury standing alone only when it is used in a story that also Armistice Day It is now Vet- refers to members of Britain’s no- erans Day. bility. See the nobility entry for the relevant guidelines. army Capitalize when referring to U.S. forces: the U.S. Army, archdiocese Capitalize as the Army, Army regulations. Do the Arch- part of a proper name: not use the abbreviation USA. diocese of Chicago, the Chicago Archdiocese. Lowercase when it Use lowercase for the forces of stands alone. other nations: the French army. See the entry for the particular This approach has been adopt- denomination in question. ed for consistency, because many foreign nations do not use army arctic (lowercase for adjective as the proper name. meaning frigid; capitalize for re- See military academies and gion around the North Pole), Arc- military titles. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 21

arrest To avoid any sugges- island nation of Sri Lanka (for- tion that someone is being judged merly Ceylon) at the southeastern before a trial, do not use a phrase tip of India. such as arrested for killing. In- For definitions of the terms stead, use arrested on a charge of that apply to other parts of Asia, killing. see Far East; Middle East; and For guidelines on related Southeast Asia. words, see accused; allege; and indict. as if The preferred form, but as though is acceptable. arrive It requires the preposition at. Do not omit, as airline assassination Use the term dispatchers often do in: He will only if it involves the murder of a arrive La Guardia. politically important or prominent individual by surprise attack. artifact assassination, date of A artificial intelligence Ide- prominent person is shot one day ally, computers that think like and dies the next. Which day was humans. Currently, computers he assassinated? The day he was cannot apply experience, logic, attacked. and prediction to problem-solv- ing. They act only on instruc- assassin, killer, murderer tions, either from the program or An assassin is a politically moti- from the user. vated killer. A killer is anyone who kills artillery See weapons. with a motive of any kind. A murderer is one who is con- artworks See composition victed of murder in a court of law. titles. See execute and the homicide, murder, manslaughter as See like, as. entry. ashcan, ashtray assault, battery Popularly, assault almost always implies Ash Wednesday The first physical contact and sudden, in- day of Lent, 46 days before East- tense violence. er. Legally, however, assault See Easter and Lent. means simply to threaten violence, as in pointing a pistol at an Asian, Asiatic Use Asian or individual without firing it. As- Asians when referring to people. sault and battery is the legal term Some Asians regard Asiatic as when the victim was touched by offensive when applied to people. the assaulter or something the assaulter put in motion. Asian flu assembly Capitalize when Asian subcontinent In part of the proper name for the popular usage the term applies to lower house of a legislature: the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, California Assembly. Retain capi- Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim and the talization if the state name is 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 22

dropped but the reference is spe- DataFeature cific: DataSpeed SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DataStream The state Assembly ... DataStream 500 Stocks If a legislature is known as a DigitalStocks general assembly: the Missouri GraphicsNet General Assembly, the General Newsfeatures Assembly, the assembly. Legisla- NewsPhoto ture also may be used as the NewsPower proper name, however. See legis- Network News lature. PhotoColor Lowercase all plural uses: the PhotoExpress California and New York assem- PhotoStream blies. SelectStocks assemblyman, assembly- SportsStats See the AP entry. woman Do not abbreviate. See legislative titles . Association Do not abbrevi- assistant Do not abbreviate. ate. Capitalize as part of a proper Capitalize only when part of a for- name: American Medical Associa- mal title before a name: Assistant tion. Secretary of State George Ball. Whenever practical, however, an astronaut It is not a formal appositional construction should title. Do not capitalize when used be used: George Ball, assistant before a name: astronaut John secretary of state. Glenn. See titles. AT&T Corp. The full name of associate Never abbreviate. the business formerly known as Apply the same capitalization American Telephone & Telegraph norms listed under assistant. Co. Headquarters is in New York. Associated Press, The The newsgathering cooperative dating Atchison, Topeka & Santa from 1848. Fe Railway A subsidiary of Use The Associated Press on Burlington Northern Santa Fe first reference (the capitalized ar- Corp. ticle is part of the formal name). Headquarters is in Fort Worth, On second reference, AP or the Texas. AP (no capital on the) may be used. atheist See the agnostic, The address is 50 Rockefeller atheist entry. Plaza, New York, NY 10020. The telephone number is (212) 621- athlete’s foot, athlete’s 1500. heart The World Wide Web address is www.ap.org. Atlanta The city in Georgia The following are service stands alone in datelines. names used most frequently by the AP. Atlantic Ocean 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 23

Atlantic Richfield Co. Arco Such an individual occasionally is is acceptable on second reference. called an attorney at law. Headquarters is in Los Ange- Do not abbreviate. Do not cap- les. italize unless it is an officeholder’s title: defense attorney Perry Atlantic Standard Time, Mason, attorney Perry Mason, Dis- Atlantic Daylight Time Used trict Attorney Hamilton Burger. in the Maritime Provinces of See lawyer. Canada and in Puerto Rico. See time zones. augur A transitive verb. Do not follow it with the preposition at large Usually two words for: The tea leaves augur a time of for an individual representing success. more than a single district: congressman at large, councilman at August See months. large. But it is ambassador-at-large author A noun used for both for an ambassador assigned to no men and women. Do not use it as particular country. a verb.

Atomic Age It began Dec. 2, automaker, automakers 1942, at the University of Chicago with the creation of the first self- automatic See pistol and sustaining nuclear chain reac- weapons entries. tion. automobiles Capitalize Atomic Energy Commis- brand names: Buick, Ford, Mus- sion It no longer exists. See Nu- tang, Accord, Toyota, Taurus, Sat- clear Regulatory Commission. urn. Lowercase generic terms: Sunfire convertible, Windstar mini- attache It is not a formal van. title. Always lowercase. Auto-Train Corp. A private attorney general, attor- company that hauls passengers neys general Never abbreviate. and their cars, leasing rails and Capitalize only when used as a equipment owned by other com- title before a name: Attorney Gen- panies. eral Griffin B. Bell. Headquarters is in Washing- See titles. ton.

attorney, lawyer In com- autoworker, autowork- mon usage the words are inter- ers One word when used generi- changeable. cally. Technically, however, an attor- But Auto Worker when refer- ney is someone (usually, but not ring specifically to the member- necessarily, a lawyer) empowered ship and the activities of the to act for another. Such an indi- United Automobile, Aerospace vidual occasionally is called an and Agricultural Implement attorney in fact. Workers of America. A lawyer is a person admitted to practice in a court system. autumn See seasons. 013-034_A.qrk 2/18/03 8:38 AM Page 24

avenue Abbreviate only with awhile, a while He plans to a numbered address. See ad- stay awhile. dresses. He plans to stay for a while.

average, mean, median, AWOL Acceptable on second norm Average refers to the re- reference for absent without sult obtained by dividing a sum leave. by the number of quantities added together: The average of 7, ax Not axe. 9, 17 is 33 divided by 3, or 11. The verb forms: ax, axed, Mean commonly designates a axing. figure intermediate between two extremes, determined by adding Axis The alliance of Germany, the series of numbers and divid- Italy and Japan during World ing the sum by the number of War II. cases: The mean temperature of five days with temperatures of 67, 62, 68, 69, 64 is 66. Median is the middle number of points in a series arranged in order of size: The median grade in the group of 50, 55, 85, 88, 92 is 85. The average is 74. Norm implies a standard of average performance for a given group: The child was below the norm for his age in reading comprehension.

average of The phrase takes a plural verb in a construction such as: An average of 100 new jobs are created daily.

averse See adverse, averse.

Avianca The headquarters of this airline is in Bogota, Colom- bia.

aviator Use for both men and women. awards and decorations Capitalize them: Bronze Star, Medal of Honor, etc. See Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prizes. awe-struck 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 25 B Baby Bells A collective de- feel bad. Such a statement is the scription of the regional telephone idiomatic equivalent of I am in companies formed out of the bad health. An alternative, I feel breakup of the Bell System of badly, could be interpreted as AT&T. Avoid except in quotes. meaning that your sense of touch was bad. baby boomer Lowercase, no See the good, well entry. hyphen. Bahai Faith A religion found- baby-sit, baby-sitting, ed by Baha’u’llah in Iran in the baby-sat, baby sitter 1860s, it advocates recognition of its messenger and a united world baccalaureate society. Its Universal House of Justice is based in Haifa, Israel, Bachelor of Arts, Bache- with U.S. offices in Wilmette, Ill. lor of Science A bachelor’s de- Members are Bahais. gree or bachelor’s is acceptable in any reference. Bahamas In datelines, give See academic degrees for the name of the city or town fol- guidelines on when the abbrevia- lowed by Bahamas: tions B.A. or B.S. are acceptable. NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — In stories, use Bahamas, the backfire In wildfires, this Bahamas or the Bahama Islands term is for a fire set along the as the construction of a sentence inner edge of a fireline to con- dictates. sume the fuel in the fire’s path or Identify a specific island in the change its direction. text if relevant.

back up (v.) backup (n. and bail Bail is money or property adj.) that will be forfeited to the court if an accused individual fails to backward Not backwards. appear for trial. It may be posted as follows: back yard (n.) backyard —The accused may deposit (adj.) with the court the full amount or its equivalent in collateral such bad, badly Bad should not as a deed to property. be used as an adverb. It does not —A friend or relative may lose its status as an adjective, make such a deposit with the however, in a sentence such as I court. 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 26

—The accused may pay a pro- ference between the monetary fessional bail bondsman a per- value of the goods a nation im- centage of the total figure. The ports and the goods it exports. bondsman, in turn, guarantees An example illustrating the the court that it will receive from difference between the two: him the full amount in the event The United States and its citi- the individual fails to appear for zens might send $10 billion trial. abroad — $5 billion for goods, $3 It is correct in all cases to say billion for loans and foreign aid, that an accused posted bail or $1 billion for services and $1 bil- posted a bail bond (the money lion for tourism and other pur- held by the court is a form of poses. bond). When a distinction is de- Other nations might send $9 sired, say that the individual billion into the United States — posted his own bail, that bail was $6 billion for U.S. goods, $2 bil- posted by a friend or relative, or lion for services and $1 billion for that bail was obtained through a tourism and other purposes. bondsman. The United States would have a balance-of-payments deficit of Bakelite A trademark for a $1 billion but a balance-of-trade type of plastic resin. surplus of $1 billion. baker’s dozen It means 13. ball carrier Bakery, Confectionery, ballclub, ballpark, Tobacco Workers and Grain ballplayer, ballroom Millers International Union The shortened form Bakery Work- ball point pen ers union is acceptable in all references. baloney Foolish or exagger- Headquarters is in Washing- ated talk. ton. The sausage or luncheon meat is bologna. balance of payments, balance of trade The balance Baltimore The city in Mary- of payments is the difference be- land stands alone in datelines. tween the amount of money that leaves a nation and the amount B’nai B’rith See the frater- that enters it during a period of nal organizations and service time. clubs entry. The balance of payments is determined by computing the Band-Aid A trademark for a amount of money a nation and its type of adhesive bandage. citizens send abroad for all purposes — including goods and ser- Bank of America Corp. vices purchased, travel, loans, Formed from the 1998 merger of foreign aid, etc. — and subtract- BankAmerica and NationsBank. ing from it the amount that for- Headquarters is in Charlotte, eign nations send into the nation N.C. for similar purposes. The balance of trade is the dif- bankruptcy See entry in 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 27

Business Guidelines. CLERGY: All members of the Baptist clergy may be referred to baptism See sacraments. as ministers. Pastor applies if a minister leads a congregation. baptist, Baptist A person On first reference, use the Rev. who baptizes is a baptist (lower- before the name of a man or case). woman. On second reference, use A Baptist (uppercase) is a per- only the last name. son who is a member of the See religious titles. Protestant denomination de- See religious movements for scribed in the next entry. definitions of some descriptive terms that often apply to Baptists Baptist churches It is incor- but are not limited to them. rect to apply the term church to any Baptist unit except the local barbecue Not barbeque or church. Bar-B-Q. The largest of the more than 20 Baptist bodies in the United barbiturate States is the Southern Baptist Convention. It has more than 12 barmaid million members, most of them in the South, although it has bar mitzvah The Jewish re- churches in 50 states. ligious ritual and family celebra- The largest Northern body is tion that marks a boy’s 13th American Baptist Churches in the birthday. Judaism regards the U.S.A., with about 1.5 million age of 13 as the benchmark of remembers. Bar mitzvah Blacks predominate in three ligious maturity. other large Baptist bodies, the translates as“one who is respon- National Baptist Convention of sible for the Commandments” America, the National Baptist Some congregations have in- Convention U.S.A. Inc., and the stituted the bas mitzvah or bat Progressive National Baptist Con- mitzvah, a similar ceremony for vention Inc. girls. The roster of Baptist bodies in the United States also includes baron, baroness See nobil- the Baptist General Conference, ity. the Conservative Baptist Associa- tion of America, the General As- barrel A standard barrel in sociation of Regular Baptist U.S. measure contains 31.5 gal- Churches, the General Associa- lons. tion of General Baptists, and the A standard barrel in British North American Baptist General and Canadian measure contains Conference. 36 imperial gallons. The Baptist World Alliance, a In international dealings with voluntary association of Baptist crude oil, a standard barrel con- bodies throughout the world, or- tains 42 U.S. gallons or 35 imper- ganizes the Baptist World Con- ial gallons. gress meetings generally held See the oil entry for guidelines every five years. Headquarters is on computing the volume and in Washington. weight of petroleum products. 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 28

barrel, barreled, barrel- because, since Use because ing to denote a specific cause-effect relationship: He went because he barrel-chested, barrel- was told. house Also: double-barreled Since is acceptable in a causal shotgun. sense when the first event in a sequence led logically to the second barrister See lawyer. but was not its direct cause: They went to the game, since they had barroom been given the tickets.

BASIC A computer program- before Christ See B.C. ming language. Acronym for Be- ginners’ All-Purpose Symbolic In- Beijing The city in China struction Code. Use of acronym on (formerly Peking) stands alone in first reference is acceptable if it is datelines. identified as a programming language. Belize The former British Honduras. battalion Capitalize when used with a figure to form a Bell Labs The research and name: the 3rd Battalion, the 10th development division of Lucent Battalion. Technologies, it was previously battlefield Also: battlefront, called AT&T Bell Laboratories battleground, battleship. But bat- after the breakup of the Bell sys- tle station. tem in 1984 and was spun off from AT&T in 1996 as part of the Bavarian cream formation of Lucent Technologies.

bay Capitalize as an integral bellwether part of a proper name: Hudson Bay, San Francisco Bay. benefit, benefited, bene- Capitalize also San Francisco fiting Bay Area or the Bay Area as the popular name for the nine-county Benelux Belgium, the region that has San Francisco as Netherlands and Luxembourg. its focal point. If Benelux is used, explain that it is an inclusive word for these bazaar A fair. Bizarre means three nations. unusual. Ben-Gurion International B.C. Acceptable in all refer- Airport Located at Lod, Israel, ences to a calendar year in the about 10 miles south of Tel Aviv. period before Christ. See airport. Because the full phrase would be in the year 43 before Christ, Benzedrine A trademark for the abbreviation B.C. is placed a type of pep pill or stimulant. after the figure for the year: 43 B.C. Berlin Stands alone in date- See A.D. lines. 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 29

Berlin Wall On second refer- Lowercase bible as a nonreli- ence, the wall. gious term: My dictionary is my bible. Bermuda collar, Bermuda Do not abbreviate individual grass, Bermuda shorts books of the Bible. Old Testament is a Christian beside, besides Beside designation; Hebrew Bible or Jew- means at the side of. ish Bible is the appropriate term Besides means in addition to. for stories dealing with Judaism alone. besiege The standard names and order of Old Testament books as they best seller (n.) appear in Protestant Bibles are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Num- betting odds Use figures bers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and a hyphen: The odds were 5-4, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 he won despite 3-2 odds against Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 him. The word to seldom is neces- Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, sary, but when it appears it Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, should be hyphenated in all con- Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of structions: 3-to-2 odds, odds of 3- Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, to-2, the odds were 3-to-2. Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, bettor A person who bets. Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, between See the among, Zechariah, Malachi. between entry. Jewish Bibles contain the same 39 books, in different order. bi- The rules in prefixes Roman Catholic Bibles follow a apply, but in general, no hyphen. different order, usually use some Some examples: different names, and include the bifocal bimonthly seven Deuterocanonical books bilateral bipartisan (called the Apocrypha by Protes- bilingual tants): Tobit, Judith, 1 Mac- biannual, biennial Biannu- cabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, al means twice a year and is a Sirach, Baruch. synonym for the word semiannu- The books of the New Testa- al. ment, in order: Matthew, Mark, Biennial means every two Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 years. Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Gala- tians, Ephesians, Philippians, Bible Capitalize, without quo- Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 tation marks, when referring to Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Tim- the Scriptures in the Old Testa- othy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, ment or the New Testament. Cap- James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 italize also related terms such as John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. the Gospels, Gospel of St. Mark, Citation listing the number of the Scriptures, the Holy chapter and verse(s) use this Scriptures. form: Matthew 3:16, Luke 21:1- Lowercase biblical in all uses. 13, 1 Peter 2:1. 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 30

Bible Belt Those sections of billion A thousand million. the United States, especially in For forms, see the millions, the South and Middle West, billions entry. where fundamentalist religious beliefs prevail. Use with care, be- Bill of Rights The first 10 cause in certain contexts it can amendments to the Constitution. give offense. See religious movements. bimonthly Means every other month. Semimonthly means bicycle twice a month.

big-bang theory The theory bioterrorism that the universe began with the explosion of a superdense birthday Capitalize as part of primeval atom and has been ex- the name for a holiday: Washing- panding ever since. ton’s Birthday. Lowercase in other The oscillating theory, anoth- uses. er hypothesis, maintains that expansion eventually will stop, fol- bishop See religious titles lowed by contraction to a super- and the entry for the denomina- dense atom, followed by another tion in question. big bang. The steady-state theory, an biweekly Means every other alternative hypothesis, maintains week. Semiweekly means twice a that the universe always has ex- week. isted and that matter constantly is being created to replace matter bizarre Unusual. A fair is a that is constantly being de- bazaar. stroyed. black Preferred usage for Big Board Acceptable on sec- those of the Negro race. (Use ond reference for the New York Negro only in names of organiza- Stock Exchange. tions or in quotations.) Do not use colored as a synonym. See big brother One’s older the colored entry. brother is a big brother. Big Broth- er (capitalized) means under the Black Muslims See Mus- watchful eye of big government, lim(s). from George Orwell’s “1984.” Capitalize also in reference to blackout, brownout A members of Big Brothers-Big Sis- blackout is a total power failure ters of America Inc. The organiza- over a large area or the conceal- tion has headquarters in ing of lights that might be visible Philadelphia. to enemy raiders. The term rotating blackout is Big Three automakers A used by electric companies to de- phrase generally referring to Gen- scribe a situation in which elec- eral Motors, Ford and Chrysler (a tric power to some sections tem- unit of DaimlerChrysler). porarily is cut off on a rotating basis to assure that voltage will bigwig meet minimum standards in 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 31

other sections. an integral part of a proper name. A brownout is a small, tempo- See capitalization. rary voltage reduction, usually from 2 percent to 8 percent, im- board of aldermen See plemented to conserve electric city council. power. board of directors, board blast off (v.) blastoff (n. of trustees Always lowercase. and adj.) See the organizations and institutions entry. Blessed Sacrament, Blessed Virgin board of supervisors See city council. blind See disabled, handicapped, impaired. boats, ships A boat is a watercraft of any size but generally blizzard See weather terms. is used to indicate a small craft. A ship is a large, seagoing vessel. bloc, block A bloc is a coali- The word boat is used, howev- tion of people, groups or nations er, in some words that apply to with the same purpose or goal. large craft: ferryboat, PT boat. Block has more than a dozen Use it, not the pronoun she, in definitions, but a political alliance references to boats and ships. is not one of them. Use Arabic or Roman numerals in the names of boats and blond, blonde Use blond as ships: the Queen Elizabeth 2 or a noun for males and as an adjec- QE2; Titan I, Titan II. tive for all applications: She has The reference for military blond hair. ships is Jane’s Fighting Ships; for Use blonde as a noun for fe- nonmilitary ships, Lloyd’s Regis- males. ter of Shipping.

bloodbath One word, an ex- Boeing Co. Formerly Boeing ception to Webster’s. Aircraft Co. Headquarters is in Chicago. bloodhound boldface Use boldface type Bloody Mary A drink made for the slug lines, bylines and un- of vodka and tomato juice. The derlines for bylines atop a story, name is derived from the nick- and for separate subhead lines if name for Mary I of England. needed within a story. Do not use boldface for indi- blue blood (n.) blue- vidual words within a paragraph. blooded (adj.) bologna The sausage. blue chip stock Stock in a Baloney is foolish or exaggerated company known for its long-es- talk. tablished record of making money and paying dividends. bona fide

board Capitalize only when bonbon 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 32

bonds See loan terminology boyfriend, girlfriend in Business guidelines and style section. Boy Scouts The full name of the national organization is Boy boo-boo Scouts of America. Headquarters is in Irving, Texas. Books on Tape A trademark Cub Scouting is for boys 8 for a brand of audiotapes. Use a through 10. Members are Cub generic term such as audiotape or Scouts or Cubs. audiocassette. Boy Scouting is for boys 11 through 17. Members are Boy book titles See composi- Scouts or Scouts. tion titles. Exploring is a separate program open to boys and girls from borscht high school age through 20. Members are Explorers, not Ex- Bosporus, the Not the plorer Scouts. Members of units Bosporus Strait. that stress nautical programs are Sea Explorers. Boston The city in Massa- See Girl Scouts. chusetts stands alone in datelines. BP Amoco PLC Formerly British Petroleum. BP is accept- Boston brown bread, able on second reference. Boston cream pie, Boston Headquarters is in London. terrier bra Acceptable in all refer- boulevard Abbreviated only ences for brassiere. with a numbered address. See addresses. brackets See entry in Punc- tuation chapter. boundary Brahman, Brahmin Brah- bowlegged man applies to the priestly Hindu caste and a breed of cattle. box office (n.) box-office Brahmin applies to aristocracy (adj.) in general: Boston Brahmin.

boy Applicable until 18th brand names When they are birthday is reached. Use man or used, capitalize them. young man afterward. Brand names normally should be used only if they are essential boycott, embargo A boy- to a story. cott is an organized refusal to buy Sometimes, however, the use a particular product or service, or of a brand name may not be es- to deal with a particular mer- sential but is acceptable because chant or group of merchants. it lends an air of reality to a story: An embargo is a legal restric- He fished a Camel from his shirt tion against trade. It usually pro- pocket may be preferable to the hibits goods from entering or less specific cigarette. leaving a country. When a company sponsors an 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 33

event such as a tennis tourna- Britain Acceptable in all ref- ment, use the company’s name erences for Great Britain, which for the event in first reference and consists of England, Scotland and the generic term in subsequent Wales. references: The Buick Women’s See United Kingdom. Open; the $200,000 women’s tennis tournament, the tournament. British Airways The suc- Also use a separate paragraph cessor to British European Air- to provide the name of a sponsor ways and British Overseas Air- when the brand name is not part ways Corp. of the formal title. Headquarters is in Hounslow, Brand name is a nonlegal term England. for service mark or trademark. See entries under those words. British, Briton(s) The people of Great Britain: the English, brand-new (adj.) the Scottish, the Welsh.

break in (v.) break-in (n. British Broadcasting and adj.) Corp. BBC is acceptable in all references within contexts such break up (v.) breakup (n. as a television column. Other- and adj.) wise, do not use BBC until second reference. Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers’ International British Columbia The Union of America The short- Canadian province bounded on ened form Bricklayers union is ac- the west by the Pacific Ocean. Do not abbreviate. ceptable in all references. See datelines. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. British Commonwealth bride, bridegroom, See Commonwealth, the. bridesmaid Bride is appropri- British Petroleum See BP ate in wedding stories, but use Amoco PLC. wife or spouse in other circumstances. British thermal unit The amount of heat required to in- brigadier See military crease the temperature of a titles. pound of water 1 degree Fahren- heit. Btu (the same for singular Bright’s disease After Dr. and plural) is acceptable on sec- Richard Bright, the London ond reference. physician who first diagnosed this form of kidney disease. British ton See ton.

Brill’s disease After Nathan British Virgin Islands Use E. Brill, a U.S. physician. A form with a community name in date- of epidemic typhus fever in which lines on stories from these is- the disease recurs years after the lands. Do not abbreviate. original infection. Specify an individual island in 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 34

the text if relevant. able on second reference. See datelines. Headquarters is in Cleveland.

broadcast The past tense brothers Abbreviate as Bros. also is broadcast, not broadcast- in formal company names: Warn- ed. er Bros. For possessives: Warner Bros.’ Broadway, off-Broadway, profits. off-off-Broadway When applied to stage productions, these brownout See the blackout, terms refer to distinctions made brownout entry. by union contracts, not to location of a theater. brunet, brunette Use Actors’ Equity Association and brunet as a noun for males, and unions representing craft workers as the adjective for both sexes. have one set of pay scales for Use brunette as a noun for fe- Broadway productions (generally males. those in New York City theaters of 300 or more seats) and a lower brussels sprouts scale for smaller theaters, classified as off-Broadway houses. Btu The same in singular and The term off-off-Broadway plural. See British thermal unit. refers to workshop productions that may use Equity members for Budapest The capital of a limited time at substandard Hungary. In datelines, follow it pay. Other unions maintain a with Hungary. hands-off policy, agreeing with the Equity attitude that actors Buddha, Buddhism A should have an opportunity to major religion founded in India whet their talents in offbeat roles about 500 B.C. by Buddha. Bud- without losing their Equity mem- dha, which means enlightened berships. one, was the name given to Gau- tama Siddhartha by his followers. broccoli Buddhism has about 325 million followers, mostly in India, Bromo Seltzer A trademark Tibet, China, Japan, Korea and for a brand of bicarbonate of Southeast Asia. About 2 million soda. practice Buddhism in North America. Bronze Age The age charac- Buddhists believe that correct terized by the development of thinking and self-denial will en- bronze tools and weapons, from able the soul to reach nirvana, a 3500 to 1000 B.C. Regarded as state of release into ultimate en- coming between the Stone Age lightenment and peace. Until nir- and the Iron Age. vana is reached, believers cannot be freed from the cycle of death brother See Roman Catholic and rebirth. Church. There are four major groups within Buddhism. Brotherhood of Locomo- —Hinayana or Theravada: Fol- tive Engineers BLE is accept- lowers stress monastic discipline 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 35

and attainment of nirvana by the bullfight, bullfighter, individual through meditation. It bullfighting is dominant among Buddhists in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thai- bullpen One word, for the land and Sri Lanka. place where baseball pitchers —Mahayana: Followers lay warm up, and for a pen that stress on idealism. The ideal life holds cattle. is that of virtue and wisdom. The sect is found mostly in Japan, bureau Capitalize when part Korea and eastern China. of the formal name for an organi- —Mantrayana: Major centers zation or agency: the Bureau of for this group are in the Hi- Labor Statistics, the Newspaper malayas, Mongolia and Japan. It Advertising Bureau. is similar to Mahayana but also Lowercase when used alone or has a structure of spiritual lead- to designate a corporate subdivi- ers and disciples, believes in vari- sion: the Washington bureau of ous evil spirits and deities, uses The Associated Press. magic, and has secret rituals. —Zen: Followers seek enlight- burglary, larceny, rob- enment through introspection bery, theft Legal definitions of and intuition. The doctrines are burglary vary, but in general a again similar to Mahayana and burglary involves entering a like Mantrayana there is a loose building (not necessarily by structure of leaders and disciples. breaking in) and remaining un- This group is found mostly in lawfully with the intention of Japan. committing a crime. Larceny is the legal term for Bufferin A trademark for the wrongful taking of property. buffered aspirin. Its nonlegal equivalents are steal- ing or theft. bug, tap A concealed listen- Robbery in the legal sense in- ing device designed to pick up volves the use of violence or sounds in a room, an automobile, threat in committing larceny. In a or such is a bug. wider sense it means to plunder A tap is a device attached to a or rifle, and may thus be used telephone circuit to pick up con- even if a person was not present: versations on the line. His house was robbed while he was away. building Never abbreviate. Theft describes a larceny that Capitalize the proper names of did not involve threat, violence or buildings, including the word plundering. building if it is an integral part of USAGE NOTE: You rob a per- the proper name: the Empire State son, bank, house, etc., but you Building. steal the money or the jewels.

build up (v.) buildup (n. bus, buses Transportation and adj.) vehicles. The verb forms: bus, bused, busing. bull’s-eye See buss, busses.

bullet See weapons. bushel A unit of dry measure 035-046_B.qrk 2/18/03 8:50 AM Page 36

equal to 4 pecks or 32 dry quarts. The metric equivalent is approximately 35.2 liters. To convert to liters, multiply by 35.2 (5 bushels x 35.2 equals 176 liters). See liter.

business editor Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name. See titles.

business names See company names.

buss, busses Kisses. The verb forms: buss, bussed, bussing. See bus, buses.

by- The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. Some examples: byline byproduct bypass bystreet By-election is an exception. See the next entry.

by-election A special election held between regularly scheduled elections. The term most often is associated with special elections to the British House of Commons. bylaw

bylines Use only if the reporter was in the datelined community to gather the information reported. Nicknames should not be used unless they specifically are requested by the writer. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 37 C cabinet Capitalize references WBZ-AM, WBZ-FM, WBZ-TV. to a specific body of advisers Until the summer of 1976, the heading executive departments format for citizens band operators for a president, king, governor, was three letters and four figures: etc.: The president-elect said he KTE9136. Licenses issued since has not made his Cabinet selec- then use four letters and four fig- tions. ures: KTEM1234. The capital letter distinguishes Shortwave stations, which op- the word from the common noun erate with greater power than citi- meaning cupboard, which is low- zens band stations and on differ- ercase. ent frequencies, typically mix let- See department for a listing ters and figures: K2LRX. of all the U.S. Cabinet depart- See channel; citizens band; ments. radio station; and television station. Cabinet titles Capitalize the full title when used before a call up (v.) call-up (n. and name; lowercase in other uses: adj.) Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance, but Juanita M. Kreps, secretary of Cambodia Use this rather commerce. than Kampuchea in datelines See titles. since the country continues to be known more widely by this name. cactus, cactuses In the body of stories Kampuchea may be used as long as it is iden- cadet See military acade- tified as another name for Cambo- mies. dia. Caesarean section Cameroon Not Camerouns or Cameroun. See geographic caliber The form: .38-caliber names. pistol. See weapons. campaign manager Do not treat as a formal title. Always low- California Abbrev.: Calif. See ercase. state names. See titles.

call letters Use all caps. Use Camp Fire Boys and Girls hyphens to separate the type of The full name of the national or- station from the base call letters: ganization formerly known as 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 38

Camp Fire, Inc. Founded in 1910 Corp. CBC is acceptable in all as Camp Fire Girls, the name was references within contexts such changed to Camp Fire, Inc., in as a television column. Other- 1979, and again in 1993 to reflect wise, do not use CBC until sec- the inclusion of boys. Headquar- ond reference. ters is in Kansas City, Mo. Both girls and boys are includ- canal Capitalize as an inte- ed in all levels of the organization. gral part of a proper name: the Boys and girls in kindergarten Suez Canal. through second grades are Starflights. Children in third Canal Zone Do not abbrevi- through fifth grades are Adven- ate. No longer used except when ture club members. Children in referring to the Panama Canal sixth through eighth grades are area during the time it was con- Discovery members. Youths in trolled by the United States, ninth through 12th grades are 1904-1979. Horizon members. can’t hardly A double nega- Canada Montreal, Ottawa, tive is implied. Better is: can Quebec City and Toronto stand hardly. alone in datelines. For all other datelines, use the city name and cancel, canceled, cancel- the name of the province or terri- ing, cancellation tory spelled out. The 10 provinces of Canada cannon, canon A cannon is are Alberta, British Columbia, a weapon. See the weapons Manitoba, New Brunswick, New- entry. foundland and Labrador (but A canon is a law or rule, par- usually known as just Newfound- ticularly of a church. land), Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec cannot and Saskatchewan. The three territories are the cant The distinctive stock Yukon, the Northwest Territories, words and phrases used by a par- and Nunavut (created April 1, ticular sect or class. 1999). See dialect. The provinces have substantial autonomy from the federal cantor See Jewish congrega- government. tions. The territories are administered by the federal government, Canuck This reference to a although residents of the territo- Canadian is sometimes consid- ries do elect their own legislators ered a derogatory term. It should and representatives to Parlia- be avoided except when in quoted ment. matter or in terms used in Cana- See datelines. da, such as references to the hockey team, the Vancouver Canada goose Not Canadi- Canucks. an goose. canvas, canvass Canvas is Canadian Broadcasting heavy cloth. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 39

Canvass is a noun and a verb are called for by an example or a denoting a survey. phrase such as use all caps. Some basic principles: cape Capitalize as part of a PROPER NOUNS: Capitalize proper name: Cape Cod, Cape nouns that constitute the unique Hatteras. Lowercase when stand- identification for a specific per- ing alone. son, place, or thing: John, Mary, Although local practice may America, Boston, England. call for capitalizing the Cape Some words, such as the ex- when the rest of the name is amples just given, are always clearly understood, always use proper nouns. Some common the full name on first reference in nouns receive proper noun status wire copy. On second reference in when they are used as the name wire copy, either repeat the full of a particular entity: General name or use the cape in lower- Electric, Gulf Oil. case. PROPER NAMES: Capitalize common nouns such as party, Cape Canaveral, Fla. For- river, street and west when they merly Cape Kennedy. See John F. are an integral part of the full Kennedy Space Center. name for a person, place or thing: Democratic Party, Mississippi capital The city where a seat River, Fleet Street, West Virginia. of government is located. Do not Lowercase these common capitalize. nouns when they stand alone in When used in a financial subsequent references: the party, sense, capital describes money, the river, the street. equipment or property used in a Lowercase the common noun business by a person or corpora- elements of names in all plural tion. uses: the Democratic and Republi- can parties, Main and State capitalization In general, streets, lakes Erie and Ontario. avoid unnecessary capitals. Use a Among entries that provide ad- capital letter only if you can justi- ditional guidelines are: fy it by one of the principles listed animals historical periods here. brand names and events Many words and phrases, in- building holidays and committee holy days cluding special cases, are listed congress legislature separately in this book. Entries datelines months that are capitalized without fur- days of the week monuments ther comment should be capital- directions and nationalities and ized in all uses. regions races If there is no relevant listing in family names nicknames food organizations and this book for a particular word or foreign institutions phrase, consult Webster’s New governmental planets World Dictionary. Use lowercase bodies plants if the dictionary lists it as an ac- foreign legislative police department ceptable form for the sense in bodies religious which the word is being used. geographic references names seasons As used in this book, capitalize governmental trademarks means to use uppercase for the bodies unions first letter of a word. If additional heavenly bodies capital letters are needed, they 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 40

POPULAR NAMES: Some names. places and events lack officially TITLES: Capitalize formal titles designated proper names but when used immediately before a have popular names that are the name. Lowercase formal titles effective equivalent: the Combat when used alone or in construc- Zone (a section of downtown tions that set them off from a Boston), the Main Line (a group of name by commas. Philadelphia suburbs), the South Use lowercase at all times for Side (of Chicago), the Badlands terms that are job descriptions (of North Dakota), the Street (the rather than formal titles. financial community in the Wall See academic titles; courtesy Street area of New York). titles; legislative titles; military The principle applies also to titles; nobility titles; religious shortened versions of the proper titles; and titles. names of one-of-a-kind events: ABBREVIATIONS: Capital let- the Series (for the World Series), ters apply in some cases. See the the Derby (for the Kentucky abbreviations and acronyms Derby). This practice should not, entry. however, be interpreted as a license to ignore the general prac- capitol Capitalize U.S. Capitol tice of lowercasing the common and the Capitol when referring to noun elements of a name when the building in Washington: The they stand alone. meeting was held on Capitol Hill DERIVATIVES: Capitalize in the west wing of the Capitol. words that are derived from a Follow the same practice when proper noun and still depend on referring to state capitols: The Vir- it for their meaning: American, ginia Capitol is in Richmond. Christian, Christianity, English, Thomas Jefferson designed the French, Marxism, Shakespearean. Capitol of Virginia. Lowercase words that are derived from a proper noun but no captain See military titles longer depend on it for their for military and police usage. meaning: french fries, herculean, Lowercase and spell out in manhattan cocktail, malapropism, such uses as team captain Carl pasteurize, quixotic, venetian Yastrzemski. blind. SENTENCES: Capitalize the carat, caret, karat The first word in a statement that weight of precious stones, espe- stands as a sentence. See sen- cially diamonds, is expressed in tences and parentheses. carats. A carat is equal to 200 In poetry, capital letters are milligrams or about 3 grains. used for the first words of some A caret is a writer’s and a phrases that would not be capi- proofreader’s mark. talized in prose. See poetry. The proportion of pure gold COMPOSITIONS: Capitalize used with an alloy is expressed in the principal words in the names karats. of books, movies, plays, poems, operas, songs, radio and televi- carbine See weapons. sion programs, works of art, etc. See composition titles; maga- cardinal See Roman zine names; and newspaper Catholic Church. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 41

cardinal numbers See nu- Roman Catholic should continue merals. to be used, however, if the context requires a distinction be- CARE Acceptable in all refer- tween Roman Catholics and ences for Cooperative for Assis- members of other denominations tance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. who often describe themselves as CARE USA is headquartered in Catholic. They include some high Atlanta; CARE International is church Episcopalians (who often headquartered in Brussels, Bel- call themselves Anglo-Catholics), gium. members of Eastern Orthodox churches, and members of some carefree national Catholic churches that have broken with Rome. Among caretaker churches in this last category are the Polish National Catholic Caribbean See Western Church and the Lithuanian Na- Hemisphere. tional Catholic Church. Lowercase catholic where used carmaker, carmakers in its generic sense of general or universal, meanings derived from car pool a similar word in Greek. Those who use Catholic in a carry-over (n. and adj.) religious sense are indicating their belief that they are members cash on delivery c.o.d. is of a universal church that Jesus preferred in all references. Christ left on Earth.

caster, castor Caster is a cats See animals. roller. Castor is the spelling for the CAT scan See CT scan. oil and the bean from which it is derived. cattle See animals. catalog, cataloged, cata- Caucasian loger, cataloging, catalogist cave in (v.) cave-in (n. and Caterpillar A trademark for adj.) a brand of crawler tractor. Use lowercase for the wormlike CB See citizens band radio. larva of various insects. CBS Acceptable in all refer- catholic, catholicism Use ences for CBS Inc., the former Co- Roman Catholic Church, Roman lumbia Broadcasting System. Catholic or Roman Catholicism in Divisions include CBS News, the first references to those who CBS Radio and CBS-TV. believe that the pope, as bishop of Rome, has the ultimate authority CD See compact disc entry. in administering an earthly organization founded by Jesus Christ. CD-ROM Acronym for a com- Most subsequent references pact disc acting as a read-only may be condensed to Catholic memory device. Church, Catholic or Catholicism. CD-ROM disc is redundant. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 42

cease-fire, cease-fires (n. censer, censor, censure A and adj.) The verb form is cease censer is a container in which in- fire. cense is burned. To censor is to prohibit or re- celebrant, celebrator Re- strict the use of something. serve celebrant for someone who To censure is to condemn. conducts a religious rite: He was the celebrant of the Mass. Centers for Disease Con- Use celebrator for someone trol and Prevention The cen- having a good time: The celebra- ters, located in Atlanta, are the tors kept the party going until 3 U.S. Public Health Service’s na- a.m. tional agencies for control of in- fectious and other preventable cellophane Formerly a diseases. It works with state trademark, now a generic term. health departments to provide specialized services that they are cell phone Two words; an unable to maintain on an every- exception to Webster’s. day basis. The normal form for first refer- Celsius Use this term rather ence is the national Centers for than centigrade for the tempera- Disease Control and Prevention. ture scale that is part of the met- CDC is acceptable on second ref- ric system. erence and takes a singular verb. The Celsius scale is named for Anders Celsius, a Swedish as- centi- A prefix denoting one- tronomer who designed it. In it, hundredth of a unit. Move a deci- zero represents the freezing point mal point two places to the left in of water, and 100 degrees is the converting to the basic unit: boiling point at sea level. 155.6 centimeters equals 1.556 To convert to Fahrenheit, mul- meters. tiply a Celsius temperature by 9, centigrade See Celsius. divide by 5 and add 32 (25 x 9 equals 225, divided by 5 equals centimeter One-hundredth 45, plus 32 equals 77 degrees of a meter. Fahrenheit). There are 10 millimeters in a When giving a Celsius temper- centimeter. ature, use these forms: 40 de- A centimeter is approximately grees Celsius or 40 C (note the the width of a large paper clip. space and no period after the To convert to inches, multiply capital C) if degrees and Celsius by .4 (5 centimeters x .4 equals 2 are clear from the context. inches). See Fahrenheit and metric See meter; metric system; system entries. and inch.

cement Cement is the pow- Central America See West- der mixed with water and sand or ern Hemisphere. gravel to make concrete. The proper term is concrete (not ce- Central Conference of ment) pavement, blocks, drive- American Rabbis See Jewish ways, etc. Congregations. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 43

Central Intelligence chain saw (two words) Agency CIA is acceptable in all references. chairman, chairwoman The formal title for the individ- Capitalize as a formal title before ual who heads the agency is di- a name: company Chairman rector of central intelligence. On Henry Ford, committee Chair- first reference: Director George woman Margaret Chase Smith. Bush of the CIA, Director of Cen- Do not capitalize as a casual, tral Intelligence George Bush, or temporary position: meeting chair- CIA Director George Bush. man Robert Jones. Do not use chairperson unless Central Standard Time it is an organization’s formal title (CST), Central Daylight for an office. Time (CDT) See time zones. See titles.

cents Spell out the word chamber of deputies See cents and lowercase, using nu- foreign legislative bodies. merals for amounts less than a dollar: 5 cents, 12 cents. Use the chancellor The translation to $ sign and decimal system for English for the first minister in larger amounts: $1.01, $2.50. the governments of Germany and Numerals alone, with or with- Austria. Capitalize when used be- out a decimal point as appropri- fore a name. ate, may be used in tabular mat- See the premier, prime minister. ter entry and titles. century Lowercase, spelling changeable out numbers less than 10: the first century, the 20th century. changeover For proper names, follow the organization’s practice: 20th Cen- change up (v.) change-up tury Fox, Twentieth Century Fund, (n. and adj.) Twentieth Century Limited. channel Capitalize when Ceylon It is now Sri Lanka, used with a figure; lowercase which should be used in datelines elsewhere: She turned to Channel and other references to the na- 3. No channel will broadcast the tion. game. The people may be referred to Also: the English Channel, but as Ceylonese (n. or adj.) or Sri the channel on second reference. Lankans. The language is Sin- halese. chapters Capitalize chapter when used with a numeral in ref- cha-cha erence to a section of a book or legal code. Always use Arabic fig- Chagas’ disease After ures: Chapter 1, Chapter 20. Charles Chagas, a Brazilian Lowercase when standing physician who identified the alone. chronic wasting disease caused by the parasite that is carried by character, reputation insects. Character refers to moral quali- 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 44

ties. through h, beginning on white’s Reputation refers to the way a left. person is regarded by others. Thus, each square is identified by its file letter and rank number. charismatic groups See re- In the starting position, ligious movements. white’s queen knight stands on b1, the queen on d1, the king on Charleston, Charlestown, e1; black’s queen knight stands Charles Town Charleston is the on b8, the queen on d8, the king name of the capital of West Vir- on e8, and so on. ginia and a port city in South Other features of the system Carolina. follow: Charlestown is a section of —DESIGNATION OF PIECES: Boston. The major pieces are shown by a Charles Town is the name of a capital letter: K for king, Q for small city in West Virginia. queen, R for rook, B for bishop and N for knight. No symbol is chauffeur used for the pawn. —MOVES BY PIECES: Shown chauvinism, chauvinist by the letter of the piece (except The words mean unreasoning de- for the pawn) and the destination votion to one’s race, sex, country, square. For instance, Bb5 means etc., with contempt for other the bishop moves to square b5. races, sexes, countries, etc. —MOVES BY PAWNS: Pawn The terms come from Nicolas moves are designated only by the Chauvin, a soldier of Napoleon I, name of the destination square. who was famous for his devotion Thus, e4 means the pawn on the to the lost cause. e file moves to e4. —CASTLING: It is written as 0- check up (v.) checkup (n.) 0 for the kingside and 0-0-0 for the queenside. Kingside is the Chemical Mace A trade- side of the board (right half from mark, usually shortened to Mace, white’s point of view, left half for a brand of tear gas that is from black’s), on which each packaged in an aerosol canister player’s king starts. The other and temporarily stuns its victims. half is queenside. —CAPTURES BY PIECES: A chess In stories, the names capture is recorded using an x and pieces are spelled out, lower- after the letter for the capturing case: king, queen, bishop, pawn, piece. For instance, if white’s knight, rook, kingside, queenside, bishop captures the black pawn white, black. at the f6 square, it is written Use the algebraic notation in Bxf6. providing tabular summaries. —CAPTURES BY PAWNS: In algebraic notation, When a pawn captures a piece, the“ranks”are the horizontal rows the players name the file the of squares. The ranks take num- pawn was on and the square bers, 1 to 8, beginning on white’s where it made the capture. If side of the board. white’s pawn on a g file captured The“files”are the vertical rows black’s pawn on f6 square, the of squares. They take letters, a move would be gxf6. If black’s 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 45

pawn on an f file captured the merger of Chevron and Texa- white’s, it would be fxg5. co in 2001. Headquarters is in —CHECK: Use plus sign. San Ramon, Calif. —AMBIGUITY: If more than one piece of the same type can Chevy Not Chevie or Chevvy. move to a square, the rank num- This nickname for the Chevrolet ber or file letter of the origination should be used only in automo- square is added. Thus, if a rook bile features or in quoted matter. on d1 were to move to d4, but another rook also could move there, Chicago The city in Illinois instead of Rd4 the move would be stands alone in datelines. given as R1d4. If there are black knights on c6 and e6, and the chief Capitalize as a formal one on e6 moves to d4, the move title before a name: She spoke to is given as Ned4. police Chief Michael Codd. He The form, taken from a 1993 spoke to Chief Michael Codd of the championship match: New York police. Short Karpov (White) (Black) Lowercase when it is not a for- 1. e4 c5 mal title: union chief Walter 2. Nf3 d6 Reuther. 3. d4 cxd4 See titles. 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 chief justice Capitalize only 7. Bb3 Nbd7 as a formal title before a name: 8. f4 Nc5 Chief Justice Warren Burger. The 9. f5 Be7 officeholder is the chief justice of 10. Qf3 0-0 the United States, not of the 11. Be3 e5 12. Nde2 b5 Supreme Court. 13. Bd5 Rb8 See judge. 14. b4 Ncd7 15. 0-0 Nxd5 children In general, call chil- 16. Nxd5 Bb7 dren 15 or younger by their first 17. Nec3 Nf6 name on second reference. Use 18. Rad1 Bxd5 19. Nxd5 Nxd5 the last name, however, if the se- 20. Rxd5 Rc8 riousness of the story calls for it, 21. Qg4 f6 as in a murder case, for example. 22. Rf3 Rxc2 For ages 16 and 17, use judg- 23. Rh3 Rf7 24. Qh5 h6 ment, but generally go with the 25. Qg6 Kf8 surname unless it’s a light story. 26. Bxh6 gxh6 Use the surname for those 18 and 27. Rxh6 Qb6+ older. 28. Rc5 Bd8 Avoid kids as a universal syn- 29. Rh8+ Ke7 30. Rh7 Rxh7 onym, unless the tone of the story 31. Qxh7+ Kf8 dictates less formal usage. Draw agreed. Chile The nation. Chevron Corp. Formerly Standard Oil Co. of California. chili, chilies The peppers.

ChevronTexaco Created by chilly Moderately cold. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 46

China When used alone, it ample, the city of Fuzhou (Foo- refers to the mainland nation. chow). Or use a descriptive sen- Use it in datelines and other rou- tence: Fuzhou is the capital of Fu- tine references. jian province, on China’s eastern Use People’s Republic of China, coast. Communist China, mainland Use the traditional American China or Red China only in direct spellings for these place names: quotations or when needed to dis- China, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, tinguish the mainland and its Tibet. government from Taiwan. Follow local spellings in stories For datelines on stories from dealing with Hong Kong and Tai- the island of Taiwan, use the wan. name of a community and Tai- Some Chinese have Western- wan. In the body of a story, use ized their names, putting their Nationalist China or Taiwan for given names or the initials for references to the government them first: P.Y. Chen, Jack Wang. based on the island. Use the for- In general, follow an individual’s mal name of the government, the preferred spelling. Republic of China, when required Normally Chinese women do for legal precision. not take their husbands’ surnames. Use the courtesy titles Chinaman A patronizing Mrs., Miss, or Ms. only when term. Confine it to quoted matter. specifically requested. Never use Madame or Mme. Chinese names For most Chinese place names and person- chip An integrated computer al names, use the official Chinese circuit. spelling system known as Pinyin: Senior leader Deng Xiaoping, Bei- chip-maker, chip-making jing, or Zhejiang province. Hyphenate as adjectives (but two Note that the Chinese usually words as nouns). give the family name first (Deng) followed by the given name (Xi- Christian Church (Disci- aoping). Second reference should ples of Christ) The parenthe- be the family name only: Deng. ses and the words they surround The Pinyin spelling system are part of the formal name. eliminates the hyphen or apostro- The body owes its origins to an phe previously used in many early 19th-century frontier move- given names. Use the new ment to unify Christians. spelling for Mao Zedong and Zhou The Disciples, led by Alexan- Enlai, but keep the traditional der Campbell in western Pennsyl- American spelling for such histor- vania, and the Christians, led by ical figures as Sun Yat-sen and Barton W. Stone in Kentucky, Chiang Kai-shek. merged in 1832. If the new Pinyin spelling of a The local church is the basic proper noun is so radically differ- organizational unit. ent from the traditional American National policies are developed spelling that a reader might be by the General Assembly, made confused, provide the Pinyin up of representatives chosen by spelling followed by the tradition- local churches and regional orga- al spelling in parentheses. For ex- nizations. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 47

The church lists 831,000 governing board of elders. The members. minister is an evangelist, ad- All members of the clergy may dressed by members as Brother. be referred to as ministers. Pastor The ministers do not use clergy applies if a minister leads a con- titles. Do not precede their names gregation. by a title. On first reference, use the Rev. The churches do not regard before the name of a man or themselves as a denomination. woman. On second reference, use Rather, they stress a nondenomi- only the last name. national effort to preach what See religious titles. they consider basic Bible teachings. The churches also teach Christian Science Church that baptism is an essential part See Church of Christ, Scientist. of the salvation process. See religious movements. Christmas, Christmas Day Dec. 25. The federal legal churchgoer holiday is observed on Friday if Dec. 25 falls on a Saturday, on Church of Christ, Scien- Monday if it falls on a Sunday. tist This denomination was Never abbreviate Christmas to founded in 1879 by Mary Baker Xmas or any other form. Eddy. Her teachings are contained in“Science and Health with church Capitalize as part of Key to the Scriptures,”which, the formal name of a building, a along with the Bible, she or- congregation or a denomination; dained as the impersonal pastor lowercase in other uses: St. of the church. Mary’s Church, the Roman The Mother Church in Boston Catholic Church, the Catholic and is the international headquarters. Episcopal churches, a Roman Its government provides for a Catholic church, a church. board of directors, which trans- Lowercase in phrases where acts the business of the Mother the church is used in an institu- Church. tional sense: She believes in the A branch church, governed by separation of church and state. its own democratically chosen The pope said the church opposes board, is named First Church of abortion. Christ, Scientist, or Second See religious titles and the Church, etc., according to the entry for the denomination in order of its establishment in a question. community. The terms Christian Science Churches of Christ Approx- Church or Churches of Christ, Sci- imately 18,000 independent con- entist, are acceptable in all refer- gregations with a total U.S. mem- ences to the denomination. bership of more than 2 million co- The word Christian is used be- operate under this name. They cause its teachings are based on sponsor numerous educational the word and works of Jesus activities, primarily radio and Christ. The word Science is used television programs. to reflect the concept that the Each local church is au- laws of God are replicable and tonomous and operates under a can be proved in healing sickness 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 48

and sin. and worldly matters. The church is composed en- CLERGY: All worthy young tirely of lay members and does men over the age of 12 are mem- not have clergy in the usual bers of the priesthood. They can sense. Both men and women may be ordained elders after age 18, serve as readers, practitioners, or usually after graduating from lecturers. high school and before serving as The preferred form for these ti- missionaries. They may later be- tles is to use a construction that come high priests, or bishops. sets them off from a name with The only formal titles are pres- commas. Capitalize them only ident (for the head of the First when used as a formal title imme- Presidency), bishop (for members diately before a name. Do not of the Presiding Bishopric and for continue use of the title in subse- local bishops) and elder (for other quent references. general authorities and church The terms reverend and minis- missionaries). Capitalize these ter are not applicable. Do not use formal titles before a name on the Rev. in any references. first reference; use only the last See religious titles. name on second reference. The terms minister or the Rev. Church of England See An- are not used. glican Communion. See religious titles. SPLINTER GROUPS: The term Church of Jesus Christ of Mormon is not properly applied to Latter-day Saints, The Note the other Latter Day Saints the capitalization and punctua- churches that resulted from the tion of Latter-day. Mormon split after Smith’s death. church, LDS church or the Latter- The largest is the Community day Saints can be used, but the of Christ, headquartered in Inde- official name is preferred in first pendence, Mo., with 137,000 U.S. reference in a story dealing pri- members. From 1860 to 2001, it marily with church activities. was called the Reorganized Members are referred to as Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Latter-day Saints or Mormons, the Day Saints (note the lack of a hy- latter based on the church’s sa- phen and the capitalized Day). cred Book of Mormon. The church is based on revela- CIA Acceptable in all refer- tions that Joseph Smith said ences for Central Intelligence were brought to him in the 1820s Agency. by heavenly messengers. The headquarters in Salt Lake cigarette City, Utah, lists membership at 5.2 million for the United States Cincinnati The city in Ohio and 11 million worldwide. stands alone in datelines. Church hierarchy is composed of men known as general authori- CIO See AFL-CIO. ties. Among them, the policy- making body is the First Presi- Citibank The former First dency, made up of a president National City Bank. The parent and two or more counselors. It holding company is Citicorp of has final authority in all spiritual New York. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 49

cities and towns Capitalize The term describes a group of them in all uses. See datelines radio frequencies set aside by the for guidelines on when they Federal Communications Com- should be followed by a state or a mission for local use at low power country name. by individuals or businesses. Capitalize official titles, includ- The Federal Communications ing separate political entities Commission no longer requires a such as East St. Louis, Ill., or license to operate a CB station, West Palm Beach, Fla. and such stations do not have The preferred form for the sec- call letters. tion of a city is lowercase: the west end, northern Los Angeles. city Capitalize city if part of a But capitalize widely recognized proper name, an integral part of names for the sections of a city: an official name, or a regularly South Side (Chicago), Lower East used nickname: Kansas City, Side (New York). New York City, Windy City, City of Spell out the names of cities Light, Fun City. unless in direct quotes: A trip to Lowercase elsewhere: a Texas Los Angeles, but: “We’re going to city; the city government; the city L.A.” Board of Education; and all city of See city. phrases: the city of Boston. Capitalize when part of a for- citizen, resident, subject, mal title before a name: City Man- national, native A citizen is a ager Francis McGrath. Lowercase person who has acquired the full when not part of the formal title: civil rights of a nation either by city Health Commissioner Frank birth or naturalization. Cities and Smith. states in the United States do not confer citizenship. To avoid con- See city council and govern- fusion, use resident, not citizen, mental bodies. in referring to inhabitants of states and cities. city commission See the Citizen is also acceptable for next entry. those in the United Kingdom, or other monarchies where the term city council Capitalize when subject is often used. part of a proper name: the Boston National is applied to a person City Council. residing away from the nation of Retain capitalization if the ref- which he or she is a citizen, or to erence is to a specific council but a person under the protection of a the context does not require the specified nation. city name: Native is the term denoting BOSTON (AP) — The City Coun- that an individual was born in a cil ... given location. Lowercase in other uses: the council, the Boston and New York citizens band Without an city councils, a city council. apostrophe after the s, an excep- Use the proper name if the tion to Webster’s New World body is not known as a city coun- based on widespread practice. cil: the Miami City Commission, CB is acceptable on second the City Commission, the commis- reference. sion; the Louisville Board of Alder- 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 50

men, the Board of Aldermen, the stands alone in datelines. board. Use city council in a generic clientele sense for plural references: the Boston, Louisville and Miami city cloak-and-dagger councils. Clorox A trademark for a city editor Capitalize as a brand of bleach. formal title before a name. See titles. closed shop A closed shop is an agreement between a union city hall Capitalize with the and an employer that requires name of a city, or without the workers to be members of a union name of a city if the reference is before they may be employed. specific: Boston City Hall, City A union shop requires workers Hall. to join a union within a specified Lowercase plural uses: the period after they are employed. Boston and New York city halls. An agency shop requires that Lowercase generic uses, in- the workers who do not want to cluding: You can’t fight city hall. join the union pay the union a fee instead of union dues. citywide A guild shop, a term often used when the union is The civil cases, criminal cases Newspaper Guild, is the same as A civil case is one in which an in- a union shop. dividual, business or agency of See the right-to-work entry government seeks damages or re- for an explanation of how some lief from another individual, busi- states prohibit contracts that re- ness or agency of government. quire workers to join unions. Civil actions generally involve a charge that a contract has been close-up (n. and adj.) breached or that someone has been wronged or injured. cloture Not closure, for the A criminal case is one that the parliamentary procedure for clos- state or the federal government ing debate. Whenever practical, use a brings against an individual phrase such as closing debate or charged with committing a crime. ending debate instead of the tech- Civil War nical term. claptrap CNN Acceptable in all references for the Cable News clean up (v.) cleanup (n. Network. and adj.) co- Retain the hyphen when clear-cut (adj.) forming nouns, adjectives and verbs that indicate occupation or See religious status: clerical titles co-author co-pilot titles. co-chairman co-respondent (in a divorce suit) Cleveland The city in Ohio co-defendant co-signer 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 51

co-host co-star This approach has been adopt- co-owner co-partner ed for consistency, because many co-worker foreign nations do not use coast (Several are exceptions to guard as the proper name. Webster’s New World in the inter- See military academies. ests of consistency.) Use no hyphen in other combi- Coast Guardsman Note nations: spelling. Capitalize as a proper coed cooperate coeducation cooperative noun when referring to an indi- coequal coordinate vidual in a U.S. Coast Guard coexist coordination unit: He is a Coast Guardsman. coexistence Lowercase guardsman when it Cooperate, coordinate and re- stands alone. lated words are exceptions to the See military titles. rule that a hyphen is used if a prefix ends in a vowel and the coastline word that follows begins with the same vowel. coattails

Co. See company. COBOL A computer programming language. Acronym for Com- coast Lowercase when refer- mon Business-Oriented Language. ring to the physical shoreline: At- Use of COBOL on first reference lantic coast, Pacific coast, east is acceptable if identified as a coast. programming language. Capitalize when referring to regions of the United States lying Coca-Cola, Coke Trade- along such shorelines: the At- marks for a brand of cola drink. lantic Coast states, a Gulf Coast city, the West Coast, the East cocaine The slang term coke Coast. should appear only in quoted Do not capitalize when refer- matter. ring to smaller regions: the Vir- Crack is a refined cocaine in ginia coast. crystalline rock form. Capitalize the Coast when standing alone only if the refer- c.o.d. Acceptable in all reference is to the West Coast. ences for cash on delivery or col- lect on delivery. (The use of lower- coastal waters See weath- case is an exception to the first er terms. listing in Webster’s New World.)

Coast Guard Capitalize Cold War Capitalize when re- when referring to this branch of ferring specifically to the post- the U.S. armed forces, a part of World War II rivalry between the the Department of Homeland Se- United States and the former So- curity: the U.S. Coast Guard, the viet Union. Use only in the his- Coast Guard, Coast Guard policy. toric sense. Do not use the abbreviation USCG, except in quotes. collective nouns Nouns Use lowercase for similar that denote a unit take singular forces of other nations. verbs and pronouns: class, com- 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 52

mittee, crowd, family, group, herd, The label itself, the dictionary jury, orchestra, team. says, “does not indicate substan- Some usage examples: The dard or illiterate usage.” committee is meeting to set its Many colloquial words and agenda. The jury reached its ver- phrases characteristic of informal dict. A herd of cattle was sold. writing and conversation are ac- PLURAL IN FORM: Some ceptable in some contexts but out words that are plural in form be- of place in others. Examples income collective nouns and take clude bum and phone. singular verbs when the group or Other colloquial words nor- quantity is regarded as a unit. mally should be avoided because Right: A thousand bushels is a they are substandard. Webster’s good yield. (A unit.) New World notes, for example, Right: A thousand bushels that ain’t is colloquial and not au- were created. (Individual items.) tomatically illiterate or sub-stan- Right: The data is sound. (A dard usage. But it also notes that unit.) ain’t is “a dialectal or substan- Right: The data have been dard contraction.” Thus it should carefully collected. (Individual not be used in news stories un- items.) less needed to illustrate substandard speech in writing. collectors’ item See the dialect and word selection entries. college Capitalize when part of a proper name: Dartmouth Col- colon See the entry in the lege. Punctuation chapter. Consult special sections of the Webster’s New World for lists of colonel See military titles. junior colleges, colleges and uni- versities in the United States and colonial Capitalize Colonial Canadian colleges and universi- as a proper adjective in all refer- ties. ences to the Colonies. (See the See the organizations and in- next entry.) stitutions entry. colonies Capitalize only for College of Cardinals See the British dependencies that de- Roman Catholic Church. clared their independence in 1776, now known as the United collide, collision Two ob- States. jects must be in motion before they can collide. An automobile Colorado Abbrev.: Colo. See cannot collide with a utility pole, state names. for example. colorblind colloquialisms The word describes the informal use of a colored In some societies, in- language. It is not local or region- cluding the United States, the al in nature, as dialect is. word is considered derogatory Webster’s New World Dictio- and should not be used. nary identifies many words as In some countries of Africa, it colloquial with the label Colloq. is used to denote individuals of 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 53

mixed racial ancestry. Whenever financial sense, the word de- the word is used, place it in quo- scribes the products of mining tation marks and provide an ex- and agriculture before they have planation of its meaning. undergone extensive processing. Columbia Broadcasting commonwealth A group of System It no longer exists. See people united by their common CBS. interests. See state. Columbus Day Oct. 12. The federal legal holiday is the second Commonwealth of Inde- Monday in October. pendent States Founded Dec. 8, 1991, the organization is made combat, combated, com- up of 12 of the former republics bating of the U.S.S.R., or Soviet Union. Russia is the largest and richest. comedian Use for both men Three other former republics ˜ and women. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia ˜ became independent nations ear- comma See entry in Punctu- lier in 1991. (The Soviet Union ation chapter. was formally dissolved in Decem- ber 1991. Its last leader, Mikhail commander See military ti- Gorbachev, resigned on Dec. 25, tles. 1991.) The republics (with adjective commander in chief Capi- form in parentheses): talize only if used as a formal title Armenia (Armenian); Azerbai- before a name. jan (Azerbaijani); Belarus (Belaru- See titles. sian); Georgia (Georgian); Kaza- khstan (Kazakh); Kyrgyzstan commissioner Do not ab- (Kyrgyz); Moldova (Moldovan); breviate. Capitalize when used as Russia (Russian); Tajikistan a formal title. (Tajik); Turkmenistan (Turkmen); See titles. Ukraine (no the) (Ukrainian); Uzbekistan (Uzbek). commitment DATELINES: MOSCOW stands alone. Follow all other datelines committee Do not abbrevi- with the name of the state. AL- ate. Capitalize when part of a for- MATY, Kazakhstan. mal name: the House Appropria- tions Committee. Commonwealth, the For- Do not capitalize committee in merly the British Commonwealth. shortened versions of long com- The members of this free associa- mittee names: the Special Senate tion of sovereign states recognize Select Committee to Investigate the British sovereign as head of Improper Labor-Management Prac- the Commonwealth. Some also tices, for example, became the recognize the sovereign as head of rackets committee. their state; others do not. See subcommittee. The members are: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, commodity When used in a Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 54

Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, company, companies Use Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji, Co. or Cos. when a business uses Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, either word at the end of its prop- Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, er name: Ford Motor Co., Ameri- Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, can Broadcasting Cos. But: Alu- Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauri- minum Company of America. tius, Namibia, Nauru, New If company or companies ap- Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan (sus- pears alone in second reference, pended after the 1999 military spell the word out. coup), Papua New Guinea, St. The forms for possessives: Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Ford Motor Co.’s profits, American Vincent and the Grenadines, Broadcasting Cos.’ profits. Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, THEATRICAL: Spell out com- Singapore, Solomon Islands, pany in names of theatrical orga- South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swazi- nizations: the Martha Graham land, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad Dance Company. and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, West- company (military) Capi- ern Samoa, Zambia and Zimbab- talize only when part of a name: Company B. Do not abbreviate. we. company names Consult Communicable Disease the company or Standard & Center The former name of the Poor’s Register of Corporations if Centers for Disease Control and in doubt about a formal name. Do Prevention. See entry under that not, however, use a comma before name. Inc. or Ltd. Generally, follow the spelling Communications Satel- and capitalization preferred by lite Corp. See Comsat Corp. the company: iMac, eBay. But capitalize the first letter if it be- Communications Work- gins a sentence. ers of America The shortened Do not use all capital letter form Communications Workers names unless the letters are indi- union is acceptable in all refer- vidually pronounced: CRX, BMW. ences. Others should be uppercase and Headquarters is in Washing- lowercase. ton. Do not use symbols such as exclamation points, plus signs or communism, communist asterisks that form contrived Lowercase, except in references to spellings that might distract or specific organizations: the Com- confuse a reader. Use an amper- munist Party of Russia. sand only if it is part of the com- See the political parties and pany’s formal name, but not oth- philosophies entry. erwise in place of ‘and.’ See the organizations and in- commutation See the par- stitutions entry. don, parole, probations entry. compared to, compared compact disc CD is accept- with Use compared to when the able on later references. intent is to assert, without the 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 55

need for elaboration, that two or ed States comprises 50 states. more items are similar: She com- The jury comprises five men and pared her work for women’s rights seven women. The zoo comprises to Susan B. Anthony’s campaign many animals. for women’s suffrage. Constitute, in the sense of form Use compared with when jux- or make up, may be the best taposing two or more items to il- word if neither compose nor com- lustrate similarities and/or differ- prise seems to fit: Fifty states con- ences: His time was 2:11:10, com- stitute the United States. Five men pared with 2:14 for his closest and seven women constitute the competitor. jury. A collection of animals can constitute a zoo. compatible Use include when what follows is only part of the total: The price complacent, complaisant includes breakfast. The zoo in- Complacent means self-satisfied. cludes lions and tigers. Complaisant means eager to please. composition titles Apply the guidelines listed here to book complementary, compli- titles, computer game titles, mentary The husband and wife movie titles, opera titles, play ti- have complementary careers. tles, poem titles, song titles, tele- They received complimentary vision program titles, and the ti- tickets to the show. tles of lectures, speeches and works of art. complement, compli- The guidelines, followed by a ment Complement is a noun and block of examples: a verb denoting completeness or —Capitalize the principal the process of supplementing words, including prepositions and something: The ship has a com- conjunctions of four or more let- plement of 200 sailors and 20 offi- ters. cers. The tie complements his suit. —Capitalize an article — the, Compliment is a noun or a a, an — or words of fewer than verb that denotes praise or the four letters if it is the first or last expression of courtesy: The cap- word in a title. tain complimented the sailors. She —Put quotation marks around was flattered by the compliments the names of all such works ex- on her outfit. cept the Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference compose, comprise, con- material. In addition to catalogs, stitute Compose means to cre- this category includes almanacs, ate or put together. It commonly directories, dictionaries, encyclo- is used in both the active and pedias, gazetteers, handbooks passive voices: She composed a and similar publications. Do not song. The United States is com- use quotation marks around such posed of 50 states. The zoo is software titles as WordPerfect or composed of many animals. Windows. Comprise means to contain, to —Translate a foreign title into include all or embrace. It is best English unless a work is known used only in the active voice, fol- to the American public by its for- lowed by a direct object: The Unit- eign name. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 56

EXAMPLES: “The Star-Span- computer terms See Inter- gled Banner,” “The Rise and Fall net section. of the Third Reich,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Of Mice and Men,” “For Comsat Corp. Formerly Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Time After known as Communications Satel- Time,” the NBC-TV “Today” pro- lite Corp. Headquarters is in gram, the “CBS Evening News,” Bethesda, Md. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” See television program names for conclave A private or secret further guidelines and examples. meeting. In the Roman Catholic Reference works: Jane’s All the Church it describes the private World’s Aircraft; Encyclopaedia meeting of cardinals to elect a Britannica; Webster’s New World pope. Dictionary of the American Lan- guage, Second Edition. concrete See cement. Foreign works: Rousseau’s “War,” not Rousseau’s “La Confederate States of Guerre.” But: Leonardo da Vinci’s America The formal name of the “Mona Lisa,” Mozart’s “The Mar- states that seceded during the riage of Figaro” and “The Magic Civil War. The shortened form the Flute.” But: “Die Walkuere” and Confederacy is acceptable in all “Gotterdammerung” from Wagn- references. er’s “The Ring of the Nibelungen.” confess, confessed In compound adjectives See some contexts the words may be the hyphen entry in the Punctua- erroneous. tion chapter. See admit.

comptroller, controller confirmation See sacra- Comptroller generally is the accu- ments. rate word for government financial officers. Congo In datelines, give the The U.S. comptroller of the name of the city followed by currency is an appointed official Congo: in the Treasury Department who KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — is responsible for the chartering, In stories, the Congo or Congo supervising and liquidation of as the construction of a sentence banks organized under the feder- dictates. (Formerly Zaire.) al government’s National Bank Do not confuse with Republic Act. of Congo (capital, Brazzaville) to Controller generally is the the west. proper word for financial officers of businesses and for other posi- congress Capitalize U.S. Con- tions such as air traffic controller. gress and Congress when refer- Capitalize comptroller and con- ring to the U.S. Senate and House troller when used as the formal ti- of Representatives. Although Con- tles for financial officers. Use low- gress sometimes is used as a ercase for aircraft controller and substitute for the House, it prop- similar occupational applications erly is reserved for reference to of the word. both the Senate and House. See titles. Capitalize Congress also if re- 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 57

ferring to a foreign body that uses Connecticut Abbrev.: Conn. the term, or its equivalent in a See state names. foreign language, as part of its formal name: the Argentine Con- connote, denote Connote gress, the Congress. means to suggest or imply some- See foreign legislative bod- thing beyond the explicit mean- ies. ing: To some people, the word Lowercase when used as a marriage connotes too much re- synonym for convention or in sec- striction. ond reference to an organization Denote means to be explicit that uses the word as part of its about the meaning: The word de- formal name: the Congress of molish denotes destruction. Racial Equality, the congress. Conrail This acronym is ac- congressional Lowercase ceptable in all references to Con- unless part of a proper name: solidated Rail Corp. (The corpora- congressional salaries, the Con- tion originally used ConRail, but gressional Quarterly, the Congres- later changed to Conrail.) sional Record. A private, for-profit corporation, Conrail was set up by Con- Congressional Directory gress as a monopoly in 1976 to Use this as the reference source reorganize and consolidate six bankrupt Northeast freight rail- for questions about the federal roads — the Penn Central, the government that are not covered Erie Lackawanna, Reading, Cen- by this stylebook. tral of New Jersey, Lehigh Valley, congressional districts and Lehigh & Hudson River. Philadelphia-based Conrail Use figures and capitalize district was sold to the public in 1987. when joined with a figure: the 1st In 1999, CSX and Norfolk Congressional District, the 1st Dis- Southern completed their acquisi- trict. tion of Conrail, splitting the as- Lowercase district whenever it sets and sharing Conrail tracks stands alone. and facilities in Detroit, Philadel- phia and most of New Jersey. Congressional Record A Norfolk Southern acquired 58 daily publication of the proceed- percent of Conrail and CSX 42 ings of Congress including a com- percent. Norfolk Southern, based plete stenographic report of all rein Norfolk, Va., operates a marks and debates. 21,600-mile rail system in 22 states, the District of Columbia, congressman, congress- and Ontario, Canada. CSX, based woman Use only in reference to in Richmond, Va., formed a members of the U.S. House of 22,300-mile system serving 23 Representatives. states, the District of Columbia, See legislative titles. and Montreal and Ontario, Cana- da. Congress of Racial Equal- Do not confuse Conrail and ity CORE is acceptable on second Amtrak (see separate entry). reference. Headquarters is in New York. consensus 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 58

conservative See the politi- See titles. cal parties and philosophies entry. consumer price index A measurement of changes in the Conservative Judaism See retail prices of a constant market- Jewish congregations. basket of goods and services. It is computed by comparing the cost constable Capitalize when of the marketbasket at a fixed used as a formal title before a time with its cost at subsequent name. or prior intervals. See titles. Capitalize when referring to the U.S. index, issued monthly by constitute See the com- the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an pose, comprise, constitute agency of the Labor Department. entry. The U.S. Consumer Price Index should not be referred to as a constitution Capitalize ref- cost-of-living index, because it erences to the U.S. Constitution, does not include the impact of in- with or without the U.S. modifier: come taxes and Social Security The president said he supports the taxes on the cost of living, nor Constitution. does it reflect changes in buying When referring to constitu- patterns that result from infla- tions of other nations or of states, tion. It is, however, the basis for capitalize only with the name of a computing cost-of-living raises in nation or a state: the French Con- many union contracts. stitution, the Massachusetts Con- The preferred form for second stitution, the nation’s constitution, reference is the index. Confine CPI the state constitution, the constitu- to quoted material. tion. Lowercase in other uses: the Consumer Product Safety organization’s constitution. Commission Lowercase constitutional in all uses. Contac A trademark for a brand of decongestant. consulate A consulate is the residence of a consul in a foreign contagious city. It handles the commercial affairs and personal needs of citi- contemptible zens of the appointing country. Capitalize with the name of a continent The seven conti- nation; lowercase without it: the nents, in order of their land size: French Consulate, the U.S. Con- Asia, Africa, North America, sulate, the consulate. South America, Europe, Antarcti- See embassy for the distinc- ca and Australia. tion between a consulate and an Capitalize the Continent and embassy. Continental only when used as synonyms for Europe or Euro- consul, consul general, pean. Lowercase in other uses consuls general Capitalize such as: the continent of Europe, when used as a formal title before the European continent, the a noun. African and Asian continents. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 59

Continental Airlines Use See colloquialisms; quota- this spelling of Airlines, which tions in the news; and word se- Continental has adopted for its lection. public identity. Only its incorporation papers still read Air Lines. contrasted to, contrasted Headquarters is in Houston. with Use contrasted to when the intent is to assert, without the Continental Divide The need for elaboration, that two ridge along the Rocky Mountains items have opposite characteris- that separates rivers flowing east tics: He contrasted the appear- from those that flow west. ance of the house today to its ram- shackle look last year. continental shelf, conti- Use contrasted with when jux- nental slope Lowercase. The taposing two or more items to il- shelf is the part of a continent lustrate similarities and/or differ- that is submerged in relatively ences: He contrasted the Republi- shallow sea at gradually increas- can platform with the Democratic ing depths, generally up to about platform. 600 feet below sea level. The continental slope begins at control, controlled, con- the point where the descent to trolling the ocean bottom becomes very steep. controller See the comptroller, controller entry. continual, continuous Continual means a steady repeti- controversial An overused tion, over and over again: The word; avoid it. A controversial merger has been the source of con- issue is redundant. See noncon- tinual litigation. troversial. Continuous means uninter- rupted, steady, unbroken: All she convention Capitalize as saw ahead of her was a continu- part of the name for a specific na- ous stretch of desert. tional or state political convention: the Democratic National Con- Contra, Contras Uppercase vention, the Republican State Con- when used to describe vention. Nicaraguan rebel groups. Lowercase in other uses: the national convention, the state con- contractions Contractions vention, the convention, the annu- reflect informal speech and writ- al convention of the American ing. Webster’s New World Dictio- Medical Association. nary includes many entries for contractions: aren’t for are not, convict (v.) Follow with for example. preposition of, not for: He was Avoid excessive use of contrac- convicted of murder. tions. Contractions listed in the dictionary are acceptable, howev- convince, persuade You er, in informal contexts where may be convinced that something they reflect the way a phrase or of something. You must be per- commonly appears in speech or suaded to do something. writing. Right: The robbers persuaded 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 60

him to open the vault. north central Midwest where Wrong: The robbers convinced much corn and corn-fed livestock him to open the vault. are raised. It extends from west- Right: The robbers convinced ern Ohio to eastern Nebraska and him that it was the right thing to northeastern Kansas. do. Wrong: The robbers persuaded Corp. See corporation. him that it was the right thing to do. corporal See military titles.

cookie, cookies corporate names See company names. cooperate, cooperative But co-op as a short term of coop- corporation An entity that erative, to distinguish it from is treated as a person in the eyes coop, a cage for animals. of the law. It is able to own property, incur debts, sue and be Cooperative for Ameri- sued. can Relief Everywhere See Abbreviate corporation as Corp. CARE. when a company or government agency uses the word at the end coordinate, coordination of its name: Gulf Oil Corp., the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. cop Be careful in the use of Spell out corporation when it police offi- this colloquial term for occurs elsewhere in a name: the cer . It may be used in lighter sto- Corporation for Public Broadcast- ries and in casual, informal de- ing. scriptions, but often is a deroga- Spell out and lowercase corpo- tory term out of place in serious ration police stories. whenever it stands alone. The form for possessives: Gulf copter Acceptable shortening Oil Corp.’s profits. of helicopter. But use it only as a noun or adjective. It is not a verb. corps Capitalize when used with a word or a figure to form a copy editor Seldom a formal proper name: the Marine Corps, title. See titles. the Signal Corps, the 9th Corps. Capitalize when standing copyright (n., v. and adj.) alone only if it is a shortened ref- The disclosure was made in a erence to U.S. Marine Corps. copyright story. The possessive form is corps’ Use copyrighted only as the for both singular and plural: one past tense of the verb: He copy- corps’ location, two corps’ assign- righted the article. ments. See Copyright Guidelines in Briefing on Media Law section. corral, corralled, cor- ralling co-respondent In a divorce suit. correctional facility, correctional institution See the Corn Belt The region in the prison, jail entry. 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 61

Corsica Use instead of France his annual economic report to in datelines on stories from com- Congress and recommend eco- munities on this island. nomic measures to him throughout the year. Cortes The Spanish parliament. See foreign legislative counsel, counseled, bodies. counseling, counselor, counselor at law To counsel is cosmonaut The applicable to advise. A counselor is one who occupational term for astronauts advises. of the former Soviet Union. Al- A counselor at law (no hy- ways use lowercase. phens for consistency with attor- See titles. ney at law) is a lawyer. See lawyer. cost of living The amount of money needed to pay taxes and count, countess See nobili- to buy the goods and services ty. deemed necessary to make up a given standard of living, taking counter- The rules in prefix- into account changes that may es apply, but in general, no hy- occur in tastes and buying pat- phen. Some examples: counteract counterproposal terns. countercharge counterspy The term often is treated in- counterfoil correctly as a synonym for the U.S. Consumer Price Index, which countryside does not take taxes into account and measures only price changes, county Capitalize when an keeping the quantities constant integral part of a proper name: over time. Dade County, Nassau County, Hyphenate when used as a Suffolk County. compound modifier: The cost of Capitalize the full names of living went up, but he did not re- county governmental units: the ceive a cost-of-living raise. Dade County Commission, the Or- See the consumer price index ange County Department of Social and inflation entries. Services, the Suffolk County Legis- lature. Cotton Belt The region in Retain capitalization for the the South and Southwestern sec- name of a county body if the tions of the United States where proper noun is not needed in the much cotton is grown. context; lowercase the word county if it is used to distinguish an council, councilor, coun- agency from state or federal cilman, councilwoman A de- counterparts: the Board of Super- liberative body and those who are visors, the county Board of Super- members of it. visors; the Department of Social See the counsel entry and leg- Services, the county Department of islative titles. Social Services. Lowercase the board, the department, etc. when- Council of Economic Ad- ever they stand alone. visers A group of advisers who Capitalize county if it is an in- help the U.S. president prepare tegral part of a specific body’s 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 62

name even without the proper County Judge Ray Reagan, said noun: the County Commission, the ... County Legislature. Lowercase the commission, the legislature, etc. coup d’etat The word coup when not preceded by the word usually is sufficient. county. Capitalize as part of a formal couple When used in the title before a name: County Man- sense of two people, the word ager John Smith. Lowercase when takes plural verbs and pronouns: it is not part of the formal title: The couple were married Saturday county Health Commissioner and left Sunday on their honey- Frank Jones. moon. They will return in two Avoid county of phrases where weeks. possible, but when necessary, al- In the sense of a single unit, ways lowercase: the county of use a singular verb: Each couple Westchester. was asked to give $10. Lowercase plural combinations: Westchester and Rockland couple of The of is neces- counties. sary. Never use a couple tomatoes Apply the same rules to simi- or a similar phrase. lar terms such as parish. The phrase takes a plural verb See governmental bodies. in constructions such as: A couple of tomatoes were stolen. county court In some states, it is not a court but the course numbers Use Arabic administrative body of a county. numerals and capitalize the sub- In most cases, the court is ject when used with a numeral: presided over by a county judge, History 6, Philosophy 209. who is not a judge in the traditional sense but the chief admin- court decisions Use figures istrative officer of the county. and a hyphen: The Supreme Court The terms should be explained ruled 5-4, a 5-4 decision. The if they are not clear in the con- word to is not needed, but use text. hyphens if it appears in quoted Capitalize all references to a matter: “The court ruled 5-to-4, the specific county court, and capital- 5-to-4 decision.” ize county judge when used as a formal title before a name. Do not court districts See court use judge alone before a name ex- names. cept in direct quotations. Examples: courtesy titles Refer to both SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A men and women by first and last reluctant County Court approved a name: Susan Smith or Robert school budget today that calls for Smith. Use the courtesy titles Mr., a 10 percent tax increase for prop- Miss, Ms. or Mrs. only in direct erty owners. quotations or in other special sit- The county had been given an uations: ultimatum by the state: Approve —When it is necessary to dis- the budget or shut down the tinguish between two people who schools. use the same last name, as in The chief administrative officer, married couples or brothers and 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 63

sisters, use a courtesy title for a eign. Derived from St. James’s woman if her preference is Palace, the former scene of royal known, or identify her by first receptions. and last name. —When a woman specifically courtroom requests it; for example, where a woman prefers to be known as cover up (v.) cover-up (n. Mrs. Susan Smith or Ms. Susan and adj.) He tried to cover up the Smith. scandal. He was prosecuted for In cases where a person’s gen- the cover-up. der is not clear from the first name or from the story’s context, crack up (v.) crackup (n. indicate the gender by using he or and adj.) she in subsequent reference. crawfish Not crayfish. An ex- courthouse Capitalize with ception to Webster’s New World the name of a jurisdiction: the based on the dominant spelling in Cook County Courthouse, the U.S. Louisiana, where it is a popular Courthouse. Lowercase in other delicacy. uses: the county courthouse, the courthouse, the federal criminal cases See the civil courthouse. cases, criminal cases entry. Court House (two words) is used in the proper names of some Crisco A trademark for a communities: Appomattox Court brand of vegetable shortening. House, Va. crisis, crises court-martial, court-mar- tialed, courts-martial crisscross criterion, criteria court names Capitalize the full proper names of courts at all cross-examine, cross-ex- levels. amination Retain capitalization if U.S. or a state name is dropped: the U.S. cross-eye (n.) cross- Supreme Court, the Supreme eyed(adj.) Court, the state Superior Court, the Superior Court, Superior Court. crossfire (one word) For courts identified by a numeral: 2nd District Court, 8th U.S. crossover (n. and adj.) Circuit Court of Appeals. For additional details on feder- cross section (n.) cross- al courts, see judicial branch and section (v.) separate listings under U.S. and the court name. CRT Abbreviation for cathode See judge for guidelines on ti- ray tube. Do not use. Display unit tles before the names of judges. is among the terms preferred.

Court of St. James’s Note CT scan Computerized tomog- the ’s. The formal name for the raphy, a method of making multi- royal court of the British sover- ple X-ray images of the body or 047-074_C.qrk 3/4/03 1:35 PM Page 64

parts of the body and using a toms Service, or simply the Cus- computer to construct, from toms Service. those images, cross-sectional Lowercase elsewhere: a cus- views. (Formerly known as CAT toms official, a customs ruling, she scan.) went through customs.

Cub Scouts See Boy Scouts. cut back (v.) cutback (n. and adj.) He cut back spending. cuckoo clock The cutback will require frugality.

cup Equal to 8 fluid ounces. cut off (v.) cutoff (n. and The approximate metric equiva- adj.) He cut off his son’s al- lents are 240 milliliters or .24 of a lowance. The cutoff date for appli- liter. cations is Monday. To convert to liters, multiply by .24 (14 cups x .24 = 3.36 cyclone See weather terms. liters, or 3,360 milliliters). See liter. Cyclone A trademark for a brand of chain-link fence. cupful, cupfuls Not cupsful. cynic, skeptic A skeptic is a curate See religious titles. doubter. A cynic is a disbeliever. cure-all czar Not tsar. It was a formal Curia See Roman Catholic title only for the ruler of Russia Church. and some other Slavic nations. Lowercase in all other uses. currency depreciation, currency devaluation A nation’s money depreciates when its value falls in relation to the currency of other nations or in relation to its own prior value. A nation’s money is devalued when its value is reduced in relation to the currency of other nations, either deliberately by the government or through market forces. When a nation devalues its currency, the goods it imports tend to become more expensive. Its exports tend to become less expensive in other nations and thus more competitive. See devaluations. curtain raiser

customs Capitalize U.S. Cus- 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 65 D Dacron A trademark for a loss, etc.: The woman received brand of polyester fiber. $25,000 in damages.

dad Uppercase only when the dame See nobility. noun substitutes for a name as a term of address: Hi, Dad! damn it Use instead of dammit, but like other profanity it DaimlerChrysler AG Merg- should be avoided unless there is er of Chrysler Corp. and Daimler- a compelling reason. Benz AG. See the obscenities, profani- Dual headquarters in Auburn ties, vulgarities entry. Hills, Mich., and Stuttgart, Ger- many. dangling modifiers Avoid modifiers that do not refer clearly dalai lama The traditional and logically to some word in the high priest of Lamaism, a form of sentence. Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Dangling: Taking our seats, the Mongolia. Dalai lama is a title game started. (Taking does not rather than a name, but it is all refer to the subject, game, nor to that is used when referring to the any other word in the sentence.) man. Capitalize Dalai Lama in Correct: Taking our seats, we references to the holder of the watched the opening of the game. title, in keeping with the princi- (Taking refers to we, the subject ples outlined in the nobility of the sentence.) entry. Danish pastry Dallas The city in Texas stands alone in datelines. Dardanelles, the Not the Dardanelles Strait. Dalles, The A city in Oregon. Dark Ages The period begin- dam Capitalize when part of a ning with the fall of Rome in 476 proper name: Hoover Dam. and ending about the 10th century. The term is derived from the damage, damages Damage idea that this period in Europe is destruction: Authorities said was characterized by intellectual damage from the storm would stagnation, widespread ignorance total more than $1 billion. and poverty. Damages are awarded by a court as compensation for injury, dark horse 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 66

dash See entry in the Punctu- DALLAS PHOENIX ation chapter. DENVER PITTSBURGH DETROIT ST. LOUIS HONOLULU SALT LAKE CITY data A plural noun, it nor- HOUSTON SAN ANTONIO mally takes plural verbs and pro- INDIANAPOLIS SAN DIEGO nouns. LAS VEGAS SAN FRANCISCO See the collective nouns LOS ANGELES SEATTLE entry, however, for an example of MIAMI WASHINGTON when data may take singular Stories from all other U.S. verbs and pronouns. cities should have both the city and state name in the dateline, database One word, in keep- including KANSAS CITY, Mo., and ing with widespread usage. The KANSAS CITY, Kan. collection of all data used and Spell out Alaska, Hawaii, produced by a computer program. Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Abbreviate others as data processing (n. and listed in this book under the full adj.) Do not hyphenate the adjec- name of each state. tive. Use Hawaii on all cities outside Honolulu. Specify the island date line Two words for the in the text if needed. imaginary line that separates one Follow the same practice for day from another. communities on islands within See the international date the boundaries of other states: line entry. EDGARTOWN, Mass., for example, not EDGARTOWN, Martha’s datelines Datelines on sto- Vineyard. ries should contain a city name, REGIONAL CIRCUITS: On entirely in capital letters, followed state wires, additional cities in a in most cases by the name of the state or region may stand alone if state, county or territory where requested by the newspapers the city is located. served. DOMESTIC DATELINES: A list When this is done, provide a of domestic cities that stand list to all offices in the region, to alone in datelines follows. The all newspapers affected and to norms that influenced the selec- New York headquarters. tion were the population of the U.S. POSSESSIONS: Apply the city, the population of its metro- guidelines listed below in the IS- politan region, the frequency of LAND NATIONS AND TERRITO- the city’s appearance in the news, RIES section and the OVERSEAS the uniqueness of its name, and TERRITORIES section. experience that has shown the FOREIGN CITIES: These for- name to be almost synonymous eign locations stand alone in with the state or nation where it datelines: is located. BEIJING MEXICO CITY No state with the following: BERLIN MONACO ATLANTA MILWAUKEE DJIBOUTI MONTREAL BALTIMORE MINNEAPOLIS GENEVA MOSCOW BOSTON NEW ORLEANS GIBRALTAR NEW DELHI CHICAGO NEW YORK GUATEMALA CITY OTTAWA CINCINNATI OKLAHOMA CITY HAVANA PARIS CLEVELAND PHILADELPHIA HONG KONG QUEBEC CITY 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 67

JERUSALEM ROME See geographic names for KUWAIT CITY SAN MARINO guidelines on spelling the names LONDON SINGAPORE of foreign cities and nations not LUXEMBOURG TOKYO MACAU TORONTO listed here or in separate entries. VATICAN CITY ISLAND NATIONS AND TERRI- In addition, use UNITED NA- TORIES: When reporting from na- TIONS alone, without a N.Y. des- tions and territories that are ignation, in stories from U.N. made up primarily of islands but headquarters. commonly are linked under one CANADIAN DATELINES: Date- name, use the city name and the lines on stories from Canadian general name in the dateline. cities other than Montreal, Ot- Identify an individual island, if tawa, Quebec City and Toronto needed, in the text: should contain the name of the Examples: city in capital letters followed by British Virgin Islands Netherlands Antilles the name of the province. Do not Indonesia Philippines abbreviate any province or territo- OVERSEAS TERRITORIES: ry name. Some overseas territories, COMMONWEALTH OF INDE- colonies and other areas that are PENDENT STATES: For cities in not independent nations com- the former Soviet Union, datelines monly have accepted separate include city and republic name: identities based on their geo- ALMATY, Kazakhstan. graphic character or special sta- OTHER FOREIGN NATIONS: tus under treaties. In these cases, Stories from other foreign cities use the commonly accepted terri- that do not stand alone in date- tory name after a city name in a lines should contain the name of dateline. the country or territory (see the Examples: next section) spelled out. Bermuda Guam Corsica Martinique SPELLING AND CHOICE OF Faeroe Islands Puerto Rico NAMES: In most cases, the name Greenland Sardinia of the nation in a dateline is the Grenada Sicily conventionally accepted short Guadeloupe Sikkim form of its official name: Argenti- Tibet na, for example, rather than Re- WITHIN STORIES: In citing public of Argentina. (If in doubt, other cities within the body of a look for an entry in this book. If story: none is found, follow Webster’s —No further information is New World Dictionary.) necessary if a city is in the same Note these special cases: state as the datelined city in U.S. —Instead of United Kingdom, stories from abroad. Make an ex- use England, Northern Ireland, ception if confusion would result. Scotland or Wales. —Follow the city name with —For divided nations, use the further identification in most commonly accepted names based cases where it is not in the same on geographic distinctions: North state or nation as the dateline Korea, South Korea. city. The additional identification —Use an article only with El may be omitted, however, if no Salvador. For all others, use just confusion would result — there is a country name — Gambia, no need, for example, to refer to Netherlands, Philippines, etc. Boston, Mass., in a story date- 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 68

lined NEW YORK. was available in the datelined —Provide a state or nation city: identification for the city if the LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister story is undated. However, cities Wilson submitted his resignation that stand alone in datelines may today. be used alone in undated stories In Washington, a State Depart- if no confusion would result. ment spokesman said the change in government leadership would dateline selection A date- have no effect on negotiations in- line should tell the reader that volving the Common Market. the AP obtained the basic infor- —Material from another area mation for the story in the date- was not available to the corre- lined city. spondent in the dateline city be- Do not, for example, use a cause communications from the Washington dateline on a story outside world were cut off: written primarily from informa- PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) tion that a newspaper reported — Khmer Rouge troops pushed under a Washington dateline. Use into Phnom Penh today, barely the home city of the newspaper hours after the United States ran instead. down the Stars and Stripes and This rule does not preclude abandoned Cambodia to the Com- the use of a story with a dateline munists. different from the home city of a (In Washington, the State De- newspaper if it is from the general partment said Americans evacuat- area served by the newspaper. ed in a mass airlift had arrived Use a foreign dateline only if safely aboard aircraft carriers and the basic information in a story at bases in Thailand.) was obtained by a full- or part- time correspondent physically dates Always use Arabic fig- present in the datelined commu- ures, without st, nd, rd or th. See nity. months for examples and punc- If a radio broadcast monitored tuation guidelines. in another city was the source of information, use the dateline of daughter-in-law, daugh- the city where the monitoring ters-in-law took place and mention the fact in the story. Daughters of the Ameri- When a story has been assem- can Revolution DAR is accept- bled from sources in widely sepa- able on second reference. rated areas, use no dateline. Headquarters is in Washing- When a datelined story con- ton. tains supplementary information obtained in another city, make daylight-saving time Not that point clear in the context. Do savings. Note the hyphen. not put parentheses around such When linking the term with material, however, unless the cor- the name of a time zone, use only respondent in the datelined com- the word daylight: Eastern Day- munity was cut off from incoming light Time, Pacific Daylight Time, communications. Note the follow- etc. ing examples: Lowercase daylight-saving time —Material from another area in all uses and daylight time 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 69

whenever it stands alone. deaf See disabled, handi- A federal law, administered by capped, impaired. the Transportation Department, specifies that daylight time ap- deaf-mute Avoid the term. plies from 2 a.m. on the first Sun- The preferred form is to say that day of April until 2 a.m. on the an individual cannot hear or last Sunday of October in areas speak. A mute person may be that do not specifically exempt deaf or may be able to hear. themselves. Do not use deaf and dumb. See time zones. dean Capitalize when used as daylong a formal title before a name: Dean John Jones, Deans John Jones days of the week Capital- and Susan Smith. ize them. Do not abbreviate, ex- Lowercase in other uses: John cept when needed in a tabular Jones, dean of the college; the format: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, dean. Fri, Sat (three letters, without pe- Lowercase in all riods, to facilitate tabular compo- dean’s list uses: He is on the dean’s list. She sition). is a dean’s list student. See time element. deathbed (n. and adj.) daytime decades Use Arabic figures day to day, day-to-day to indicate decades of history. Hyphenate when used as a com- Use an apostrophe to indicate nu- pound modifier: They have ex- merals that are left out; show tended the contract on a day-to- plural by adding the letter s: the day basis. 1890s, the ’90s, the Gay ’90s, the 1920s, the mid-1930s. D-Day June 6, 1944, the day See the historical periods and the Allies invaded Europe in events entry. World War II. December See months. DDT Preferred in all references for the insecticide deci- A prefix denoting one- dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. tenth of a unit. Move the decimal point one place to the left in con- de- See foreign particles. verting to the basic unit: 15.5 de- cigrams = 1.55 grams. deacon See the entry for the individual’s denomination. decimal units Use a period and numerals to indicate decimal dead center amounts. Decimalization should not exceed two places in textual dead end (n.) dead-end material unless there are special (adj.) She reached a dead end. He circumstances. has a dead-end job. For amounts less than 1 percent, use the numeral zero before Dead Sea Scrolls the decimal point: 0.03. 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 70

See fractions. dek- (before a vowel), deka- (before a consonant) A prefix de- Declaration of Indepen- noting 10 units of a measure. dence Lowercase the declaration Move the decimal point one place whenever it stands alone. to the right to convert to the basic unit: 15.6 dekameters = 156 me- decorations See the awards ters. and decorations entry. Delaware Abbrev.: Del. Only Deepfreeze A trademark for Rhode Island is smaller in area. a brand of home freezer. See state names. If something is being postponed indefinitely, use two words: delegate The formal title for The project is in the deep freeze. members of the lower houses of some legislatures. Do not abbrevi- deep-sea (adj.) ate. Capitalize only before their names. See legislative titles. Deep South Capitalize both Always lowercase in other words when referring to the re- uses: convention delegate Richard gion that consists of Alabama, Henry Lee. Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. Delta Air Lines Headquar- ters is in Atlanta. deep water (n.) deep- water (adj.) The creature swam demagogue, dema- in deep water. The ship needs a demagog deep-water port. goguery Not . defendant democrat, democratic, Democratic Party See the po- defense Do not use it as a litical parties and philosophies verb. entry.

defense attorney Always Democratic Governors’ lowercase, never abbreviate. Conference Note the apostro- See attorney and titles. phe.

defense spending Military Democratic National spending usually is the more pre- Committee On the second ref- cise term. erence: the national committee, the committee. definitely Overused as a Similarly: Democratic State vague intensifier. Avoid it. Committee, Democratic County Committee, Democratic City Com- degree-day See weather mittee, the state committee, the terms. city committee, the committee.

degrees See academic de- demolish, destroy Both grees. mean to do away with something completely. Something cannot be deity Lowercase. See gods partially demolished or destroyed. and religious references. It is redundant to say totally de- 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 71

molished or totally destroyed. Justice must resolve their differences.” But: Henry Kissinger, the denote See the connote, de- secretary of state. note entry. Lowercase the department whenever it stands alone. Denver The city in Colorado Do not abbreviate department stands alone in datelines. in any usage. See academic departments. depart Follow it with a preposition: He will depart from dependent (n. and adj.) Not La Guardia. She will depart at dependant. 11:30 a.m. Do not drop the preposition as depreciation The reduction some airline dispatchers do. in the value of capital goods due to wear and tear or obsolescence. Department of Agricul- Estimated depreciation may be ture ; Department of Com- deducted from income each year merce; Department of Defense; as one of the costs of doing busi- Department of Education; De- ness. partment of Energy (DOE acceptable on second reference); depression Capitalize De- Department of Health and pression and the Great Depression Human Services (formerly the when referring to the worldwide Department of Health, Education economic hard times generally re- and Welfare); Department of garded as having begun with the Homeland Security; Depart- stock market collapse of Oct. 28- ment of Housing and Urban De- 29, 1929. velopment (HUD acceptable on Lowercase in other uses: the second reference); Department depression of the 1970s. of the Interior; Department of Justice; Department of Labor; depths See dimensions. Department of State; Depart- ment of Transportation (DOT deputy Capitalize as a formal acceptable on second reference); title before a name. See titles. Department of the Treasury. Avoid acronyms when possi- derogatory terms Do not ble. A phrase such as the depart- use derogatory terms such as ment is preferable on second ref- krauts (for Germans) or niggers erence because it is more read- (for blacks) except in direct able and avoids alphabet soup. quotes, and then only when their The of may be dropped and use is an integral, essential part the title flopped while capitaliza- of the story. tion is retained: the State Depart- See the obscenities, profani- ment. ties, vulgarities entry and word Lowercase department in plur- selection. al uses, but capitalize the proper name element: the departments of -designate Hyphenate: Labor and Justice. chairman-designate. Capitalize A shorthand reference to the only the first word if used as a proper name element also is capi- formal title before a name. talized: Kissinger said, “State and See titles. 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 72

destroy See the demolish, Dexedrine A trademark for a destroy entry. brand of appetite suppressant. It also may be called dextroamphet- detective Do not abbreviate. amine sulfate. Capitalize before a name only if it is a formal rank: police Detective dialect The form of language Frank Serpico, private detective peculiar to a region or a group, Richard Diamond. usually in matters of pronuncia- See titles. tion or syntax. Dialect should be avoided, even in quoted matter, detente unless it is clearly pertinent to a story. detention center See the There are some words and prison, jail entry. phrases in everyone’s vocabulary that are typical of a particular re- Detroit The city in Michigan gion or group. Quoting dialect, stands alone in datelines. unless used carefully, implies substandard or illiterate usage. devaluations Devaluations When there is a compelling occur when the value of a coun- reason to use dialect, words or try’s currency goes down in its re- phrases are spelled phonetically, lation to another currency. This and apostrophes show missing may happen by government de- letters and sounds: “Din’t ya cree, or through market forces. yoosta live at Toidy-Toid Street Devaluations are expressed in and Sekun’ Amya? Across from da percentages, but the normal moom pitchers?” method of figuring a percentage See colloquialisms; quotes in change won’t work. Use the fol- the news; and word selection. lowing rules: Say currency A is quoted in a dialogue (n.) set of units to currency B. When currency A is devalued, 1) take diarrhea the new exchange rate and subtract the old exchange rate, 2) di- Dictaphone A trademark for vide the answer by the new ex- a brand of dictation recorder. change rate and 3) multiply the answer by 100 to get the percent- dictionaries For spelling, age devaluation. style and usage questions not Example: covered in this stylebook, consult 9.5 (new rate) minus 6.3 (old Webster’s New World College Dic- rate) = 3.2 tionary, Fourth Edition, pub- 3.2 divided by 9.5 = 0.3368 lished by Wiley. 0.3368 times 100 = 33.68421 Use the first spelling listed in (or 34 percent). Webster’s New World unless a The ruble has been devalued specific exception is listed in this against the dollar by 34 percent. book. If Webster’s New World pro- devil But capitalize Satan. vides different spellings in separate entries (tee shirt and T-shirt, DEW line See North Warn- for example), use the spelling that ing System. is followed by a full definition (T- 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 73

shirt). The storm left 5 inches of If Webster’s New World pro- snow. vides definitions under two differ- Use an apostrophe to indicate ent spellings for the same sense feet and quote marks to indicate of a word, either use is accept- inches (5’6”) only in very techni- able. For example, although or cal contexts. though. If there is no listing in either Diners Club No apostrophe, this book or Webster’s New in keeping with the practice the World, the backup dictionary is company has adopted for its pub- Webster’s Third New International lic identity. Only its incorporation Dictionary, published by Merri- papers still read Diners’ Club. am-Webster Inc. Headquarters is in New York. Webster’s New World is also the first reference for geographic diocese Capitalize as part of names not covered in this style- a proper name: the Diocese of book. See geographic names. Rochester, the Rochester Diocese, the diocese. die-hard (n. and adj.) See Episcopal Church and Roman Catholic Church. Diet The Japanese parliament. See foreign legislative directions and regions In bodies. general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when dietitian Not dietician. they indicate compass direction; capitalize these words when they different Takes the preposi- designate regions. tion from, not than. Some examples: COMPASS DIRECTIONS: He differ from, differ with drove west. The cold front is mov- To differ from means to be unlike. ing east. To differ with means to dis- REGIONS: A storm system that agree. developed in the Midwest is spreading eastward. It will bring dilemma It means more than showers to the East Coast by a problem. It implies a choice be- morning and to the entire North- tween two unattractive alterna- east by late in the day. High tem- tives. peratures will prevail throughout the Western states. dimensions Use figures and The North was victorious. The spell out inches, feet, yards, etc., South will rise again. Settlers from to indicate depth, height, length the East went West in search of and width. Hyphenate adjectival new lives. The customs of the East forms before nouns. are different from those of the EXAMPLES: He is 5 feet 6 West. The Northeast depends on inches tall, the 5-foot-6-inch man, the Midwest for its food supply. the 5-foot man, the basketball She has a Southern accent. He team signed a 7-footer. is a Northerner. Nations of the Ori- The car is 17 feet long, 6 feet ent are opening doors to Western wide and 5 feet high. The rug is 9 businessmen. The candidate de- feet by 12 feet, the 9-by-12 rug. veloped a Southern strategy. She 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 74

is a Northern liberal. clear what the handicap is and The storm developed in the how much the person’s physical South Pacific. European leaders or mental performance is affected. met to talk about supplies of oil Avoid such euphemisms as from Southeast Asia. mentally challenged and descrip- WITH NAMES OF NATIONS: tions that connote pity, such as Lowercase unless they are part of afflicted with or suffers from mul- a proper name or are used to des- tiple sclerosis. Rather, has multi- ignate a politically divided nation: ple sclerosis. northern France, eastern Canada, Some terms include: the western United States. cripple Often considered offen- But: Northern Ireland, South sive when used to describe a per- Korea. son who is lame or disabled. WITH STATES AND CITIES: disabled A general term used The preferred form is to lowercase for a physical or cognitive condi- compass points only when they tion that substantially limits one describe a section of a state or or more of the major daily life ac- city: western Texas, southern At- tivities. lanta. handicap It should be avoided But capitalize compass points: in describing a disability. —When part of a proper name: blind Describes a person with North Dakota, West Virginia. complete loss of sight. For others —When used in denoting use terms such as visually im- widely known sections: Southern paired or person with low vision. California, the South Side of deaf Describes a person with Chicago, the Lower East Side of total hearing loss. For others use New York. If in doubt, use lower- partial hearing loss or partially case. deaf. Avoid using deaf-mute. Do IN FORMING PROPER not use deaf and dumb. NAMES: When combining with mute Describes a person who another common noun to form physically cannot speak. Others the name for a region or location: with speaking difficulties are the North Woods, the South Pole, speech impaired. the Far East, the Middle East, the wheelchair-user People use West Coast (the entire region, not wheelchairs for independent mo- the coastline itself — see coast), confined to a the Eastern Shore (see separate bility. Do not use entry), the Western Hemisphere. wheelchair, or wheelchair-bound. If a wheelchair is needed, say dis- The rules in prefixes why. apply, but in general, no hyphen. Some examples: disc Use this spelling except dismember disservice for computer-related references: dissemble dissuade laserdisc, videodisc, but hard disk. disabled, handicapped, See disk. impaired In general do not describe an individual as disabled disc jockey DJ is acceptable or handicapped unless it is clear- on second reference in a column ly pertinent to a story. If such a or other special context. Use an- description must be used, make it nouncer in other contexts. 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 75

discreet, discrete Discreet dissociate Not disassociate. means prudent, circumspect: “I’m afraid I was not very discreet,” distances Use figures for 10 she wrote. and above, spell out one through Discrete means detached, sep- nine: He walked four miles. arate: There are four discrete sounds from a quadraphonic sys- Distant Early Warning tem. Line The DEW line was deactivat- ed in 1985. See North Warning diseases Do not capitalize System. arthritis, emphysema, leukemia, migraine, pneumonia, etc. district Always spell it out. When a disease is known by Use a figure and capitalize district the name of a person identified when forming a proper name: the with it, capitalize only the individ- 2nd District. ual’s name: Bright’s disease, Do not Parkinson’s disease, etc. district attorney abbreviate. Capitalize when used disinterested, uninterest- as a formal title before a name: ed Disinterested means impar- District Attorney Hamilton Burger. Use DA (no periods) only in tial, which is usually the better quoted matter. word to convey the thought. See titles. Uninterested means that someone lacks interest. district court See court names and U.S. District Court. disk Use this spelling, not disc, for the thin, flat plate on District of Columbia Ab- which computer data can be breviate as D.C. when the context stored. Do not use as an abbrevi- requires that it be used in con- ation for diskette. junction with Washington. Spell See disc. out when used alone. The district, rather than D.C., diskette A generic term that should be used in subsequent means floppy disk. Not synony- references. mous with disk. ditto marks They can be dispel, dispelled, dis- made with quotation marks, but pelling their use in newspapers, even in tabular material, is confusing. disposable personal in- Don’t use them. come The income that a person retains after deductions for in- dive, dived, diving Not come taxes, Social Security taxes, dove for the past tense. property taxes and for other payments such as fines and penalties divided nations See date- to various levels of government. lines and entries under the names of these nations. Disposall A trademark for a type of mechanical garbage dis- dividend See entry in Busi- poser. ness Guidelines. 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 76

division See the organiza- vidual identified as Dr. is a physi- tions and institutions entry; mil- cian. One frequent case is a story itary units; and political divi- reporting on joint research by sions. physicians, biologists, etc. Do not use Dr. before the divorcee The fact that a names of individuals who hold woman has been divorced should only honorary doctorates. be mentioned only if a similar Do not continue the use of Dr. story about a man would mention in subsequent references. his marital status. See academic degrees; cour- When the woman’s marital tesy titles; and religious titles. status is relevant, it seldom belongs in the lead. Avoid stories dogs See animals. that begin: A 35-year-old divorcee ... dollars Always lowercase. The preferred form is to say in Use figures and the $ sign in all the body of the story that a except casual references or woman is divorced. amounts without a figure: The book cost $4. Dad, please give me Dixie cup A trademark for a a dollar. Dollars are flowing over- paper drinking cup. seas. For specified amounts, the doctor Use Dr. in first refer- word takes a singular verb: He ence as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds said $500,000 is what they want. a doctor of dental surgery, doctor For amounts of more than $1 of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, million, use the $ and numerals or doctor of podiatric medicine up to two decimal places. Do not degree: Dr. Jonas Salk. link the numerals and the word The form Dr., or Drs., in a by a hyphen: It is worth $4.35 mil- plural construction, applies to all lion. It is worth exactly first-reference uses before a $4,351,242. He proposed a $300 name, including direct quota- billion budget. tions. The form for amounts less If appropriate in the context, than $1 million: $4, $25, $500, Dr. also may be used on first ref- $1,000, $650,000. erence before the names of indi- See cents. viduals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. However, be- domino, dominoes cause the public frequently identifies Dr. only with physicians, door to door, door-to- care should be taken to assure door Hyphenate when used as a that the individual’s specialty is compound modifier: He is a door- stated in first or second reference. to-door salesman. The only exception would be a But: He went from door to story in which the context left no door. doubt that the person was a den- tist, psychologist, chemist, histo- DOS An acronym for disk op- rian, etc. erating system. Spell out. In some instances it also is necessary to specify that an indi- double-faced 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 77

doughnut Not donut. Dramamine A trademark for a brand of motion sickness reme- Dow Jones & Co. The com- dy. pany publishes The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s National Drambuie A trademark for a Business and Financial Weekly. It brand of Scottish liqueur. also operates the Dow Jones News Service. dressing room For stock market watchers, it provides the Dow Jones industri- Dripolator A trademark for a al average, the Dow Jones trans- brand of drip coffee maker. portation average, the Dow Jones utility average, and the Dow drive See addresses. Jones composite average. Headquarters is in New York. drive-in (n.)

-down Follow Webster’s New drop out (v.) dropout (n.) World. Some examples, all nouns and/or adjectives: drought breakdown rundown countdown sit-down drowned, was drowned If All are two words when used a person suffocates in water or as verbs. other fluid, the proper statement is that the individual drowned. To down- The rules in prefixes say that someone was drowned apply, but in general, no hyphen. implies that another person Some examples: caused the death by holding the downgrade downtown victim’s head under the water.

Down East Use only in refer- Dr Pepper A trademark (no ence to Maine. period after Dr) for a brand of soft drink. downstate Lowercase un- Headquarters is in Dallas. less part of a proper name: downstate Illinois. But: the Downstate Drug Enforcement Ad- Medical Center. ministration DEA on second reference. Down syndrome Not Down’s, for the genetic, chromo- drugs Because the word somal disorder first reported in drugs has come to be used as a 1866 by Dr. J. Langdon Down. synonym for narcotics in recent years, medicine is frequently the Down Under Australia, New better word to specify that an in- Zealand and environs. dividual is taking medication.

Dr. See doctor. drunk, drunken Drunk is the spelling of the adjective used draft beer Not draught beer. after a form of the verb to be: He was drunk. drama See composition ti- Drunken is the spelling of the tles. adjective used before nouns: a 075-088_D.qrk 2/18/03 9:54 AM Page 78

drunken driver, drunken driving. drunkenness

duel A contest between two people. Three people cannot duel.

duffel Not duffle.

duke, duchess See nobility.

Dumpster Trademark for a large metal trash bin. Use trash bin or trash container instead.

Dunkirk Use this spelling rather than Dunkerque, in keeping with widespread practice.

du Pont, E.I. Note the spelling of the name of the U.S. industrialist born in France. Use du Pont on second reference. The company named after him is E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Del. Capitalize the shortened form DuPont (no space, capital P) in keeping with company practice. The shortened form is acceptable in all references. See foreign particles.

dust storm See weather terms. Dutch oven, Dutch treat, Dutch uncle

dyed-in-the-wool (adj.)

dyeing, dying Dyeing refers to changing colors. Dying refers to death. 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 79 E each Takes a singular verb. widely used. Magnitudes are usually report- each other, one another ed simply as magnitude 6.7, for Two people look at each other. example, without specifying the More than two look at one an- scale being used. The various other. scales differ only slightly from one Either phrase may be used another. when the number is indefinite: In the first hours after a We help each other. We help one quake, earthquake size should be another. reported as a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, for example. Early es- earl, countess See nobility. timates are often revised, and it can be several days before seis- earmark mologists calculate a final figure. Magnitudes are measured on earth Generally lowercase; several different scales. The most capitalize when used as the prop- commonly used measure is the er name of the planet. She is moment magnitude, related to the down-to-earth. How does the pat- area of the fault on which an tern apply to Mars, Jupiter, Earth, earthquake occurs, and the the sun and the moon? The astro- amount the ground slips. nauts returned to Earth. He hopes The magnitude scale being to move heaven and earth. used should be specified only See planets. when necessary. An example would be when two centers are earthquakes Hundreds of reporting different magnitudes earthquakes occur each year. because they are using different Most are so small they cannot be scales. felt. With each scale, every in- The best source for informa- crease of one number, say from tion on major earthquakes is the 5.5 to 6.5, means that the National Earthquake Information quake’s magnitude is 10 times as Service operated by the U.S. Geo- great. Theoretically, there is no logical Survey in Golden, Colo. upper limit to the scales. Earthquake magnitudes are A quake of magnitude 2.5 to 3 measures of earthquake size cal- is the smallest generally felt by culated from ground motion people. recorded on seismographs. The —Magnitude 4: The quake can Richter scale, named for Dr. cause moderate damage. Charles F. Richter, is no longer —Magnitude 5: The quake can 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 80

cause considerable damage. people dead. —Magnitude 6: The quake can —Kobe, Japan, Jan. 17, 1995: cause severe damage. A 6.9 magnitude quake killed —Magnitude 7: A major earth- about 5,500 people in collapsed quake, capable of widespread, buildings and fires. heavy damage. OTHER TERMS: The word tem- —Magnitude 8: An earthquake blor (not tremblor) is a synonym capable of tremendous damage. for earthquake. NOTABLE QUAKES: Earth- The word epicenter refers to quakes noted for both their mag- the point on the Earth’s surface nitude and the amount of damage above the underground center, or they caused include: focus, of an earthquake. —Shensi province of China, January 1556: Killed 830,000 east, eastern See the direc- people, the largest number of fa- tions and regions entry. talities on record from an earthquake. Easter In the computation —Tokyo and Yokohama, used by the Latin Rite of the Japan, September 1923: Magni- Roman Catholic Church and by tude later computed as 7.9. The Protestant churches, it falls on quake and subsequent fires de- the first Sunday after the first full stroyed most of both cities, killing moon that occurs on or after an estimated 200,000 people. March 21. If the full moon falls on Until the China quake of 1976, a Sunday, Easter is the next Sun- this was the highest fatality toll in day. the 20th century. Easter may fall, therefore, be- —San Francisco, April 1906: tween March 22 and April 25 in- Moment magnitude later comput- clusive. ed as 7.8. The quake and subsequent fire were blamed for an es- Eastern Europe No longer a timated 700 deaths. separate political unit, but can be — Chile, May 1960: Magnitude used in specific references to the 9.5, considered the largest region. Use only in historic sense. recorded quake. Killed 5,700 peo- (Also Western Europe.) ple. —Alaska, March 1964: Magni- Eastern Hemisphere The tude 9.2. Killed 125 people, most half of the Earth made up primar- from the seismic sea wave that ily of Africa, Asia, Australia and followed. Europe. —Guatemala, February 1976: Magnitude 7.5. Authorities re- Eastern Orthodox ported more than 23,000 deaths. churches The term applies to a —Hopeh province of northern group of churches that have roots China, July 28, 1976: Magnitude in the earliest days of Christianity 7.5. A government document later and do not recognize papal au- said 655,237 people were killed thority over their activities. and 779,000 injured. The fatality Churches in this tradition total was second only to the toll were part of the undivided Chris- in the Shensi quake of 1556. tendom that existed until the —Mexico, Sept. 19, 1985: A Great Schism of 1054. At that quake registered at 8.1 left 9,500 time, many of the churches in the 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 81

western half of the old Roman Some forms: Metropolitan Empire accorded the bishop of Theodosius, archbishop of Wash- Rome supremacy over other bish- ington and metropolitan of Ameri- ops. The result was a split be- ca and Canada. On second refer- tween eastern and western ence: Metropolitan Theodosius. churches. Archbishop may be replaced by The autonomous churches the Most Rev. on first reference. that constitute Eastern Ortho- Bishop may be replaced by the Rt. doxy are organized along mostly Rev. on first reference. national lines. They recognize the Use the Rev. before the name patriarch of Constantinople (mod- of a priest on first reference. ern-day Istanbul) as their leader. See religious titles. He convenes councils, but his authority is otherwise that of a“first Eastern Rite churches The among equals” term applies to a group of Eastern orthodox churches Catholic churches that are orga- today count about 200 million nized along ethnic lines traceable members. They include the Greek to the churches established dur- Orthodox Church and the Russ- ing the earliest days of Christiani- ian Orthodox Church. ty. In the United States, organiza- These churches accept the au- tional lines are based on the na- thority of the pope, but they have tional backgrounds of various considerable autonomy in ritual ethnic groups. The largest is the and questions of discipline such Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of as married clergy — a married America, with about 2 million man may be ordained, but mar- members. Next is the Orthodox riage is not permitted after ordi- Church in America, with about 1 nation. million members, including peo- Worldwide membership totals ple of Bulgarian, Romanian, more than 10 million. Russian and Syrian descent. Among the churches of the The churches have their own Eastern Rite are the Antiochean- disciplines on matters such as Maronite, Armenian Catholic, married clergy — a married man Byzantine-Byelorussian, Byzan- may be ordained, but a priest tine-Russian, Byzantine-Ruthen- may not marry after ordination. ian, Byzantine-Ukrainian and Some of these churches call Chaldean Catholic. the archbishop who leads them a See Roman Catholic Church. metropolitan, others use the term patriarch. He normally heads the Eastern Shore A region on principal archdiocese within a na- the east side of Chesapeake Bay, tion. Working with him are other including parts of Maryland and archbishops, bishops, priests and Virginia. deacons. Eastern Shore is not a syn- Archbishops and bishops fre- onym for East Coast. quently follow a monastic tradition in which they are known only Eastern Standard Time by a first name. When no last (EST), Eastern Daylight name is used, repeat the title be- Time (EDT) See time zones. fore the sole name in subsequent references. easygoing 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 82

ecology The study of the re- the other, not both. lationship between organisms Right: She said to use either and their surroundings. It is not door. synonymous with environment. Wrong: There were lions on ei- Right: The laboratory is study- ther side of the door. ing the ecology of man and the Right: There were lions on each desert. side of the door. There were lions Wrong: Even so simple an un- on both sides of the door. dertaking as maintaining a lawn affects ecology. (Use environment either...or, neither...nor instead.) The nouns that follow these words do not constitute a com- Ecstasy Capitalize (no quote pound subject; they are alternate marks) this and other synthetic subjects and require a verb that drug names. agrees with the nearer subject: Neither they nor he is going. Ecuadorean Neither he nor they are going.

editor Capitalize editor before El Al Israel Airlines. An El Al a name only when it is an official airliner is acceptable in any refer- corporate or organizational title. ence. Do not capitalize as a job descrip- Headquarters in Tel Aviv. tion. See titles. elder For its use in religious contexts, see the entry for an in- editorial, news In refer- dividual’s denomination. ences to a newspaper, reserve news for the news department, elderly Use this word care- its employees and news articles. fully and sparingly. Reserve editorial for the depart- It is appropriate in generic ment that prepares the editorial phrases that do not refer to spe- page, its employees and articles cific individuals: concern for the that appear on the editorial page. elderly, a home for the elderly, etc. editor in chief Follow the If the intent is to show that an style of the publication, but in individual’s faculties have deteri- general, no hyphen. Capitalize orated, cite a graphic example when used as a formal title before and give attribution for it. a name: Editor in Chief Horace Apply the same principle to Greeley. terms such as senior citizen. See titles. -elect Always hyphenate and eerie Not eery. lowercase: President-elect Reagan.

effect See the affect, effect Election Day The first Tues- entry. day after the first Monday in No- vember. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Not Elgin. election returns Use figures, with commas every three either Use it to mean one or digits starting at the right and 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 83

counting left. Use the word to (not rassment a hyphen) in separating different totals listed together: Jimmy embassy An embassy is the Carter defeated Gerald Ford official residence of an ambas- 40,827,292 to 39,146,157 in 1976 sador in a foreign country and (this is the actual final figure). the office that handles the politi- Use the word votes if there is cal relations of one nation with any possibility that the figures another. could be confused with a ratio: A consulate, the residence of a Nixon defeated McGovern 16 votes consul in a foreign city, handles to 3 votes in Dixville Notch. the commercial affairs and per- Do not attempt to create adjec- sonal needs of citizens of the ap- tival forms such as the pointing country. 40,827,292-39,146,157 vote. Capitalize with the name of a See vote tabulations. nation; lowercase without it: the French Embassy, the U.S. Em- Electoral College But elec- bassy, the embassy. toral vote(s). emcee, emceed, emcee- electrocardiogram EKG is ing A colloquial verb and noun acceptable on second reference. best avoided. A phrase such as: He was the master of ceremonies ellipsis See entry in Punctua- is preferred. tion chapter. emeritus This word often is El Salvador The use of the added to formal titles to denote article in the name of the nation that individuals who have retired helps to distinguish it from its retain their rank or title. capital, San Salvador. When used, place emeritus Use Salvadoran(s) in refer- after the formal title, in keeping ences to citizens of the nation. with the general practice of academic institutions: Professor Emer- e-mail Short form of electron- itus Samuel Eliot Morison, Dean ic mail. Many e-mail or Internet Emeritus Courtney C. Brown, Pub- addresses use symbols such as lisher Emeritus Barnard L. Colby. the at symbol (@), or the tilde (~) Or: Samuel Eliot Morison, pro- that cannot be transmitted cor- fessor emeritus of history; Court- rectly in some member computing ney C. Brown, dean emeritus of systems. When needed, spell the faculty of business; Barnard L. them out and provide an explana- Colby, publisher emeritus. tory editor’s note. (Also e-commerce, e-business.) emigrate, immigrate One who leaves a country emigrates embargo See the boycott, from it. embargo entry. One who comes into a country immigrates. embargo times See release The same principle holds for times. emigrant and immigrant.

embarrass, embarrass- Emmy, Emmys The annual ing, embarrassed, embar- awards by the Academy of Televi- 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 84

sion Arts & Sciences (for prime- Enovid A trademark for a time programming; based in Los brand of birth control pill. It also Angeles) and the National Acade- may be called norethynodrel with my of Television Arts and Sci- mestranol. ences (for daytime, news and sports; based in New York). enquire, enquiry The preferred words are inquire, inquiry. Empirin A trademark for a brand of aspirin compound. enroll, enrolled, en- rolling employee Not employe. en route Always two words. empty-handed ensign See military titles. enact See the adopt, approve, enact, pass entry. ensure, insure Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were encyclopedia But follow the taken to ensure accuracy. spelling of formal names: Ency- Use insure for references to in- clopaedia Britannica. surance: The policy insures his life. Energy Research and De- velopment Administration entitled Use it to mean a It no longer exists. Its functions right to do or have something. Do were transferred in 1977 to the not use it to mean titled. Department of Energy. Right: She was entitled to the promotion. enforce But reinforce. Right: The book was titled“Gone With the Wind” engine, motor An engine develops its own power, usually enumerations See exam- through internal combustion or ples in the dash and periods en- the pressure of air, steam or tries in the Punctuation chapter. water passing over vanes attached to a wheel: an airplane en- envelop Other verb forms: gine, an automobile engine, a jet enveloping, enveloped. But: enve- engine, a missile engine, a steam lope (n.) engine, a turbine engine. A motor receives power from environment See ecology. an outside source: an electric motor, a hydraulic motor. Environmental Protec- tion Agency EPA is acceptable England London stands on second reference. alone in datelines. Use England after the names of other English envoy Not a formal title. Low- communities in datelines. ercase. See datelines and United See titles. Kingdom. epicenter The point on the English muffin, English Earth’s surface above the under- setter ground center, or focus, of an 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 85

earthquake. the pastor and lay members elect- See earthquakes. ed by the congregation. The clergy consists of bishops, epidemiology priests, deacons and brothers. A priest who heads a parish is de- Episcopal Church Accept- scribed as a rector rather than a able in all references for the pastor. Protestant Episcopal Church in the For first reference to bishops, United States of America, the U.S. use Bishop before the individual’s national church that is a member name: Bishop John M. Allin. An of the Anglican Communion. acceptable alternative in referring The church is governed na- to U.S. bishops is the Rt. Rev. The tionally by two bodies — the per- designation the Most Rev. is used manent Executive Council and before the names of the archbish- the General Convention, which ops of Canterbury and York. meets every three years. For first references, use the After the council, the principal Rev. before the name of a priest, organizational units are, in de- Deacon before the name of a dea- scending order of size, provinces, con. dioceses or missionary districts, See Anglican Communion local parishes and local missions. and religious titles. The National Council is composed of bishops, priests, laymen Episcopal, Episcopalian and laywomen. One bishop is Episcopal is the adjective form; designated the leader and holds use Episcopalian only as a noun the formal title of presiding bish- referring to a member of the Epis- op. copal Church: She is an Episco- The General Convention has palian. But: She is an Episcopal final authority in matters of poli- priest. cy and doctrine. All acts must Capitalize Episcopal when re- pass both of its houses — the ferring to the Episcopal Church. House of Bishops and the House Use lowercase when the reference of Deputies. The latter is com- is simply to a body governed by posed of an equal number of cler- bishops. gy and lay delegates from each diocese. epoch See the historical pe- A province is composed of sev- riods and events entry. eral dioceses. Each has a provincial synod made up of a house of equal An adjective without bishops and a house of deputies. comparative forms. The synod’s primary duty is to co- When people speak of a more ordinate the work of the church equal distribution of wealth, what in its area. is meant is more equitable. Within a diocese, a bishop is the principal official. He is helped Equal Employment Op- by the Diocesan Convention, portunity Commission EEOC which consists of all the clergy in is acceptable on second reference. the diocese and lay representatives from each parish. equal, equaled, equaling The parish or local church is governed by a vestry, composed of equally as Do not use the 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 86

words together; one is sufficient. ERA Acceptable in all refer- Omit the equally shown here ences to baseball’s earned run av- in parentheses: She was (equally) erage. as wise as Marilyn. Acceptable on second refer- Omit the as shown here in ence for Equal Rights Amendment. parentheses: She and Marilyn were equally (as) liberal. eras See the historical periods and events entry. Equal Rights Amend- ment ERA is acceptable on sec- escalator Formerly a trade- ond reference. mark, now a generic term. Ratification required approval by three-fourths (38) of the 50 escalator clause A clause states by June 30, 1982. Ratifica- in a contract providing for in- tion failed when only 35 states creases or decreases in wages, had approved the amendment by prices, etc., based on fluctuations the deadline. The original dead- in the cost of living, production, line was March 22, 1979, but was expenses, etc. extended by Congress. The text: Eskimo, Eskimos Some, es- Section 1. Equality of rights pecially in northern Canada, use under the law shall not be denied the term Inuit for these native or abridged by the United States peoples of northern North Ameri- or by any state on account of sex. ca. Follow the preference of those Section 2. The Congress shall involved in the story. have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provi- espresso The coffee is sions of this article. espresso, not expresso. Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after essential clauses, the date of ratification. nonessential clauses These terms are used in this book in- equal time, fairness doc- stead of restrictive clause and trine Equal time applies to the nonrestrictive clause to convey the Federal Communications Com- distinction between the two in a mission regulation that requires a more easily remembered manner. radio or television station to pro- Both types of clauses provide vide a candidate for political office additional information about a with air time equal to any time word or phrase in the sentence. that an opponent receives beyond The difference between them is the coverage of news events. that the essential clause cannot If a station broadcasts materi- be eliminated without changing al that takes a stand on an issue, the meaning of the sentence — it the FCC’s fairness doctrine may so restricts the meaning of the require it to give advocates of a word or phrase that its absence different position an opportunity would lead to a substantially dif- to respond. ferent interpretation of what the author meant. equator Always lowercase. The nonessential clause, however, can be eliminated without equitable See equal. altering the basic meaning of the 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 87

sentence — it does not restrict the which should appear only when meaning so significantly that its that is used as a conjunction to absence would radically alter the introduce another clause in the author’s thought. same sentence: He said Monday PUNCTUATION: An essential that the part of the army which clause must not be set off from suffered severe casualties needs the rest of a sentence by commas. reinforcement. A nonessential clause must be set See that (conjunction) for off by commas. guidelines on the use of that as a The presence or absence of conjunction. commas provides the reader with critical information about the essential phrases, writer’s intended meaning. Note nonessential phrases These the following examples: terms are used in this book in- —Reporters who do not read stead of restrictive phrase and the Stylebook should not criticize nonrestrictive phrase to convey their editors. (The writer is saying the distinction between the two in that only one class of reporters, a more easily remembered man- those who do not read the Style- ner. book, should not criticize their The underlying concept is the editors. If the who ... Stylebook one that also applies to clauses: phrase were deleted, the meaning An essential phrase is a word of the sentence would be changed or group of words critical to the substantially.) reader’s understanding of what —Reporters, who do not read the author had in mind. the Stylebook, should not criticize A nonessential phrase provides their editors. (The writer is saying more information about some- that all reporters should not criti- thing. Although the information cize their editors. If the who ... may be helpful to the reader’s Stylebook phrase were deleted, comprehension, the reader would this meaning would not be not be misled if the information changed.) were not there. USE OF WHO, WHOM, THAT, PUNCTUATION: Do not set an WHICH. See separate entries on essential phrase off from the rest that (conjunction); that, which of a sentence by commas: (pronouns); who, whom. We saw the award-winning That is the preferred pronoun movie “One Flew Over the Cuck- to introduce essential clauses oo’s Nest.” (No comma, because that refer to an inanimate object many movies have won awards, or an animal without a name. and without the name of the Which is the only acceptable pro- movie the reader would not know noun to introduce a nonessential which movie was meant.) clause that refers to an inanimate They ate dinner with their object or an animal without a daughter Julie. (Because they name. have more than one daughter, the The pronoun which occasion- inclusion of Julie’s name is criti- ally may be substituted for that in cal if the reader is to know which the introduction of an essential daughter is meant.) clause that refers to an inanimate Set off nonessential phrases object or an animal without a by commas: name. In general, this use of We saw the 1975 winner in the 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 88

Academy Award competition for Britain, Denmark and Sweden best picture, “One Flew Over the chose not to adopt the currency. Cuckoo’s Nest.” (Only one movie The Vatican also adopted the won the award. The name is in- euro as its official currency. formative, but even without the Euro bank notes and coins name no other movie could be went into circulation Jan. 1, meant.) 2002. They ate dinner with their daughter Julie and her husband, European Community See David. (Julie has only one hus- European Union. band. If the phrase read and her husband David, it would suggest European Union The Euro- that she had more than one hus- pean Union, based in Brussels, band.) Belgium, was created by the The company chairman, Henry Treaty on European Union signed Ford II, spoke. (In the context, in February 1992 and took effect only one person could be meant.) Nov. 1, 1993. It is an outgrowth Indian corn, or maize, was har- of the 1958 European Economic vested. (Maize provides the reader Community, which itself was with the name of the corn, but its formed out of the 1952 European absence would not change the Coal and Steel Community. The meaning of the sentence.) six founding members of the Eu- DESCRIPTIVE WORDS: Do not ropean Union are France, Ger- confuse punctuation rules for many, Italy, Netherlands, Bel- nonessential clauses with the cor- gium, and Luxembourg. Other rect punctuation when a members are Denmark, Greece, nonessential word is used as a Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the descriptive adjective. The distin- United Kingdom, with Austria, guishing clue often is the lack of Sweden and Finland joining as of an article or pronoun: Jan. 1, 1995. Right: Julie and husband Jeff went shopping. Julie and her hus- evangelical See religious band, Jeff, went shopping. movements. Right: Company Chairman Henry Ford II made the announce- Evangelical Friends Al- ment. The company chairman, liance See Quakers. Henry Ford II, made the announcement. evangelism See religious movements. Eurasian Of European and Asian descent. evangelist Capitalize only in reference to the men credited euro The common currency of with writing the Gospels: The four 12 of the 15 European Union na- Evangelists were Matthew, Mark, tions. Luke and John. Austria, Belgium, Finland, In lowercase, it means a France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, preacher who makes a profession Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portu- of seeking conversions. gal and Spain adopted the euro as of Jan. 1, 1999; Greece offi- eve Capitalize when used cially joined them Jan. 1, 2001. after the name of a holiday: New 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 89

Year’s Eve, Christmas Eve. But: executive branch Always the eve of Christmas. lowercase.

even-steven Not even- executive director Capital- stephen. ize before a name only if it is a formal corporate or organizational every day (adv.) everyday title. (adj.) She goes to work every day. See titles. He wears everyday shoes. Executive Mansion Capi- every one, everyone Two talize only in references to the words when it means each indi- White House. vidual item: Every one of the clues was worthless. Executive Protective Ser- One word when used as a pro- vice It is now the Secret Service noun meaning all persons: Every- Uniformed Division. one wants his life to be happy. See Secret Service. (Note that everyone takes singular verbs and pronouns.) executor Use for both men and women. ex- Use no hyphen for words Not a formal title. Always low- that use ex- in the sense of out of: ercase. excommunicate expropriate See titles. Hyphenate when using ex- in the sense of former: exorcise, exorcism Not ex- ex-convict ex-president orcize. Do not capitalize ex- when attached to a formal title before a expel, expelled, ex- name: ex-President Nixon. The pelling prefix modifies the entire term: ex-New York Gov. Nelson Rocke- Explorers See Boy Scouts. feller; not New York ex-Gov. Usually former is better. Export-Import Bank of the United States Export-Im- exaggerate port Bank is acceptable in all references; Ex-Im Bank is acceptable Excedrin A trademark for a on second reference. brand of aspirin compound. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. except See the accept, except entry. extol, extolled, extolling

exclamation point See extra- Do not use a hyphen when extra means outside of un- entry in Punctuation chapter. less the prefix is followed by a a execute To execute a person word beginning with or a capitalized word: is to kill him in compliance with a extralegal extraterrestrial military order or judicial decision. extramarital extraterritorial See the assassin, killer, mur- But: derer entry and the homicide, extra-alimentary extra-Britannic murder, manslaughter entry. Follow extra- with a hyphen 089-100_E.qrk 2/18/03 10:53 AM Page 90

when it is part of a compound modifier describing a condition beyond the usual size, extent or degree: extra-base hit extra-large book extra-dry drink extra-mild taste extrasensory perception ESP is acceptable on second reference.

extreme unction See sacraments.

Exxon Mobil Corp. Energy corporation formed from the 1999 merger of Exxon and Mobil, both formerly part of Standard Oil. Headquarters is in Irving, Texas, with exploration, production and chemical operations based in Houston. eye, eyed, eyeing eyestrain eye to eye, eye-to-eye Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: an eye-to-eye confrontation. eyewitness 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 91 F face to face When a story SIONS says two people meet for discus- Following is a temperature sions, talks or debate, it is unnec- conversion table. Celsius temper- essary to say they met face to atures have been rounded to the face. nearest whole number. FC FCFC -26 -32 19 -7 64 18 fact-finding (adj.) -24 -31 21 -6 66 19 -22 -30 23 -5 68 20 Faeroe Islands Use in date- -20 -29 25 -4 70 21 lines after a community name in -18 -28 27 -3 72 22 stories from this group of Danish -17 -27 28 -2 73 23 islands in the northern Atlantic -15 -26 30 -1 75 24 Ocean between Iceland and the -13 -25 32 0 77 25 -11 -24 34 1 79 26 Shetland Islands. -9 -23 36 2 81 27 -8 -22 37 3 82 28 Fahrenheit The temperature -6 -21 39 4 84 29 scale commonly used in the Unit- -4 -20 41 5 86 30 ed States. -2 -19 43 6 88 31 The scale is named for Gabriel 0 -18 45 7 90 32 1 -17 46 8 91 33 Daniel Fahrenheit, a German 3 -16 48 9 93 34 physicist who designed it. In it, 5 -15 50 10 95 35 the freezing point of water is 32 7 -14 52 11 97 36 degrees and the boiling point is 9 -13 54 12 99 37 212 degrees. 10 -12 55 13 100 38 To convert to Celsius, subtract 12 -11 57 14 102 39 14 -10 59 15 104 40 32 from Fahrenheit figure, multi- 16 -9 61 16 106 41 ply by 5 and divide by 9 (77 - 32 18 -8 63 17 108 42 = 45, times 5 = 225, divided by 9 = 25 degrees Celsius.) fairness doctrine See the In cases that require mention equal time, fairness doctrine of the scale, use these forms: 86 entry. degrees Fahrenheit or 86 F (note the space and no period after the fall See seasons. F) if degrees and Fahrenheit are clear from the context. fallout (n.) See Celsius and Kelvin. For guidelines on when Cel- false titles Often derived sius temperatures should be from occupational titles or other used, see metric system entry. labels. TEMPERATURE CONVER- Always lowercase. See titles. 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 92

family names Capitalize litical parties and philosophies words denoting family relation- entry. ships only when they precede the name of a person or when they father Use the Rev. in first stand unmodified as a substitute reference before the names of for a person’s name: I wrote to Episcopal, Orthodox and Roman Grandfather Smith. I wrote Mother Catholic priests. Use Father be- a letter. I wrote my mother a letter. fore a name only in direct quotations. Fannie May A trademark for See religious titles. a brand of candy. Father’s Day The third Sun- Far East The easternmost day in June. portions of the continent of Asia: China, Japan, North and South father-in-law, fathers-in- Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and law the eastern portions of Russia. Confine Far East to this re- Father Time stricted sense. Use the Far East and Southeast Asia when refer- fax (n.) or (v.) Acceptable as ring to a wider portion of eastern short version of facsimile or fac- Asia. simile machine in all uses. See the Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia entries. faze, phase Faze means to embarrass or disturb: The snub far-flung (adj.) did not faze her. Phase denotes an aspect or farmworker stage: They will phase in a new system. far-off (adj.) FBI Acceptable in all refer- far-ranging (adj.) ences for Federal Bureau of Inves- tigation. farsighted When used in a medical sense, it means that a feather bedding, feath- person can see objects at a dis- erbedding Feather bedding is a tance but has difficulty seeing mattress stuffed with feathers. materials at close range. Featherbedding is the practice of requiring an employer to hire farther, further Farther more workers than needed to refers to physical distance: He handle a job. walked farther into the woods. Further refers to an extension features They are not ex- of time or degree: She will look empt from normal style rules. See further into the mystery. special contexts for guidelines on some limited exceptions. Far West For the U.S. region, generally west of the Rocky February See months. Mountains. federal Use a capital letter fascism, fascist See the po- for the architectural style and for 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 93

corporate or governmental bodies Federal Emergency Man- that use the word as part of their agement Agency FEMA is ac- formal names: Federal Express, ceptable on second reference. the Federal Trade Commission. (See separate entries for govern- Federal Energy Regulato- mental agencies.) ry Commission This agency re- Lowercase when used as an placed the Federal Power Com- adjective to distinguish some- mission in 1977. It regulates in- thing from state, county, city, terstate natural gas and electrici- town or private entities: federal ty transactions. assistance, federal court, the fed- FERC is acceptable on second eral government, a federal judge. reference, but the agency or the Also: federal District Court (but commission is preferred. U.S. District Court is preferred) and federal Judge Ann Aldrich Federal Farm Credit (but U.S. District Judge Ann Board Do not abbreviate. Aldrich is preferred). Federal Highway Admin- Federal Aviation Admin- istration Reserve the FHA ab- istration FAA is acceptable on breviation for the Federal Housing second reference. Administration. Federal Bureau of Inves- Federal Home Loan Bank tigation FBI is acceptable in all Board Do not abbreviate. references. To avoid alphabet soup, however, use the bureau in Federal Home Loan Mort- some references. gage Corp. See Freddie Mac entry in Business section. Federal Communications Commission FCC is acceptable Federal Housing Admin- on second reference. istration FHA is acceptable on second reference. federal court Always lowercase. federal legal holidays See The preferred form for first ref- the holidays and holy days erence is to use the proper name entry. of the court. See entries under U.S. and the court name. Federal Mediation and Do not create nonexistent enti- Conciliation Service Do not ties such as Manhattan Federal abbreviate. Use the service on Court. Instead, use a federal court second reference. in Manhattan. See judicial branch. Federal National Mort- gage Association See Fannie Federal Crop Insurance Mae entry in Business section. Corp. Do not abbreviate. Federal Power Commis- Federal Deposit Insur- sion It no longer exists. See Fed- ance Corp. FDIC is acceptable eral Energy Regulatory Com- on second reference. mission. 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 94

Federal Register This pub- actually spends time in confine- lication, issued every workday, is ment or is given probation or a the legal medium for recording fine instead. and communicating the rules and See the prison, jail entry. regulations established by the executive branch of the federal gov- Ferris wheel ernment. Individuals or corporations ferryboat cannot be held legally responsible for compliance with a regulation fertility rate As calculated unless it has been published in by the federal government, it is the Register. the number of live births per In addition, executive agencies 1,000 females age 15 through 44 are required to publish in ad- years. vance some types of proposed regulations. fewer, less In general, use fewer for individual items, less for Federal Reserve System, bulk or quantity. Federal Reserve Board On Wrong: The trend is toward second reference, use the Federal more machines and less people. Reserve, the Reserve, the Fed, the (People in this sense refers to in- system or the board. dividuals.) Also: the Federal Reserve Bank Wrong: She was fewer than 60 of New York (Boston, etc.), the years old. (Years in this sense bank. refers to a period of time, not individual years.) Federal Trade Commis- Right: Fewer than 10 appli- sion FTC is acceptable on second cants called. (Individuals.) reference. Right: I had less than $50 in my pocket. (An amount.) But: I felony, misdemeanor A had fewer than 50 $1 bills in my felony is a serious crime. A misde- pocket. (Individual items.) meanor is a minor offense against the law. fiance (man) fiancee A fuller definition of what con- (woman) stitutes a felony or misdemeanor depends on the governmental ju- Fiberglas Note the single s. A risdiction involved. trademark for fiberglass or glass At the federal level, a misde- fiber. meanor is a crime that carries a potential penalty of no more than field house a year in jail. A felony is a crime that carries a potential penalty of figuratively, literally Figu- more than a year in prison. Often, ratively means in an analogous however, a statute gives a judge sense, but not in the exact sense. options such as imposing a fine He bled them white. or probation in addition to or in- Literally means in an exact stead of a jail or prison sentence. sense; do not use it figuratively. A felon is a person who has Wrong: He literally bled them been convicted of a felony, re- white. (Unless the blood was gardless of whether the individual drained from their bodies.) 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 95

figure The symbol for a num- the first degree. He was convicted ber: the figure 5. of first-degree murder. See numerals. first family Always lower- filibuster To filibuster is to case. make long speeches to obstruct the passage of legislation. first lady Not a formal title. A legislator who used such Do not capitalize, even when used methods also is a filibuster, not a before the name of a chief of filibusterer. state’s wife. See titles. Filipinos The people of the Philippines. first quarter, first-quarter Hyphenate when used as a film ratings See movie rat- compound modifier: He scored in ings. the first quarter. The team took the lead on his first-quarter goal. financial editor Capitalize only as formal title before a name. fiscal, monetary Fiscal ap- See titles. plies to budgetary matters. Monetary applies to money Finland A Nordic state, not supply. part of Scandinavia. fiscal year The 12-month firearms See weapons. period that a corporation or governmental body uses for book- fire department See the keeping purposes. governmental bodies entry for The federal government’s fiscal the basic rules on capitalization. year starts three months ahead of See titles and military titles the calendar year — fiscal 1987, for guidelines on titles. for example, ran from Oct. 1, 1986, to Sept. 30, 1987. firefighter, fireman The preferred term to describe a per- fitful It means restless, not a son who fights fire is firefighter. condition of being fit. One meaning of fireman is a person who tends fires in a fur- fjord nace. Fireman is also an acceptable synonym for firefighter. flack, flak Flack is slang for press agent. firm A business partnership Flak is a type of anti-aircraft is correctly referred to as a firm. fire, hence figuratively a barrage He joined a law firm. of criticism. Do not use firm in references to an incorporated business enti- flagpole, flagship ty. Use the company or the corporation instead. flail, flay To flail is to swing the arms widely. first degree, first-degree To flay is, literally, to strip off Hyphenate when used as a com- the skin by whipping. Figurative- pound modifier: It was murder in ly, to flay means to tongue-lash a 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 96

person. Do not use when a formal title such as majority leader, minority flair, flare Flair is conspicu- leader or whip would be the accu- ous talent. rate description. Flare is a verb meaning to See the legislative titles and blaze with sudden, bright light or titles entries. to burst out in anger. It is also a noun meaning a flame. floppy disk Use diskette.

flak See the flack, flak entry. Florida Abbrev.: Fla. See state names. flare up (v.) flare-up (n.) See the flair, flare entry. Florida Keys A chain of small islands extending south- flash flood See weather terms. west from the southern tip of mainland Florida. flaunt, flout To flaunt is to Cities, or the islands them- make an ostentatious or defiant selves, are followed by Fla. in display: She flaunted her intelli- datelines: gence. KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — To flout is to show contempt for: He flouts the law. flounder, founder A flounder is a fish; to flounder is to flautist The preferred word is move clumsily or jerkily, to flop flutist. about: The fish floundered on land. fleet Use figures and capital- To founder is to bog down, be- ize fleet when forming a proper come disabled or sink: The ship name: the 6th Fleet. floundered in the heavy seas for Lowercase fleet whenever it hours, then foundered. stands alone. flout See the flaunt, flout flier, flyer Flier is the pre- entry. ferred term for an aviator or a handbill.Flyer is the proper name flowers See plants. of some trains and buses: The Western Flyer. fluid ounce Equal to 1.8 flimflam, flimflammed cubic inches, two tablespoons or six teaspoons. The metric equiva- flip-flop lent is approximately 30 milliliters. floods, flood stage See To convert to milliliters, multi- weather terms. ply by 30 (3 ounces x 30 equals 90 milliliters). floodwaters See liter.

floor leader Treat it as a job fluorescent description, lowercased, rather than a formal title: Republican flush To become red in the floor leader John Smith. face. See livid. 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 97

flutist The preferred term, Lowercase is used, however, rather than flautist. when the food does not depend on the proper noun or adjective flyer See the flier, flyer for its meaning: french fries, gra- entry. ham crackers, manhattan cocktail. If a question arises, check the FM Acceptable in all refer- separate entries in this book. If ences for the frequency modula- there is no entry, follow Webster’s tion system of radio transmission. New World. Use lowercase if the dictionary lists it as an acceptable f.o.b. Acceptable on first ref- form for the sense in which the erence for free on board. The con- word is used. cept should be explained, howev- The same principles apply to er, in contexts not addressed to foreign names for foods: mousse business-oriented audiences: The de saumon (salmon mousse), seller agrees to put an item on a pomme de terre (literally,“apple of truck, ship, etc., at no charge, the earth”— for potato), salade but the transportation costs must Russe (Russian salad). be paid by the buyer. Food and Agriculture Or- -fold No hyphen: ganization Not Agricultural. twofold fourfold FAO is acceptable on second reference to this U.N. agency. folk singer, folk song Food and Drug Adminis- following The word usually tration FDA is acceptable on is a noun, verb or adjective: He second reference. has a large following. He is following his conscience. The following foot The basic unit of length statement was made. in the measuring system that has Although Webster’s New World been used in the United States. records its use as a preposition, Its origin was a calculation that the preferred word is after: He this was the length of the average spoke after dinner. Not: He spoke human foot. following dinner. The metric equivalent is exactly 30.48 centimeters, which may follow-up (n. and adj.) Use be rounded to 30 centimeters for two words (no hyphen) in verb most comparisons. form. For most conversions to centimeters, it is adequate to multi- food Most food names are ply 30 (5 feet x 30 equals 150 lowercase: apples, cheese, peanut centimeters). For more exact fig- butter. ures, multiply by 30.48 (5 feet x Capitalize brand names and 30.48 equals 152.4 centimeters). trademarks: Roquefort cheese, To convert to meters, multiply Tabasco sauce. by .3 (5 feet x .3 equals 1.5 me- Most proper nouns or adjec- ters). tives are capitalized when they See centimeter; meter; and occur in a food name: Boston dimensions. brown bread, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, Waldorf salad. foot-and-mouth disease 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 98

forbear, forebear To for- foreign legislative bod- bear is to avoid or shun. ies In general, capitalize the A forebear is an ancestor. proper name of a specific legislative body abroad, whether using forbid, forbade, forbid- the name in a foreign language or ding an English equivalent. The most frequent names in forcible rape A redundancy use are congress, national assem- that usually should be avoided. It bly and parliament. may be used, however, in stories GENERIC USES: Lowercase dealing with both rape and statu- parliament or a similar term only tory rape, which does not neces- when used generically to describe sarily involve the use of force. a body for which the foreign name is being given: the Diet, Japan’s Ford Motor Co. Use Ford, parliament. not FMC, on second reference. PLURALS: Lowercase parlia- Headquarters is in Dearborn, ment and similar terms in plural Mich. constructions: the parliaments of England and France, the English fore- The rules in prefixes and French parliaments. apply, but in general, no hyphen. INDIVIDUAL HOUSES: The Some examples: principle applies also to individ- forebrain foregoing ual houses of the nation’s legisla- forefather foretooth ture, just as Senate and House There are three nautical ex- are capitalized in the United ceptions, based on long-standing States: practice: ROME (AP) — New leaders fore-topgallant fore-topsail have taken control in the Chamber fore-topmast of Deputies. Lowercase assembly when forecast Use forecast also for used as a shortened reference to the past tense, not forecasted. national assembly. See weather terms. In many countries, national assembly is the name of a uni- forego, forgo To forego cameral legislative body. In some, means to go before, as in foregone such as France, it is the name for conclusion. the lower house of a legislative To forgo means to abstain body known by some other name from. such as parliament.

foreign governmental foreign money Generally, bodies Capitalize the names of amounts of foreign money men- the specific foreign governmental tioned in news stories should be agencies and departments, either converted to dollars. If it is neces- with the name of the nation or sary to mention the foreign without it if clear in the context: amount, provide the dollar equiv- French Foreign Ministry, the For- alent in parentheses. eign Ministry. The basic monetary units of Lowercase the ministry or a nations are listed in Webster’s similar term when standing New World Dictionary under alone. “Monetary Units of All Nations.” 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 99

Do not use the exchange rates if they are clear in the context. listed in the dictionary. Instead, Many foreign words and their use, as appropriate, the official abbreviations are not understood exchange rates, which change universally, although they may be from day to day on the world’s used in special applications such markets. as medical or legal terminology. If such a word or phrase is needed foreign names For foreign in a story, place it in quotation place names, use the primary marks and provide an explana- spelling in Webster’s New World tion: “ad astra per aspera,” a Dictionary. If it has no entry, fol- Latin phrase meaning “to the stars low the National Geographic Atlas through difficulty.” of the World. For personal names, follow the foreman, forewoman Sel- individual’s preference for an dom a formal title. English spelling if it can be determined. Otherwise: formal titles See titles. —Use the nearest phonetic equivalent in English if one ex- former Always lowercase. Alexander Solzhenitsyn ists: , for But retain capitalization for a for- example, rather than Aleksandr, mal title used immediately before the spelling that would result a name: former President Nixon. from a transliteration of the Russian letters into the English Formica A trademark for a alphabet. If a name has no close phonet- brand of laminated plastic. ic equivalent in English, express See Taiwan. it with an English spelling that Formosa approximates the sound in the Formosa Strait Not the original language: Anwar Sadat. straits of Taiwan For additional guidelines, see . Arabic names; Chinese names; Portuguese names; Russian formula, formulas Use fig- names; Spanish names. ures in writing formulas, as illustrated in the entries on metric foreign particles Lower- units. case particles such as de, la, and von when part of a given name: forsake, forsook, forsak- Charles de Gaulle, Baron Manfred en von Richthofen. Capitalize the particles only fort Do not abbreviate, for when the last name starts a sen- cities or for military installations. tence: De Gaulle spoke to von In datelines for cities: Richthofen. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — foreign words Some foreign In datelines for military instal- words and abbreviations have lations: been accepted universally into the FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — English language: bon voyage; versus, vs.; et cetera, etc. They fortnight The expression two may be used without explanation weeks is preferred. 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 100

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FORTRAN A computer pro- The federal legal holiday is ob- gramming language. Acronym for served on Friday if July 4 falls on Formula Translation. Use of a Saturday, on Monday if it falls acronym on first reference is ac- on a Sunday. ceptable if it is identified as a programming language. 4x4 Four-wheel drive is preferred, unless 4x4 is part of the fortuneteller, for- car model’s proper name. tunetelling fractions Spell out amounts forty, forty-niner ’49er is less than 1 in stories, using hy- acceptable. phens between the words: two- thirds, four-fifths, seven-six- forward Not forwards. teenths, etc. Use figures for precise foul, fowl Foul means offen- amounts larger than 1, convert- sive, out of line. ing to decimals whenever practi- A fowl is a bird, especially the cal. larger domestic birds used as Fractions are preferred, how- food: chickens, ducks, turkeys. ever, in stories about stocks. See stock market prices. founder See the flounder, When using fractional charac- founder entry. ters, remember that most newspaper type fonts can set only 1/8, Founding Fathers Capital- 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4 and 7/8 ize when referring to the authors as one unit; use 11/2, 25/8, etc. of the U.S. Constitution. with no space between the figure and the fraction. Other fractions four-flush (stud poker) require a hyphen and individual figures, with a space between the Four-H Club 4-H Club is pre- whole number and the fraction: 1 ferred. Members are 4-H’ers. 3-16, 2 1-3, 5 9-10. In tabular material, use fig- four-star general ures exclusively, converting to decimals if the amounts involve Fourth Estate Capitalize extensive use of fractions that when used as a collective name cannot be expressed as a single for journalism and journalists. character. The description is attributed to See percentages. Edmund Burke, who is reported to have called the reporters’ fragment, fragmentary gallery in Parliament a“Fourth Fragment describes a piece or Estate” pieces broken from the whole: The three estates of early Eng- She sang a fragment of the song. lish society were the Lords Spiri- Fragmentary describes discon- tual (the clergy), the Lords Tem- nected and incomplete parts: poral (the nobility) and the Com- Early returns were fragmentary. mons (the bourgeoisie). frame up (v.) frame-up (n.) Fourth of July, July Fourth Also Independence Day. frankfurters They were first 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 101

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called hot dogs in 1906 when a Lowercase the legion and le- cartoonist, T.A. “Tad” Dorgan, gionnaires. Unlike the situation showed a dachshund inside an with the American Legion, the elongated bun. French Foreign Legion is a group of active soldiers. fraternal organizations and service clubs Capitalize french fries See capitaliza- the proper names: American Le- tion and food. gion, Lions Club, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Rotary frequency modulation FM Club. is acceptable in all references. Capitalize also words describing membership: He is a Legion- Friday See days of the naire, a Lion, an Odd Fellow, an week. Optimist and a Rotarian. See American Legion for the ratio- Friends General Confer- nale on Legionnaire. ence, Friends United Meet- Capitalize the formal titles of ing See Quakers. officeholders when used before a name. Frigidaire A trademark for a See titles. brand of refrigerator.

free-for-all (n. and adj.) Frisbee A trademark for a plastic disc thrown as a toy. Use freelance (v. and adj.) The Frisbee disc for the trademarked noun: freelancer. (No hyphen is a version and flying disc for other change in AP style.) generic versions.

free on board See f.o.b. front line (n.) front-line (adj.) freewheeling front page (n.) front-page Free World An imprecise de- (adj.) scription. Use only in quoted matter. front-runner

freeze-dry, freeze-dried, frost See weather terms. freeze-drying fruits See food. freezing drizzle, freezing rain See weather terms. fulfill, fulfilled, fulfilling

French Canadian, French full- Hyphenate when used to Canadians Without a hyphen. form compound modifiers: An exception to the normal prac- full-dress full-page tice in describing a dual ethnic full-fledged full-scale heritage. full-length See the listings that follow and French Foreign Legion Re- Webster’s New World Dictionary tain capitalization if shortened to for the spelling of other combina- the Foreign Legion. tions. 101-112_F.qrk 2/18/03 11:13 AM Page 102

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full house (poker)

full time, full-time Hy- phenate when used as a compound modifier: He works full time. She has a full-time job.

fulsome It means disgust- ingly excessive. Do not use it to mean lavish or profuse.

fundamentalist See religious movements. fund raising, fund-raising, fund-raiser Fund raising is difficult. They planned a fund- raising campaign. A fund-raiser was hired. The organization is planning a fund-raiser.

funnel cloud See weather terms. furlough

further See the farther, further entry. fuselage fusillade 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 103 G G The general audience rating. gamy, gamier, gamiest See movie ratings. garnish, garnishee Gar- gage, gauge A gage is secu- nish means to adorn or decorate. rity or a pledge. As a verb, garnishee (gar- A gauge is a measuring device. nisheed, garnisheeing) means to Gauge is also a term used to attach a debtor’s property or designate the size of shotguns. wages to satisfy a debt. As a See weapons. noun, it identifies the individual whose property was attached. gaiety gauge See the gage, gauge gale See weather terms. entry.

gallon Equal to 128 fluid gay Acceptable as popular ounces. The metric equivalent is synonym for both male and fe- approximately 3.8 liters. male homosexuals (n. and adj.), To convert to liters, multiply although it is generally associated by 3.8 (3 gallons x 3.8 = 11.4 with males, while lesbian is the liters). more common term for female ho- See imperial gallon; liter; mosexuals. Avoid references to and metric system. gay, homosexual or alternative“lifestyle” Gallup Poll Prepared by the Gallup Organization, Princeton, General Accounting Of- N.J. The separate Gallup Youth fice The General Accounting Of- Survey is prepared by the George fice is a nonpartisan congression- H. Gallup International Institute. al agency that audits federal programs. game plan GAO is acceptable on second reference. gamut, gantlet, gauntlet A gamut is a scale of notes or any general assembly See leg- complete range or extent. islature for its treatment as the A gantlet is a flogging ordeal, name of a state’s legislative body. literally or figuratively. Capitalize when it is the for- A gauntlet is a glove. To throw mal name for the ruling or con- down the gauntlet means to issue sultative body of an organization: a challenge. To take up the gaunt- the General Assembly of the World let means to accept a challenge. Council of Churches. 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 104

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General Assembly (U.N.) genie Not jinni, the spelling General Assembly may be used under which Webster’s New on the first reference in a story World gives the definition. under a United Nations dateline. Use U.N. General Assembly in gentile Generally, any per- other first references, the General son not a Jew; often, specifically Assembly or the assembly in sub- a Christian. But to Mormons it is sequent references. anyone not a Mormon.

general court Part of the of- gentleman Do not use as a ficial proper name for the legisla- synonym for man. See lady. tures in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Capitalize specific genus, species In scientific references with or without the or biological names, capitalize the state name: the Massachusetts first, or generic, Latin name for the class of plant or animal and General Court, the General Court. lowercase the species that fol- In keeping with the accepted lows: Homo sapiens, Tyran- Legislature practice, however, nosaurus rex. may be used instead and treated as a proper name. See legisla- geographic names The ture. basic guidelines: Lowercase legislature in a DOMESTIC: The authority for generic use such as: The General spelling place names in the 50 Court is the legislature in Massa- states and territories is the U.S. chusetts. Postal Service Directory of Post Offices, with two exceptions: General Electric Co. GE is —Do not use the postal abbre- acceptable on second reference. viations for state names. For ac- Headquarters is in Fairfield, ceptable abbreviations, see en- Conn. tries in this book under each state’s name. See state names general, general of the for rules on when the abbrevia- air force, general of the tions may be used. army See military titles. —Abbreviate Saint as St. (But abbreviate Sault Sainte Marie as general manager Capital- Sault Ste. Marie.) ize only as a formal title before a FOREIGN: The first source for name. the spelling of all foreign place See titles. names is Webster’s New World Dictionary as follows: General Motors Corp. GM —Use the first-listed spelling if is acceptable on second reference. an entry gives more than one. Headquarters is in Detroit. —If the dictionary provides different spellings in separate en- General Services Admin- tries, use the spelling that is fol- istration GSA is acceptable on lowed by a full description of the second reference. location. If the dictionary does not have Geneva Conventions Note an entry, use the first-listed the final s. spelling in the National Geo- 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 105

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graphic Atlas of the World. In most cases, section, district, On the Net: slum area or quarter is the more www.nationalgeographic.com accurate word. Sometimes a place NEW NAMES: Follow the name alone has connotations that styles adopted by the United Na- make it best: Harlem, Watts. tions and the U.S. Board on Geo- graphic Names on new cities, new gibe, jibe To gibe means to independent nations and nations taunt or sneer: They gibed him that change their names. about his mistakes. DATELINES: See the datelines Jibe means to shift direction entry. or, colloquially, to agree: They CAPITALIZATION: Capitalize jibed their ship across the wind. common nouns when they form Their stories didn’t jibe. an integral part of a proper name, but lowercase them when they Gibraltar, Strait of Not stand alone: Pennsylvania Av- Straits. The entrance to the enue, the avenue; the Philippine Mediterranean from the Atlantic Islands, the islands; the Mississip- Ocean. The British colony on the pi River, the river. peninsula that juts into the strait Lowercase common nouns stands alone in datelines as that are not a part of a specific GIBRALTAR. name: the Pacific islands, the Swiss mountains, Zhejiang giga- A prefix denoting 1 bil- province. lion units of a measure. Move a For additional guidelines, see decimal point nine places to the addresses; capitalization; the di- right, adding zeros if necessary, rections and regions entry; and to convert to the basic unit: 5.5 island. gigatons = 5,500,000,000 tons.

Georgia Abbrev.: Ga. See GI, GIs Soldier is preferred state names. unless the story contains the term in quoted matter or involves German measles Also a subject such as the GI Bill of known as rubella. Rights.

Germany East Germany and girl Applicable until 18th West Germany were reunited as birthday is reached. Use woman of Oct. 3, 1990. Berlin stands or young woman afterward. alone in datelines. girlfriend, boyfriend getaway (n.) Girl Scouts The full name of get-together (n.) the national organization is Girl Scouts of the United States of ghetto, ghettos Do not use America. Headquarters is in New indiscriminately as a synonym for York. the sections of cities inhabited by Girls 6 through 8 are Brownie minorities or the poor. Ghetto has Girl Scouts or Brownies. Girls 9 a connotation that government through 11 are Junior Girl Scouts decree has forced people to live in or Juniors. Girls 12 through 14 a certain area. are Cadette Girl Scouts or 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 106

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Cadettes. Girls 15 through 17 are goodbye Not goodby. Senior Girl Scouts or Seniors. See Boy Scouts. Good Conduct Medal

glamour One of the few our Good Friday The Friday be- endings still used in American fore Easter. writing. But the adjective is glam- orous. good, well Good is an adjective that means something is as it Global Positioning Sys- should be or is better than aver- tem If a descriptive word is used age. following, use it in lowercase: The When used as an adjective, Global Positioning System well means suitable, proper, satellite. Use GPS on second ref- healthy. When used as an adverb, erence. well means in a satisfactory manner or skillfully. globe-trotter, globe-trot- Good should not be used as an ting But the proper name of the adverb. It does not lose its status basketball team is the Harlem as an adjective in a sentence Globetrotters. such as I feel good. Such a statement is the idiomatic equivalent GMT For Greenwich Mean of I am in good health. An alterna- Time. See time zones. tive, I feel well, could be interpreted as meaning that your gobbledygook sense of touch was good. See the bad, badly entry and go-between (n.) well. godchild, goddaughter good will (n.) goodwill Also: godfather, godliness, god- (adj.) mother, godsend, godson, god- Grand Old Party speed. Always lowercase. GOP See . Gospel(s), gospel Capital- gods and goddesses Capi- ize when referring to any or all of talize God in references to the the first four books of the New deity of all monotheistic religions. Testament: the Gospel of St. John, Capitalize all noun references to the Gospels. the deity: God the Father, Holy Lowercase in other references: Ghost, Holy Spirit, etc. Lowercase She is a famous gospel singer. personal pronouns: he, him, thee, thou. gourmand, gourmet A Lowercase gods and goddess- gourmand is a person who likes es in references to the deities of good food and tends to eat to ex- polytheistic religions. cess; a glutton. Lowercase god, gods and god- A gourmet is a person who desses in references to false gods: likes fine food and is an excellent He made money his god. judge of food and drink. See religious references. government Always lower- go-go case, never abbreviate: the federal 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 107

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government, the state government, For additional examples, see the U.S. government. legislature; police department; and the prison, jail entry. governmental bodies Fol- PLURALS, NONSPECIFIC REF- low these guidelines: ERENCES: All words that are FULL NAME: Capitalize the capitalized when part of a proper full proper names of governmen- name should be lowercased when tal agencies, departments, and of- they are used in the plural or do fices: The U.S. Department of not refer to a specific, existing State, the Georgia Department of body. Some examples: Human Resources, the Boston City All states except Nebraska Council, the Chicago Fire Depart- have a state senate. The town ment. does not have a fire department. WITHOUT JURISDICTION: Re- The bill requires city councils to tain capitalization in referring to provide matching funds. The a specific body if the dateline or president will address the lower context makes the name of the houses of the New York and New nation, state, county, city, etc. Jersey legislatures. unnecessary: The Department of FOREIGN BODIES: The same State (in a story from Washing- principles apply. See foreign ton), the Department of Human governmental bodies and for- Resources or the state Department eign legislative bodies. of Human Resources (in a story from Georgia), the City Council (in government, junta, a story from Boston), the Fire De- regime A government is an es- partment or the city Fire Depart- tablished system of political ad- ment (in a story from Chicago). ministration: the U.S. government. Lowercase further condensa- A junta is a group or council tions of the name: the depart- that often rules after a coup: A ment, the council, etc. military junta controls the nation. For additional guidance see A junta becomes a government assembly; city council; commit- after it establishes a system of tee; congress; legislature; political administration. house of representatives; sen- The word regime is a synonym ate; Supreme Court of the Unit- for political system: a democratic ed States; and supreme courts regime, an authoritarian regime. of the states. Do not use regime to mean gov- FLIP-FLOPPED NAMES: Re- ernment or junta. For example, tain capital names for the name use the Franco government in re- of a governmental body if its for- ferring to the government of mal name is flopped to delete the Spain under Francisco Franco, word of: the State Department, the not Franco regime. But: The Fran- Human Resources Department. co government was an authoritari- GENERIC EQUIVALENTS: If a an regime. generic term has become the An administration consists of equivalent of a proper name in officials who make up the execu- popular use, treat it as a proper tive branch of a government: the name: Walpole State Prison, for Reagan administration. example, even though the proper name is the Massachusetts Cor- governor Capitalize and ab- rectional Institute-Walpole. breviate as Gov. or Govs. when 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 108

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used as a formal title before one gram The basic unit of weight or more names in regular text. in the metric system. It is the Capitalize and spell out when weight of 1 cubic centimeter of used as a formal title before one water at 4 degrees Celsius. or more names in direct quota- A gram is roughly equivalent tions. to the weight of a paper clip, or Lowercase and spell out in all approximately one-twenty-eighth other uses. of an ounce. See the next entry and titles. To convert to ounces, multiply by .035 (86 grams x .035 equals 3 governor general, gover- ounces). nors general The formal title See metric system. for the British sovereign’s representatives in Canada and else- grammar where. Do not abbreviate in any use. granddad, granddaugh- ter Also: grandfather, grandmoth- grade, grader Hyphenate er, grandson. both the noun forms (first-grader, second-grader, 10th-grader, etc.) grand jury Always lower- and the adjectival forms (a fourth- case: a Los Angeles County grand grade pupil, a 12th-grade pupil). jury, the grand jury. This style has been adopted graduate (v.) Graduate is because, unlike the case with city correctly used in the active voice: council and similar governmental She graduated from the university. units, a jurisdiction frequently It is correct, but unnecessary, has more than one grand jury to use the passive voice: He was session. graduated from the university. Grand Old Party GOP is ac- Do not, however, drop from: ceptable as a second-reference John Adams graduated from Har- synonym for Republican Party vard. John Adams graduated Not: without first spelling out Grand Harvard. Old Party. graham, graham crackers grant-in-aid, grants-in- The crackers are made from a aid finely ground whole-wheat flour named for Sylvester Graham, a gray Not grey. But: U.S. dietary reformer. greyhound.

grain The smallest unit in the great- Hyphenate great- system of weights that has been grandfather, great-great-grand- used in the United States. It origi- mother, etc. nally was defined as the weight of Use great grandfather only if 1 grain of wheat. the intended meaning is that the It takes 437.5 grains to make grandfather was a great man. an ounce. There are 7,000 grains to a pound. Great Atlantic & Pacific See ounce (weight) and Tea Co. Inc. A&P is acceptable pound. in all references. 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 109

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Headquarters is in Montvale, gringo See the nationalities N.J. and races entry.

Great Britain It consists of grisly, grizzly Grisly is hor- England, Scotland and Wales, but rifying, repugnant. not Northern Ireland. Grizzly means grayish or is a Britain is acceptable in all ref- short form for grizzly bear. erences. See United Kingdom. grits Ground hominy. The word normally takes plural verbs Great Depression See De- and pronouns: Grits are to coun- pression. try ham what Yorkshire pudding is to roast beef. greater Capitalize when used to define a community and its gross domestic product surrounding region: Greater The sum of all goods and services Boston. produced within U.S. borders, it is calculated quarterly by the Great Lakes The five, from Commerce Department. the largest to the smallest: Lake Lowercase in all uses, but GDP Superior, Lake Huron, Lake is acceptable in later references. Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake On- tario. Groundhog Day Feb. 2. Great Plains Capitalize groundskeeper Great Plains or the Plains when referring to the U.S. prairie lands groundswell that extend from North Dakota to Texas and from the Rocky Moun- ground zero tains east toward the Mississippi River valley. Use northern Plains, group Takes singular verbs southwestern Plains, etc., when and pronouns: The group is re- referring to a portion of the reviewing its position. gion. grown-up (n. and adj.) Greek Orthodox Archdio- cese of America See Eastern G-string Orthodox churches. Guadalupe (Mexico) Greek Orthodox Church See Eastern Orthodox churches. Guadeloupe (West Indies)

Green Revolution The sub- Guam Use in datelines after stantial increase in agricultural the name of a community. See yields that resulted from the de- datelines. velopment of new varieties of grains. guarantee Preferred to guar- anty, except in proper names. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) See time zones and guard Usually a job descrip- meridians. tion, not a formal title. See titles. 113-120_G.qrk 3/3/03 2:46 PM Page 110

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guardsman See National stantly on the move. Guard and Coast Guardsman. gypsy moth Guatemala City Stands alone in datelines. gubernatorial

guerrilla Unorthodox soldiers and their tactics.

guest Do not use as a verb except in quoted matter. (An exception to a use recorded by Web- ster’s New World.)

Guild, The See Newspaper Guild, The. Guinness Book of Records

Gulf Coast Capitalize when referring to the region of the Unit- ed States lying along the Gulf of Mexico. See coast.

Gulf Oil Corp. Headquarters is in Pittsburgh.

Gulf Stream But the racetrack is Gulfstream Park. gunbattle, gunboat, gun- fight, gunfire, gunpoint, gunpowder

gung-ho A colloquialism to be used sparingly.

guns See weapons. guru

Gypsy, Gypsies Capitalize references to the nomadic Cauca- soid people found throughout the world. Also known as Roma. Lowercase when used generically to mean one who is con- 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 111 H habeas corpus A writ order- half-blood half-moon ing a person in custody to be half-cocked half-sole (v.) half-hour half-truth brought before a court. It places the burden of proof on those de- half-mast, half-staff On taining the person to justify the ships and at naval stations detention. ashore, flags are flown at half- When habeas corpus is used mast. in a story, define it. Elsewhere ashore, flags are flown at half-staff. Hades But lowercase hell. hallelujah Hague, The In datelines: THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) Halley’s comet After Ed- — mund Halley, an English as- In text: The Hague. tronomer who predicted the comet’s appearance once every 75 half It is not necessary to use years, last seen in 1985-86. the preposition of: half the time is correct, but half of the time is not Halloween wrong. halo, halos half- Follow Webster’s New World Dictionary. Hyphenate if hand-held not listed there. Some frequently used words handicapped See disabled, without a hyphen: handicapped, impaired. halfback halftone halfhearted halftrack Also: halftime, an exception to handmade the dictionary in keeping with hand-picked widespread practice in sports copy. hands off, hands-off Hy- Some frequently used combi- phenate when used as a com- nations that are two words with- pound modifier: He kept his out a hyphen: half brother half size hands off the matter. He follows a half dollar half sole (n.) hands-off policy. half note half tide Some frequently used combi- hand to hand, hand-to- nations that include a hyphen: hand, hand to mouth, half-baked half-life hand-to-mouth Hyphenate 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 112

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when used as compound modi- west of San Francisco. Collective- fiers: The cup was passed from ly, they are the Hawaiian Islands. hand to hand. They live a hand-to- The largest island in land area mouth existence. is Hawaii. Honolulu and Pearl Harbor are on Oahu, where more hangar, hanger A hangar is than 80 percent of the state’s res- a building. idents live. A hanger is used for clothes. Honolulu stands alone in datelines. Use Hawaii after all other hang, hanged, hung One cities in datelines, specifying the hangs a picture, a criminal or island in the text, if needed. oneself. See datelines and state For past tense or the passive, names. use hanged when referring to exe- cutions or suicides, hung for Hawaiian Airlines Head- other actions. quarters is in Honolulu.

hangover Hawaii Standard Time The time zone used in Hawaii. There hanky-panky is no daylight-saving time in Hawaii. Hanukkah The Jewish Festi- val of Lights, an eight-day com- H-bomb Use hydrogen bomb memoration of rededication of the unless a direct quotation is in- Temple by the Maccabees after volved. their victory over the Syrians. Usually occurs in December headlong but sometimes falls in late No- vember. head-on (adj., adv.)

harass, harassment headquarters May take a singular or a plural verb. harelip Avoid. Cleft lip is pre- Do not use headquarter as a ferred. verb.

Harper’s Magazine Not to health care Two words. be confused with Harper’s Bazaar. hearing examiner See administrative law judge. Harris Poll Prepared by Har- ris Interactive of New York. hearsay

Havana The city in Cuba heaven stands alone in datelines. heavenly bodies Capitalize Hawaii Do not abbreviate. the proper names of planets, Residents are Hawaiians, techni- stars, constellations, etc.: Mars, cally natives of Polynesian de- Arcturus, the Big Dipper, Aries. scent. See earth. The state comprises 132 is- For comets, capitalize only the lands about 2,400 miles south- proper noun element of the name: 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 113

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Halley’s comet. hemorrhage Lowercase sun and moon, but capitalize them if their Greek or hemorrhoid Latin names are used: Helios, Luna. her Do not use this pronoun Lowercase nouns and adjec- in reference to nations or ships, tives derived from the proper except in quoted matter. names of planets and other heav- Use it instead. enly bodies: jovian, lunar, martian, solar, venusian. here The word is frequently redundant, particularly in the hect- (before a vowel), hecto- lead of a datelined story. Use only (before a consonant) A prefix de- if there is some specific need to noting 100 units of a measure. stress that the event being report- Move a decimal point two places ed took place in the community. to the right, adding zeros if neces- If the location must be sary, to convert to the basic unit: stressed in the body of the story, 5.5 hectometers = 550 meters. repeat the name of the datelined community, both for the reader’s hectare A unit of surface convenience and to avoid prob- measure in the metric system lems if the story is topped with a equal to 100 ares or 10,000 different dateline. square meters. Her Majesty Capitalize when A hectare is equal to 2.47 it appears in quotations or is ap- acres, 107,639.1 square feet or propriate before a name as the 11,959.9 square yards. long form of a formal title. To convert to acres, multiply For other purposes, use the by 2.47 (5 hectares x 2.47 = woman’s name or the queen. 12.35 acres). See nobility. See are and metric system. heroin The narcotic, original- he, him, his, thee, thou ly a trademark. Personal pronouns referring to the deity are lowercase. hertz This term, the same in See deity. singular or plural, has been adopted as the international unit heights See dimensions. of frequency equal to one cycle per second. heliport In contexts where it would not be understood by most readers, it hell But capitalize Hades. should be followed by a parenthetical explanation: 15,400 hertz helter-skelter (cycles per second). Do not abbreviate. hemisphere Capitalize Northern Hemisphere, Western hideaway Hemisphere, etc. Lowercase hemisphere in other hi-fi uses: the Eastern and Western hemispheres, the hemisphere. high-tech 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 114

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highway designations death and rebirth continues until Use these forms, as appropriate a soul reaches spiritual perfec- in the context, for highways iden- tion. At that point the soul is tified by number: U.S. Highway 1, united in total enlightenment and U.S. Route 1, U.S. 1, state Route peace with the supreme being 34, Route 34, Interstate Highway and the cycle is ended. 495, Interstate 495. On second There are a number of gods reference only for Interstate: I- and goddesses, all of whom are 495. different focuses of the one When a letter is appended to a supreme being. The primary gods number, capitalize it but do not are Brahma, Vishnu, called the use a hyphen: Route 1A. preserver, and Siva, the destroy- See addresses. er. Vishnu has had important human incarnations as Krishna highway patrol Capitalize and Rama. The primary goddess if used in the formal name of a is Devi, who is also known as police agency: the Kansas High- Durga, Kali, Sarasvati, Lakshimi way Patrol, the Highway Patrol. and other names. She represents Lowercase highway patrolman in in her forms either motherhood all uses. and good fortune or destruction. See state police. There are thousands of other deities and saints which also may hike People take hikes receive prayers and offerings. through the woods, but they in- Hindus also believe that ani- crease prices. mals have souls and many are worshiped as gods. There are hillbilly Usually a derogatory thousands of sects and organiza- term for an Appalachian back- tion runs from virtually none to woods or mountain person. Avoid very strict depending on the unless in direct quotes or special group. There is no formal clergy. context. Mountaineer is a suggested alternative. Hiroshima On Aug. 6, 1945, this Japanese city and military Hindu, Hinduism The domi- base were the targets of the first nant religion of India. It has atomic bomb dropped as a about 811 million followers weapon. The explosion had the worldwide, making it the world’s force of 20,000 tons (20 kilotons) third largest religion after Chris- of TNT. It destroyed more than tianity and Islam. There are more four square miles and killed or in- than 1 million followers in the jured 140,000 people, according United States. to an official count taken between The basic teaching is that the August and December 1945. Hi- soul never dies, but is reborn roshima city officials say the toll each time the body dies. The soul may be 220,000 if including those may be reborn in either human or who died after December 1945 of animal form. The following rule is non-acute injuries or radiation. that of karma and states that no matter how small the action or his, her Do not presume thought of an individual it will af- maleness in constructing a sen- fect how the soul will be reborn in tence, but use the pronoun his the next generation. The cycle of when an indefinite antecedent 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 115

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may be male or female: A reporter from Egypt), the Great Depres- attempts to protect his sources. sion, Prohibition. (Not his or her sources, but note Lowercase century: the 18th the use of the word reporter century. rather than newsman.) Capitalize only the proper Frequently, however, the best nouns or adjectives in general de- choice is a slight revision of the scriptions of a period: ancient sentence: Reporters attempt to Greece, classical Rome, the Victori- protect their sources. an era, the fall of Rome. For additional guidance, see His Majesty Capitalize when separate entries in this book for it appears in quotations or is ap- many epochs, events and histori- propriate before a name as the cal periods. If this book has no long form of a formal title. entry, follow the capitalization in For other purposes, use the Webster’s New World Dictionary, man’s name or king. using lowercase if the dictionary See nobility. lists it as an acceptable form for Hispanic The preferred term the sense in which the word is for those whose ethnic origin is in used. a Spanish-speaking country. Lati- no is acceptable for Hispanics historic, historical A his- who prefer that term. (The femi- toric event is an important occur- nine form is Latina.) Use a more rence, one that stands out in his- specific identification when possi- tory. ble, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican Any occurrence in the past is a or Mexican-American or the name historical event. of an indigenous group in a Latin American country. Avoid Chicano history Avoid the redundant as a synonym for Mexican-Ameri- past history. can. Refer to people of Brazilian and Portuguese origin as such, hit and run (v.) hit-and- not as Hispanic. run (n. and adj.) The coach told him to hit and run. He scored on a Hispaniola The island hit-and-run. She was struck by a shared by the Dominican Repub- hit-and-run driver. lic and Haiti. See Western Hemisphere. hitchhike, hitchhiker

historical periods and HIV See AIDS entry. events Capitalize the names of widely recognized epochs in an- hocus-pocus thropology, archaeology, geology and history: the Bronze Age, the hodgepodge Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Pliocene Epoch. Hodgkin’s disease After Dr. Capitalize also widely recog- Thomas Hodgkin, the English nized popular names for the peri- physician who first described the ods and events: the Atomic Age, disease of the lymph nodes. the Boston Tea Party, the Civil War, the Exodus (of the Israelites ho-hum 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 116

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hold up (v.) holdup (n. and over Holy Ghost in most usage. adj.) Holy Week The week before holidays and holy days Easter. Capitalize them: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Groundhog Day, homemade Easter, Hanukkah, etc. The legal holidays in federal home page (two words) law are New Year’s, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birth- hometown Use a comma to day, Memorial Day, Independence set off an individual’s hometown Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, when it is placed in apposition to Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and a name, whether of is used or Christmas. See individual entries not: Tim Johnson, of Vermillion, for the official dates and when S.D.; Mary Richards, Minneapolis. they are observed if they fall on a weekend. homicide, murder, The designation of a day as a manslaughter Homicide is a federal legal holiday means that legal term for slaying or killing. federal employees receive the day Murder is malicious, premedi- off or are paid overtime if they tated homicide. Some states de- must work. Other requirements fine certain homicides as murder that may apply to holidays gener- if the killing occurs in the course ally are left to the states. Many of armed robbery, rape, etc. follow the federal lead in desig- Manslaughter is homicide nating a holiday, but they are not without malice or premeditation. required to do so. A person should not be described as a murderer until con- Holocaine A trademark for a victed of the charge. type of local anesthetic. Unless authorities say premeditation was obvious, do not Holy Communion See say that a victim was murdered sacraments. until someone has been convicted in court. Instead, say that a vic- Holy Father The preferred tim was killed or slain. form is to use the pope or the pon- See execute and the assassin, tiff, or to give the individual’s killer, murderer entry. name. Use Holy Father in direct quo- Hong Kong Stands alone in tations or special contexts where datelines. a particular literary effect is desired. Honolulu The city in Hawaii stands alone in datelines. It is on holy orders See the island of Oahu. sacraments. See Hawaii.

Holy See The headquarters honorary degrees All refer- of the Roman Catholic Church in ences to honorary degrees should Vatican City. specify that the degree was honorary. Holy Spirit Now preferred Do not use Dr. before the 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 117

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name of an individual whose only line between government leaders, doctorate is honorary. especially the circuit linking the United States and Russia, for use honorary titles See nobili- in crisis situations. ty. Lowercase.

hoof-and-mouth disease Hotshot Capitalize when re- Use foot-and-mouth disease. ferring to the elite firefighting crews or their members. hooky Not hookey. household, housing unit hopefully It means in a In the sense used by the Census hopeful manner. Do not use it to Bureau, a household is made up mean it is hoped, let us or we of all occupants of a housing unit. hope. A household may contain more Right: It is hoped that we will than one family or may be used complete our work in June. by one person. Right: We hope that we will A housing unit, as defined by complete our work in June. the bureau, is a group of rooms Wrong as a way to express the or single room occupied by people thought in the previous two sen- who do not live and eat with any tences: Hopefully, we will com- other person in the structure. It plete our work in June. must have either direct access from the outside or through a horsepower common hall, or have a kitchen or cooking equipment for the ex- horse races Capitalize their clusive use of the occupants. formal names: Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes, etc. House of Commons, House of Lords The two hous- horses’ names Capitalize. es of the British Parliament. See animals. On second reference: Com- mons or the Commons, Lords or hotel Capitalize as part of the the Lords. proper name for a specific hotel: the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. house of delegates See Lowercase when standing the next entry. alone or used in an indefinite reference to one hotel in a chain: house of representatives The city has a Sheraton hotel. Capitalize when referring to a specific governmental body: the Hotel and Restaurant U.S. House of Representatives, the Employees and Bartenders Massachusetts House of Repre- International Union The sentatives. shortened forms Hotel and Capitalize shortened refer- Restaurant Employees union and ences that delete the words of Bartenders union acceptable in all Representatives: the U.S. House, references. the Massachusetts House. Headquarters in Cincinnati. Retain capitalization if U.S. or the name of a state is dropped hot line A direct telephone but the reference is to a specific 121-128_H.qrk 2/18/03 11:27 AM Page 118

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body. apply, but in general, no hyphen. BOSTON (AP) — The House has Some examples: adjourned for the year. hydroelectric hydrophobia Lowercase plural uses: the Massachusetts and Rhode Island hyper- The rules in prefixes houses. apply, but in general, no hyphen. Apply the same principle to Some examples: similar legislative bodies such as hyperactive hypercritical the Virginia House of Delegates. See the organizations and in- hyphen See entry in Punctu- stitutions entry for guidelines on ation chapter. how to handle the term when it is used by a nongovernmental body.

Houston The city in Texas stands alone in datelines.

howitzer See weapons. human, human being Human is preferred, but either is acceptable. hurly-burly

hurricane Capitalize hurricane when it is part of the name that weather forecasters assign to a storm: Hurricane Hazel. But use it and its — not she, her or hers or he, him or his — in pronoun references. And do not use the presence of a woman’s name as an excuse to attribute sexist images of women’s behavior to a storm. Avoid, for example, such sentences as: The fickle Hazel teased the Louisiana coast. See weather terms.

husband, widower Use husband, not widower, in referring to the spouse of a woman who dies. hush-hush Hyannis Port, Mass.

hydro- The rules in prefixes 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 119 I Iberia Air Lines of Spain Icelandair Headquarters is An Iberia airliner is acceptable in in Reykjavik, Iceland. any reference. Headquarters is in Madrid. ice storm See weather terms. IBM Acceptable as first reference for International Business Idaho Do not abbreviate. See Machines. state names. Headquarters is in Armonk, N.Y. illegal Use illegal only to mean a violation of the law. Be ICBM, ICBMs Acceptable on especially careful in labor-man- first reference for intercontinental agement disputes, where one side ballistic missile(s), but the term often calls an action by the other should be defined in the body of a side illegal. Usually it is a charge story. that a contract or rule, not a law, Avoid the redundant ICBM has been violated. missiles. Illinois Abbrev.: Ill. See state ice age Lowercase, because it names. denotes not a single period but illusion See the allusion, il- any of a series of cold periods lusion entry. marked by glaciation alternating with periods of relative warmth. imam Lowercase when de- Capitalize the proper nouns in scribing the leader of a prayer in the names of individual ice ages, a Muslim mosque. Capitalize be- such as the Wisconsin ice age. fore a name when used as the for- The most recent series of ice mal title for a Muslim leader or ages happened during the Pleis- ruler. tocene epoch, which began about See religious titles. 1.6 million years ago. During that time, glaciers sometimes covered immigrate See the emi- much of North America and grate, immigrate entry. northwestern Europe. The present epoch, the impassable, impassible, Holocene or Recent, began about impassive Impassable means 10,000 years ago, when the conti- that passage is impossible: The nental glaciers had retreated to bridge was impassable. Antarctica and Greenland. Impassible and impassive de- 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 120

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scribe lack of sensitivity to pain inbound infighting or suffering. Webster’s New World indoor inpatient (n., adj.) notes, however, that impassible infield suggests an inability to be affect- A few combinations take a hy- ed, while impassive implies only phen, however: in-depth in-house that no reaction was noticeable: in-group in-law She was impassive throughout the Follow Webster’s New World ordeal. when in doubt.

impeachment The constitu- “in” When employed to indi- tional process accusing an elected cate that something is in vogue, official of a crime in an attempt to use quotation marks only if fol- remove the official from office. Do lowed by a noun: It was the “in” not use as a synonym for convict- thing to do. Raccoon coats are in ed or removed from office. again. impel, impelled, im- inasmuch as pelling Inauguration Day Capital- imperial gallon The stan- ize only when referring to the dard British gallon, equal to total collection of events that in- 277.42 cubic inches or about 1.2 clude inauguration of a U.S. pres- U.S. gallons. ident; lowercase in other uses: In- The metric equivalent is ap- auguration Day is Jan. 20. The in- proximately 4.5 liters. auguration day for the change has See liter. not been set.

imperial quart One-fourth Inc. See incorporated. of an imperial gallon. inch Equal to one-twelfth of a implausible foot. The metric equivalent is exact- imply, infer Writers or ly 2.54 centimeters. speakers imply in the words they To convert to centimeters, use. multiply by 2.54 (6 inches x 2.54 A listener or reader infers equals 15.24 centimeters). something from the words. See centimeter; foot; and dimensions. impostor Not imposter. inches per second A rating impromptu It means with- used for the speed of tape out preparation or advance recorders. thought. The abbreviation ips (no peri- -in Precede with a hyphen: ods) is acceptable on first refer- break-in walk-in ence in specialized contexts such cave-in write-in as a records column; otherwise do not use ips until second refer- in- No hyphen when it means ence. not: inaccurate insufferable include Use include to intro- Often solid in other cases: duce a series when the items that 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 121

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follow are only part of the total: state names. The price includes breakfast. The zoo includes lions and tigers. Indianapolis The city in In- Use comprise when the full list diana stands alone in datelines. of individual elements is given: The zoo comprises 100 types of Indian Ocean See oceans. animals, including lions and tigers. Indians American Indian is See the compose, comprise, the preferred term for those in the constitute entry. United States. Where possible, be precise and use the name of the incorporated Abbreviate tribe: He is a Navajo commission- and capitalize as Inc. when used er. Native American is acceptable as part of a corporate name. It in quotations and names of orga- usually is not needed, but when it nizations. is used, do not set off with com- In news stories about Ameri- mas: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. an- can Indians, such words as nounced ... wampum, warpath, powwow, See company names. tepee, brave, squaw, etc., can be disparaging and offensive. Be incorporator Do not capital- careful and certain of their usage. ize when used before a name. See titles. indict Use indict only in connection with the legal process of incredible, incredulous In- bringing charges against an indi- credible means unbelievable. vidual or corporation. Incredulous means skeptical. To avoid any suggestion that someone is being judged before a incur, incurred, incurring trial, do not use phrases such as indicted for killing or indicted for Independence Day July bribery. Instead, use indicted on a Fourth or Fourth of July also are charge of killing or indicted on a acceptable. bribery charge. The federal legal holiday is ob- For guidelines on related served on Friday if July 4 falls on words, see the entries under ac- a Saturday, on Monday if it falls cuse; allege; and arrest. on a Sunday. indiscreet, indiscrete In- index, indexes discreet means lacking prudence. Its noun form is indiscretion. Index of Leading Eco- Indiscrete means not separat- nomic Indicators A composite ed into distinct parts. Its noun of 10 economic measurements form is indiscreteness. that was developed to help forecast likely shifts in the U.S. econ- indiscriminate, indiscrim- omy as a whole. inately It is compiled by the Confer- ence Board, a private business- indispensable sponsored research group. indo- Usually hyphenated Indiana Abbrev.: Ind. See and capitalized: 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 122

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Indo-Aryan Indo-Hittite initials Use periods and no Indo-German Indo-Iranian space when an individual uses But: Indochina. initials instead of a first name: H.L. Mencken. Indochina Formerly French This format has been adopted Indochina, now divided into Cam- to assure that in typesetting the bodia, Laos and Vietnam. initials are set on the same line. Do not give a name with a sin- Indochinese peninsula gle initial (J. Jones) unless it is Located here are the nations of the individual’s preference or a Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thai- first name cannot be learned. land and Vietnam. See middle initials.

Indonesia Use after the injuries They are suffered, name of a community in datelines not sustained or received. on stories from this nation. Specify an individual island, if in-law needed, in the text. Inner Light See Quakers. indoor (adj.) indoors (adv.) He plays indoor tennis. He went innocuous indoors. innuendo infant Applicable to children through 12 months old. inoculate

infantile paralysis The pre- input Do not use as a verb in ferred term is polio. describing the introduction of data into a computer. inflation A sustained increase in prices. The result is a inquire, inquiry Not en- decrease in the purchasing power quire, enquiry. of money. There are two basic types of insignia Same form for sin- inflation: gular and plural. —Cost-push inflation occurs when rising costs are the chief insofar as reason for the increased prices. —Demand-pull inflation occurs in spite of Despite means when the amount of money avail- the same thing and is shorter. able exceeds the amount of goods and services available for sale. intelligence quotient IQ is acceptable in all references. infra- The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. inter- The rules in prefixes Some examples: apply, but in general, no hyphen. infrared infrastructure Some examples: inter-American interstate in, into In indicates location: interracial He was in the room. Into indicates motion: She intercontinental ballistic walked into the room. missile See ICBM, ICBMs. 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 123

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Internal Revenue Service Lowercase teamster when no IRS is acceptable on second refer- specific reference to the union is ence. intended. Capitalize also Internal Rev- Headquarters is in Washing- enue, but lowercase the revenue ton. service. International Court of International Association Justice The principal judicial of Machinists and Aero- organ of the United Nations, es- space Workers The shortened tablished at The Hague in 1945. form Machinists union is accept- The court is not open to indi- able in all references. viduals. It has jurisdiction over Headquarters is in Washing- all matters specifically provided ton. for either in the U.N. charter or in treaties and conventions in force. International Bank for It also has jurisdiction over cases Reconstruction and Devel- referred to it by U.N. members opment World Bank is accept- and by nonmembers such as able in all references. Switzerland that subscribe to the Headquarters is in Washing- court statute. ton. The court serves as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Brother- International Justice of the hood of Electrical Workers League of Nations, which also Use the full name on first refer- was known as the World Court. ence to avoid confusion with the On second reference use inter- United Electrical, Radio and Ma- national court or world court in chine Workers of America. lowercase. Do not abbreviate. IBEW is acceptable on second reference. International Criminal Headquarters is in Washing- Police Organization Interpol is ton. acceptable in all references. Headquarters is in Paris. International Brother- hood of Painters and Allied international date line Trades of the United States The imaginary line drawn north and Canada The shortened and south through the Pacific form Painters union is acceptable Ocean, largely along the 180th in all references. meridian. Headquarters is in Washing- By international agreement, ton. when it is 12:01 a.m. Sunday just west of the line, it is 12:01 a.m. International Brother- Saturday just east of it. hood of Teamsters, Chauf- See time zones. feurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America The International Labor Or- shortened form Teamsters union ganization ILO is acceptable on is acceptable in all references. second reference. Capitalize Teamsters and the Headquarters is in Geneva. Teamsters in references to the union or its members. International Longshore 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 124

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and Warehouse Union ILWU intranet A private computer is acceptable on second reference. network within an organization. Headquarters is in San Fran- Lowercase. cisco. IOU, IOUs International Longshore- men’s Association ILA is ac- Iowa Do not abbreviate. See ceptable on second reference. state names. Headquarters is in New York. ips See inches per second. International Monetary Fund IMF is acceptable on sec- IQ Acceptable in all references ond reference. for intelligence quotient. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. Iran The nation formerly called Persia. It is not an Arab International Telecom- country. munications Satellite Orga- The people are Iranians, not Persians or Irani. nization Intelsat is acceptable The official language is on first reference, but the body of Persian, also known as Farsi. the story should identify it as the shortened form of the full name. Iraq The Arab nation coincid- (The original name was Inter- ing roughly with ancient national Telecommunications Mesopotamia. Satellite Consortium.) Its people are Iraqis. The di- Headquarters is in Washing- alect of Arabic is Iraqi. ton. Ireland Acceptable in most International Union, references to the independent na- United Automobile, Aero- tion known formally as the Irish space and Agricultural Im- Republic. plement Workers of Ameri- Use Irish Republic when a dis- ca This is the full, formal name tinction must be made between for the union known more com- this nation and Northern Ireland, monly as the United Auto a part of the United Kingdom. Workers. See the entry that begins Unit- Irish coffee Brewed coffee ed Automobile. containing Irish whiskey, topped with cream or whipped cream. Internet See special section on next page. Irish International Air- lines The preferred name is Aer Interpol Acceptable in all ref- Lingus. erences for International Criminal Headquarters is in Dublin, Ire- Police Organization. land.

intra- The rules in prefixes Irish Republican Army An apply, but in general, no hyphen. outlawed paramilitary group com- Some examples: mitted to overthrowing Northern intramural intrastate Ireland and its links with Britain. 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 125 PITRE GUIDE AP INTERNET

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Internet A decentralized, tions to the Red Planet if neces- worldwide network of computers sary. that can communicate with each The last, best chance to make other. In later references, the Net radio contact with the spacecraft is acceptable. yielded only silence early Tues- Be acutely aware of the poten- day. A somber Richard Cook, the tial dangers of using information spacecraft’s operations manager from Internet and e-mail sources. at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labora- All such electronic information — tory, said the flight team had from computer disk data to e- ‘played its last ace.’ ... mail to material posted on the In- —- ternet — falls into the ‘tangible On the Net: NASA Mars site: form’ category that is subject to http://marslander.jpl.nasa.gov copyright protection as well as UCLA site on experiments libel guidelines. aboard the mission: Use care, too, in copying on- http://mars.ucla.edu line jargon and abbreviated Avoid URLs that are particu- forms, unless they are generally larly lengthy and complicated, understood. unless essential to guide the Internet addresses include e- reader to a particular document. mail addresses and Web site designations. Follow the spelling and Some symbols in Internet ad- capitalization of the Web site dresses, such as the ‘at’ sign, the Internet owner. If an address falls underscore, and the tilde, result at the end of a sentence, use a in garbles in some newspaper period. (If an address breaks between lines, split it directly before computers. Spell them out in- a slash or a dot that is part of the stead and provide an explanatory address, without an inserted hy- note. (See Nontransmitting Sym- phen.) Although in some cases it bols in the Filing Practices sec- may not be necessary, use the tion.) http:// protocol at the start of a Some commonly used Internet, Web address, as well as other computer and telecommunica- starts, such as ftp://. tions terms: When a story mentions a specific Web site or Web service, in- Adobe Acrobat A file reader clude the Internet address, the that decodes documents to the URL, within the text. This is es- portable document format. sential information for the reader. Add Internet addresses (URLs) applet Small programs that to the end of a story when they can be downloaded quickly and provide additional information, used by computers with a World but aren’t specifically referred to Wide Web browser. in a story. An example: ASCII An acronym for Ameri- PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — NASA can Standard Code for Information abandoned any real hope Tues- Interchange. A numeric code used day for the missing-in-action Mars to represent the letters of the Polar Lander and promised to in- Roman alphabet, numbers and vestigate every aspect of the failed punctuation marks. Use of the mission and delay future expedi- acronym on first reference is ac- 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 126

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ceptable if it is identified as a cell phone (Two words; an ex- code. ception to Webster’s).

baud Commonly, a unit for chat room A World Wide Web measuring the speed of data site that enables computer users transmission by computer; actu- to message each other in an on- ally the switching speed of a line line conversation. (A chat room or number of transitions made can exist on only part of a Web

AP INTERNET GUIDE per second. site, or even off the Web.)

bit Acceptable in all references cookie Term for special infor- as an acronym for binary digit. mation about an individual com- Actual data take the form of elec- puter user, stored in a file on a trical impulses. These can be hard drive, and usually accessed thought of as either on or off or 1 by a server when the user con- and 0. The pulses are bits. nects to a Web site.

blog Internet jargon; if used, cyberspace A term popular- explain that it means Web log or ized by William Gibson in the Web journal. novel“Neuromancer”to refer to the digital world of computer net- brick-and-mortar Note the works. It has spawned numerous singular brick and the hyphens words with cyber- prefixes, but for the term meaning traditional try to avoid most of these cutesy companies that sell their prod- coinages. When the combining ucts in retail stores as distin- form is used, follow the general rule for prefixes and do not use a guished from Internet companies. hyphen before a word starting (Related is click-and-mortar, to de- with a consonant. scribe commerce integrating the Web and traditional offline sales.) database

browser Software that enables DNS Acronym for the domain personal computer users to navi- name system, an international gate the World Wide Web and to network of Internet domain perform various operations once servers, names and addresses. they are linked with a site. The two most often used are Netscape domain names The address Navigator and Microsoft Internet used to locate a particular Web Explorer. site or reach an e-mail system. In e-mail addresses, it is the portion byte A computer “word” made to the right of the @ sign. It in- up of bits. The most common size cludes a suffix defining the type byte contains eight bits, or binary of entity, such as .com (for com- digits. Bytes are a measure of in- merce, the most common suffix); formation storage. .net (primarily for the network service providers); .org (organiza- CD-ROM For a compact disc tions); .edu (reserved for educa- acting as a read-only memory de- tional institutions); .gov (reserved vice. for U.S. government); .int (re- CD-ROM disc is redundant. served for organizations estab- 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 127 PITRE GUIDE INTERNET AP

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lished by international treaty); indicate mood or appearance, as .arpa (reserved for Internet infra- :-) and often looked at sideways. structure functions). There area Also known as smileys. also 243 country-code suffixes (such as .fr for France, .us for the end user, end-user Two words United States). as a noun, hyphenated as an ad- Eight more domain suffixes jective. were added in 2001. They are: .info, .biz, .name, .pro, .museum, FAQ Acronym for frequently .aero, .coop and .pro. asked questions, a format often used to summarize information dot-com As an informal adjec- on the Internet. Spell it out in tive describing companies that do copy. business mainly on the Internet. firewall Software that moni- double-click tors incoming and outgoing Inter- net traffic to your computer and download To copy a file from checks for suspicious patterns. one computer to another. freeware Free software. dpi Dots per inch, a measure of print and screen resolution. FTP File transfer protocol, a common procedure for transfer- DSL Acronym for digital sub- ring files on the Internet. The scriber line, for high-speed access acronym is acceptable in second to the Internet over the telephone reference. network. GIF Acronym for graphics inter- DVD Acronym for digital video change format, a compression for- disk (or digital versatile disk), mat for images. The acronym is similar to CD-ROMs, but able to acceptable in copy, but it should hold more music, video or data. be explained somewhere in the The acronym is acceptable in story. Use lowercase in a file most stories, but spell out some- name. where in a story in which the context may not be familiar to hacker In common usage, the readers. term has evolved to mean one who uses computer skills to un- e-mail Electronic mail or mes- lawfully penetrate proprietary sage. Also e-book, e-business, e- computer systems. commerce, e-shopping. (The lowercase prefix is an exception to home page The“front”page of Webster’s preference.) a particular Web site.

Easter eggs A hidden“sur- HTML For hypertext markup prise”in a program or on a Web language. (Lowercase in Web ad- site, as an extra level of a com- dresses.) puter game or a message. HTTP For hypertext transfer emoticon A typographical car- protocol. (Lowercase in Web ad- toon or symbol generally used to dresses.) 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 128

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hyperlink A link from one part LAN Acronym for local area of an Internet page to another network, which links computers page, as a restaurant home page within a geographically limited with a link to its menu. area.

hypertext A system of linking login, logon, logoff (n.) But electronic documents. use as two words in verb form: I log in to my computer.

AP INTERNET GUIDE intranet A private network inside a company or organization, megabyte A unit of storage only for internal use. capacity in computer systems, loosely 1 million bytes. Abbrev.: IP address Internet protocol MB. address, a numeric address given to a computer connected to the megahertz A measure of the Internet . speed of a computer processor. IT Acronym for information Abbrev.: MHz. technology; spell it out. MP3 A popular audio com- Java A trademark of Sun Mi- pression format on the Internet. crosystems Inc. for a computer programming language that can offline (No hyphen is an ex- be run across the Internet. ception to Webster’s.)

JavaScript A scripting lan- online One word in all cases guage, developed by Netscape, de- for the computer connection signed to run inside Web pages. term.

JPEG, JPG Acronyms for joint PDA Personal digital assistant. photographic experts group, one of two common types of image com- PDF Portable document format, pression mechanisms used on the a file format for the Adobe Acro- World Wide Web (along with GIF). bat reader.

kilobyte A unit of measure- Pentium processor A type of ment for digital data storage. In computer processor made by Intel the metric system, a kilobyte is Corp. Use Roman numerals in de- 1,000 bytes; in computer binary scribing versions of this proces- terms, it is 1,024 bytes. Thus, sor: Pentium III. 64KB means 64 times 1,024 bytes, or 65,536 bytes (not plug-in A smaller add-on com- 64,000). Abbrev. KB. (Similarly, puter program that works in con- MB for megabytes, GB for giga- junction with a larger application, bytes.) Note no space when used such as a browser. with numerals: a 400KB file. Use Kb in abbreviations for portal A starting point for kilobits and Kbps for kilobits per searching the Web, often offering second. services of its own. 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 129 PITRE GUIDE INTERNET AP

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protocol A specification, such a hyphen or other punctuation as http, that defines how comput- mark. ers will talk to each other. The URL should always be the last line on a story; other under- RAM Acronym for random ac- dash material, such as a list of cess memory, the“working memo- contributors to the story, goes ry”of a computer into which pro- above the URL. grams can be introduced and then executed. Usenet A worldwide system of discussion areas called news- ROM Acronym for read-only groups. memory, a storage chip that cannot be reprogrammed by the com- virus A program that repli- puter user. Spell out. cates itself across a network, or the Internet as a whole. The virus screen saver Two words. payload may be destructive, like deleting files, or it could smimply search engine A service that try to overwelm a network by allows a user to find a Web site copying itself. by typing in the topic. whois A means of looking up server The computer that is names in a remote database, to host to a Web site. find the“who”behind the domain name. shareware Software programs that may be tried without cost, workstation One word. but require a registration fee if used. World Wide Web A global system of linking documents, im- source code A set of instruc- ages, sounds and other files tions or tags in a programming across the Internet. It is generally language, generally used to build credited as the concept of re- Web pages. (There is no plural searcher Tim Berners-Lee who form.) developed the first practical system in 1989 at the European Lab- URL Uniform Resource Locator, oratory for Particle Physics (Con- an Internet address. An example: seil Europeen pour la Recherche http://politics.ap.org/states/m Nucleaire, or CERN). i.html The shorter the Web is accept- http: is the protocol, or method able. Also, Web site (an exception of transfer. to Webster’s preference), and Web // indicates a computer name page. follows. But webcam, webcast, web- politics is the server. master. ap.org is the domain. /states is the folder. worm A virus that replicates /mi.html indicates a file (.html itself without human interven- is the file type). tion. If the victim has to open an When the URL does not fit en- e-mail attachment to get infected, tirely on one line, break it into it’s a virus. But if it scans for new two ore more lines without adding AP INTERNET GUIDE 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/0311:45AMPage130 and formatinformation. language worm. victims andattacksbyitself,it’sa —INTERNET GUIDE 130 XML For , usedtosort,search extensible markup 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 131 PITRE GUIDE INTERNET AP

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Internet Search Tips

Welcome to the Internet Imagine a library with more than a billion books, all scattered across the floor in no discernible order — and no card catalog. Welcome to the World Wide Web. There are some very valuable items in the midst of this mess, but they’re not always so easy to find. That’s what makes the Web one of the most useful and one of the most frustrating weapons in the journalists’ research arsenal. Picking the Right Search Engine Guiding you through this clutter are two basic tools: search engines and subject directories.

Search engines use a computer program (often called a spider, because it “crawls” across the Web) to compile databases of Web pages and then index them by content. Metasearch engines are programs that can search several of these indexes simultaneously.

Subject directories are organized collections of Web sites, generally chosen by human editors, and organized into categories. General-interest directories like Yahoo! try to cover the whole Web, while more specialized subject directories like FindLaw limit themselves to particular topics. It’s important to pick the right tool for the job. In general, search engines provide more quantity and subject directories more quality in their listings. Search engines are good for obscure topics or specific pieces of information (for example, the text of the Americans with Disabilities Act). Subject directories are good for giving you a broader overview (for example, community programs geared to help the disabled). Keep in mind, however, that both are limited. They cover only a fraction of the Web, they’re often out of date, and they miss mounds of information, particularly the contents of databases and PDF (portable document format) files. A good search engine or subject directory may be able to tell you that the FAA keeps records of all aviation accidents, but it can’t tell you whether those records include a November 1997 crash near Barrow, Alaska. Formulating a Search Once you’ve found your search tool, you need to compose a search query. Choosing the right keywords is critical. • Choose keywords as specific as possible. The surest way to produce a useless search is to use overly general keywords, such as “budget” or “nuclear energy.” Nouns make the best keywords. • Look for uncommon words that identify your topic and your topic only. Unusual proper or technical names are always good. Avoid ambigu- ous words or words with dual meanings. 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 132

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• Use several keywords at a time, or better yet, use phrases. Searching for the phrase “time zone,” for example, is better than searching for the words “time” and “zone” separately. For even better results, use two or three different phrases. • Don’t assume that everyone knows how to spell correctly. Use variant spellings and common misspellings (“enviroment,” for example), particularly when dealing with a difficult word or name. If available, use the wildcard option to cover alternative spellings. Use synonyms, too. You

AP INTERNET GUIDE might find with “physician” what you didn’t find with “doctor.” • Use logical operators like AND, OR and NOT. “Apples AND Oranges” will find only sites that contain both words; “Apples OR Oranges” will find sites that have either; and “Apples NOT Oranges” will find only sites that do have apples but don’t have oranges. Syntax varies from search engine to search engine, so check the help page if you’re not sure how to structure these queries. Refining a Search Your first search often won’t be your last. If you don’t find what you need in the first 40 or so results, you need to refine your search and try again. To narrow your search, add another keyword or two, or turn a couple of keywords into a phrase. Change an “OR” to an “AND.” Pick a specific area of your topic rather than the topic itself. Pick the name of a main player in the story — particularly if it’s an unusual name. Or, rather than searching for what you want, try to think instead of who might have the information, then search for that person or organization. If your first effort, on the other hand, produces too few hits, widen your search. Choose more common words. Drop a keyword or two. Change an “AND” to an “OR.” Use more synonyms or variant spellings. Advanced Searching Take advantage of advanced search options. Some sites allow a “proximity operator” such as NEAR, which will find words close to each other, but not necessarily next to each other. Others permit wildcards, which act like the blank square in Scrabble: for example, ‘psych*’ will find psychology, psychoanalysis, and psychosomatic. Most search engines allow you to restrict your search to specific domains (such as “.gov” for government sites, for example), or to specific elements of the page, such as photos, titles, or links. Using Caution Do not mistake the Web for an encyclopedia, and the search engine for a table of contents. The Web is a sprawling databank that’s about one- quarter wheat and three-quarters chaff. Any information you find should be assessed with the same care that you use for everything else. In particular, check these points: • Who is sponsoring the page? Is the author identifiable? You should avoid anonymous pages just as you avoid anonymous sources. • Is there contact information in case you want to follow up? One way to check who owns a page is the Whois query at www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois. 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 133 PITRE GUIDE AP INTERNET

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• Is the domain type (.edu or .gov, for example) appropriate for the information provided? Web sites set up by professional groups are generally more reliable than personal home pages. • The source for the information on the page should be clearly stated, whether original or borrowed. Is it a primary or secondary source? Can it be checked somewhere else? • Based on what you know, how accurate does the information seem? If there’s something on the site that you know is incorrect, it’s likely there are errors elsewhere. • Are there any obvious signs of bias? One possible clue: The type of sites that this site links to. • Is the page current? If it hasn’t been updated lately, the information may be outdated. Right-click on the page and choose “View Inf.”; that often includes the date when the page was last modified. Search Engine URLs • yahoo.com • altavista.com • hotbot.com • google.com • askjeeves.com • dogpile.com 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 134

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Its formal name is Provisional southern Philippines. IRA. It was founded in 1969 with There are two major divisions the aim of abolishing Northern in Islam: Ireland as a predominantly —Sunni The biggest single sect British Protestant state. Its mem- in Islam, comprising about 85 bers claim direct lineage to the percent of all Muslims. Nations old IRA, which wrested the pre- with Sunni majorities include dominantly Catholic rest of Ire- Egypt, Saudi Arabia and most land from British control follow- other Arab nations, as well as ing a 1919-21 rebellion. non-Arab Turkey and IRA is acceptable, but Irish Re- Afghanistan. Most Palestinian publican Army should be spelled Muslims and most West African out somewhere in the story. Muslims are Sunnis. Sinn Fein (pronounced “shin The Saudis sometimes are re- fan.”) is a legal political party that ferred to as Wahhabi Muslims. is linked with the IRA, but not This is a subgroup within the technically a wing of it. Sunni branch of Islam. —Shiite The second-largest Iron Curtain sect, after the Sunni. Iran, home of militant Islamic fundamental- irregardless A double nega- ism, is the only nation with an tive. Regardless is correct. overwhelming Shiite majority. Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain have Islam Followers are called large Shiite communities, in pro- Muslims. Their holy book is the portion to their overall popula- Quran, which according to Islam- tions. ic belief was revealed by Allah (The schism between Sunni (God) to the Prophet Muhammad and Shiite stems from the very in the seventh century in Mecca early days of Islam and argu- and Medina. The place of worship ments over Muhammad’s succes- is a mosque. The weekly holy day, sors as caliph, the spiritual and the equivalent of the Christian temporal leader of Muslims. The sabbath, is Friday. Shiites wanted the caliphate to It is the religion of more than 1 descend through Ali, Muham- billion people in the world, mak- mad’s son-in-law. Ali eventually ing it the world’s second largest became the fourth caliph, but he faith, after Christianity. Although was murdered; Ali’s son al-Hus- Arabic is the language of the sein was massacred with his Quran and Muslim prayers, not fighters at Karbala, in what is all Arabs are Muslims and not all now Iraq. Shiites considered the Muslims are Arabs. Most of the later caliphs to be usurpers. The world’s Muslims live in a wide Sunnis no longer have a caliph.) belt that stretches halfway Titles for the clergy vary from around the world: across West sect to sect and from country to Africa and North Africa, through country, but these are the most the Arab countries of the Middle common: East and on to Turkey, Iran, Grand Mufti — The highest au- Afghanistan, Pakistan and other thority in Quranic law and inter- Asian countries, parts of the for- pretation, a title used mostly by mer Soviet Union and western Sunnis. China, to Indonesia and the Sheik — Used by most clergy- 129-145_I.qrk 2/18/03 11:45 AM Page 135

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men in the same manner that the ever. Rev. is used as a Christian cleri- If the island is part of a chain, cal title, especially common use the community name and the among Sunnis. (Not all sheiks are name of the chain: clergymen. Sheik can also be a MANILA, Philippines (AP) — secular title of respect or nobili- Identify the name of the island ty.) in the text if relevant: Manila is on Ayatollah — Used by Shiites, the island of Luzon. especially in Iran, to denote se- For additional guidelines, see nior clergymen, such as Ayatollah datelines. Ruhollah Khomeini. Hojatoleslam — A rank below it Use this pronoun, rather ayatollah. than she, in references to nations Mullah — Lower level clergy. and ships. Imam — Used by some sects as a title for the prayer leader at a italic Type face cannot be mosque. Among the Shiites, it sent through AP computers. (It is usually has a more exalted con- used in this book only to indicate notation. style examples and in using a The adjective is Islamic. word as a word.) See Muslims and Nation of See words as words. Islam. it’s, its It’s is a contraction island Capitalize island or is- for it is or it has: It’s up to you. It’s lands as part of a proper name: been a long time. Prince Edward Island, the Hawai- Its is the possessive form of ian Islands. the neuter pronoun: The company Lowercase island and islands lost its assets. when they stand alone or when the reference is to the islands in a IUD Acceptable on second ref- given area: the Pacific islands. erence for intrauterine device. Lowercase all island of constructions: the island of Nantuck- Ivy League Brown Universi- et. ty, Columbia University, Cornell U.S. DATELINES: For commu- University, Dartmouth College, nities on islands within the Harvard University, Princeton boundaries of the United States, University, the University of use the community name and the Pennsylvania and Yale University. state name: EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — Honolulu stands alone, however. DATELINES ABROAD: If an island has an identity of its own (Bermuda, Prince Edward Island, Puerto Rico, Sardinia, Taiwan, etc.) use the community name and the island name: HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — Havana, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore stand alone, how- 146-150_J.qrk 2/18/03 11:52 AM Page 136 J Jacuzzi Trademark for a See dialect and word selec- brand of whirlpool products. tion. Generic terms are whirlpool bath or whirlpool spa. Jaws of Life Trademark name for the tool used to pry jail Not interchangeable with open parts of a vehicle to free prison. See the prison, jail entry. those trapped inside.

Jamaica rum Not Jamaican Jaycees Members of the U.S. rum. Junior Chamber of Commerce, affiliated with the worldwide body, Jane’s All the World’s Junior Chamber International. Aircraft, Jane’s Fighting See the fraternal organiza- Ships The reference sources for tions and service clubs and Ju- questions about aircraft and mili- nior Chamber of Commerce en- tary ships not covered in this tries. book. The reference for nonmilitary J.C. Penney Co. Inc. Head- ships is Lloyd’s Register of Ship- quarters is in Plano, Texas. ping. jeep, Jeep Lowercase the January See months. military vehicle. Capitalize if referring to the Japan Airlines JAL is ac- rugged, four-wheel drive civilian ceptable on second reference. vehicle so trademarked. Headquarters is in Tokyo. Jehovah’s Witnesses The Japan Current A warm cur- denomination was founded in rent flowing from the Philippine Pittsburgh in 1872 by Charles Sea east of Taiwan and northeast Taze Russell, a former Congrega- past Japan. tionalist layman. Witnesses do most of their jargon The special vocabu- work through three legal corpora- lary and idioms of a particular tions: the Watch Tower Bible and class or occupational group. Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the In general, avoid jargon. When Watchtower Bible and Tract Soci- it is appropriate in a special con- ety of New York Inc., and, in Eng- text, include an explanation of land, the International Bible Stu- any words likely to be unfamiliar dents Association. A governing to most readers. body consisting largely of the 146-150_J.qrk 2/18/03 11:52 AM Page 137

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principal officers of the corpora- Jewish congregations A tions oversees the denomination. Jewish congregation is au- Worldwide membership is list- tonomous. No synods, assemblies ed at more than 6 million and or hierarchies control the activi- U.S. membership at 988,000. ties of an individual synagogue. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe In the United States, there are that they adhere to the oldest re- three major expressions of Ju- ligion on Earth, the worship of daism: Almighty God revealed in the 1. Orthodox Judaism. Most of Bible as Jehovah. its congregations are represented They regard civil authority as nationally by the Union of Ortho- necessary and obey it “as long as dox Jewish Congregations of its laws do not contradict God’s America. Most of its rabbis are law.” Witnesses refuse to bear members of the Rabbinical Coun- arms, salute the flag or partici- cil of America. pate in secular government. 2. Reform Judaism. Its nation- They refuse blood transfusions al representatives are the Union as being against the Bible, citing of American Hebrew Congrega- the section of Leviticus that tions and the Central Conference reads: “Whatsoever man...eats of American Rabbis. any manner of blood, I will cut 3. Conservative Judaism. Its him off from among his people.” national representatives are the There are no formal titles, but United Synagogue of Conservative there are three levels of ministry: Judaism and the Rabbinical As- publishers (baptized members sembly. who do evangelistic work), regular The American Jewish Year pioneers, who devote greater time Book estimates more than 13 mil- to activities, and special pioneers lion Jews worldwide and more (full-time workers). than 6 million U.S. Jews as of 2001, including ethnic Jews who Jell-O A trademark for a do not practice Judaism. Conser- brand of gelatin dessert. vative and Reform are the largest branches of Judaism, well ex- Jerusalem Stands alone in ceeding the Orthodox and the datelines. very small Reconstructionist branches. Jesus The central figure of Jews generally believe that a Christianity, he also may be divine kingdom will be estab- called Jesus Christ or Christ. lished on Earth, opening a mes- Personal pronouns referring to sianic era that will be marked by him are lowercase. peace and bliss. They also believe that they have a mandate from jet, jetliner, jet plane See God to work toward this kingdom. aircraft terms. The only formal titles in use are rabbi, for the spiritual leader Jet Ski A registered trade- of a congregation, and cantor, for mark of Kawasaki for a type of the individual who leads the con- personal watercraft. gregation in song. Capitalize these titles before an individual’s Jew Use for men and women. full name on first reference. On Do not use Jewess. second reference, use only the 146-150_J.qrk 2/18/03 11:52 AM Page 138

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last name. judge Capitalize before a See religious titles and Zion- name when it is the formal title ism. for an individual who presides in a court of law. Do not continue to Jewish holy days See sepa- use the title in second reference. rate listings for Hanukkah, Do not use court as part of the Passover, Purim, Rosh Hashana, title unless confusion would re- Shavuot, Sukkot and Yom Kip- sult without it: pur. —No court in the title: U.S. Dis- The High Holy Days are Rosh trict Judge John Sirica, District Hashana and Yom Kippur. All Judge John Sirica, federal Judge Jewish holy days and the Jewish John Sirica, Judge John Sirica, Sabbath start at sunset before U.S. Circuit Judge Homer Thorn- the day marked on most calen- berry, appellate Judge John Blair. dars. —Court needed in the title: Ju- venile Court Judge John Jones, jibe See the gibe, jibe entry. Criminal Court Judge John Jones, Superior Court Judge Robert Harri- Arabic noun used to jihad son, state Supreme Court Judge refer to the Islamic concept of the William Cushing. struggle to do good. In particular When the formal title chief situations, that can include holy judge is relevant, put the court war, the meaning extremist Mus- name after the judge’s name: lims commonly use. Chief Judge John Sirica of the U.S. job descriptions Always District Court in Washington, D.C.; lowercase. See titles. Chief Judge Clement F. Haynsworth Jr. of the 4th U.S. Cir- John F. Kennedy Space cuit Court of Appeals. Center Located in Cape Do not pile up long court Canaveral, Fla., it is the National names before the name of a Aeronautics and Space Adminis- judge. Make it Judge John Smith tration’s principal launch site for of Allegheny County Common manned spacecraft. Pleas Court. Not: Allegheny Coun- Kennedy Space Center is ac- ty Common Pleas Court Judge ceptable in all references. John Smith. For datelines on launch sto- Lowercase judge as an occupa- ries: tional designation in phrases CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — such as beauty contest judge Bert See Lyndon B. Johnson Space Parks. Center. See administrative law judge; court names; judicial Johns Hopkins University branch; justice; and magistrate. No apostrophes. judge advocate The plural: Joint Chiefs of Staff Also: judge advocates. Also: judge ad- the Joint Chiefs. But lowercase vocate general, judge advocates the chiefs or the chiefs of staff. general. Capitalize as a formal title be- Jr. See the junior, senior fore a name. entry. See titles. 146-150_J.qrk 2/18/03 11:52 AM Page 139

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judgment Not judgement. plane, including the Boeing 747, the DC-10, the L-1011 and the C- judicial branch Always low- 5A. ercase. The federal court system that June See months. exists today as the outgrowth of Article 3 of the Constitution is Junior Chamber of Com- composed of the Supreme Court merce A volunteer organization of the United States, the U.S. of young men and women in- Court of Appeals, U.S. District volved in civic service and leader- Courts, and the U.S. Customs ship training. Court. There are also four district Members are called Jaycees. judges for U.S. territories. U.S. headquarters is in Tulsa, U.S. bankruptcy and magis- Okla.; international headquarters trate judges are fixed-term judges in Coral Gables, Fla. serving in U.S. Disrict Courts. See Jaycees. Magistrate judges are generalist judges who preside in cases re- junior, senior Abbreviate as ferred from U.S. district judges. Jr. and Sr. only with full names of Bankruptcy judges are special- persons or animals. Do not pre- ized judges whose authority is re- cede by a comma: Joseph P. stricted to bankruptcy issues. Kennedy Jr. The U.S. Tax Court and the The notation II or 2nd may be U.S. Court of Military Appeals are used if it is the individual’s pref- not part of the judicial branch as erence. Note, however, that II and such. 2nd are not necessarily the equiv- For more detail on all federal alent of junior — they often are courts, see separate entries under used by a grandson or nephew. the names listed here. If necessary to distinguish between father and son in second Judicial Conference of reference, use the elder Smith or the United States This rule- the younger Smith. making body for the courts of the See names. judicial branch meets twice a year. Its 25 members are the junta See the government, chief justice, the chief judges of junta, regime entry. the 11 circuit courts, one district judge from each of the circuits, jury The word takes singular and the chief judges of the U.S. verbs and pronouns: The jury has Court of Claims and the U.S. been sequestered until it reaches Court of Customs and Patent Ap- a verdict. peals. Do not use awkward phrases Day-to-day functions are han- such as seven-man, five-woman dled by the Administrative Office jury. Make it: a jury of seven men of U.S. Courts. and five women. Do not capitalize: a U.S. Dis- jukebox trict Court jury, a federal jury, a Massachusetts Superior Court July See months. jury, a Los Angeles County grand jury. jumbo jet Any very large jet See grand jury. 146-150_J.qrk 2/18/03 11:52 AM Page 140

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justice Capitalize before a name when it is the formal title. It is the formal title for members of the U.S. Supreme Court and for jurists on some state courts. In such cases, do not use judge in first or subsequent references. See judge; Supreme Court of the United States; and titles.

justice of the peace Capi- talize as a formal title before a name. Do not abbreviate. See titles.

juvenile delinquent Juve- niles may be declared delinquents in many states for anti-social behavior or for breaking the law. In some states, laws prohibit publishing or broadcasting the names of juvenile delinquents. Follow the local practice unless there is a compelling reason to the contrary. Consult with the General Desk if you believe such an exception is warranted. 151-154_K.qrk 2/18/03 11:55 AM Page 141 K K Use K in references to Kennedy Space Center modem transmission speeds, in See John F. Kennedy Space Cen- keeping with standard usage: a ter. 56K modem (no space after numeral). Kentucky Abbrev.: Ky. Legal- The abbreviation should not ly a commonwealth, not a state. be used to mean 1,000 or $1,000. See state and state names.

Kansas Abbrev.: Kan. See kerosene Formerly a trade- state names. mark, now a generic term.

Kansas City Use KANSAS ketchup Not catchup or cat- CITY, Kan., or KANSAS CITY, Mo., sup. in datelines to avoid confusion between the two. keynote address Also: keynote speech. karat See the carat, caret, karat entry. Keystone Kops

Kelvin scale A scale of tem- KGB Acceptable on first refer- perature based on, but different ence, but the story should contain a phrase identifying it as the from, the Celsius scale. It is used former Russian secret police and primarily in science to record very intelligence agency. high and very low temperatures. The initials stand for the The Kelvin scale starts at zero Russian words meaning Commit- and indicates the total absence of tee for State Security. heat (absolute zero). Zero on the Kelvin scale is kibbutz An Israeli collective equal to minus 273.16 degrees settlement. Celsius and minus 459.67 de- The plural is kibbutzim. grees Fahrenheit. The freezing point of water is kidnap, kidnapped, kid- 273.16 degrees Kelvin. The boil- napping, kidnapper ing point of water is 373.16 degrees Kelvin. kids Use children unless you To convert from Celsius to are talking about goats, or the Kelvin, add 273.16 to the Celsius use of kids as an informal syn- temperature. onym for children is appropriate See Celsius and Fahrenheit. in the context. 151-154_K.qrk 2/18/03 11:55 AM Page 142

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killer See the assassin, killer, million tons of TNT. A gigaton has murderer entry. the force of a billion tons of TNT.

kilo- A prefix denoting 1,000 kilowatt-hour The amount units of a measure. Move a deci- of electrical energy consumed mal point three places to the when 1,000 watts are used for right, adding zeros if necessary, one hour. to convert to the basic unit: 10.5 The abbreviation kwh is ac- kilograms equals 10,500 grams. ceptable on second reference.

kilocycles The new term is kindergarten kilohertz. king Capitalize only when kilogram The metric term for used before the name of royalty: 1,000 grams. King George VI. Continue in sub- A kilogram is equal to approxi- sequent references that use the mately 2.2 pounds or 35 ounces. king’s given name: King George, To convert to pounds, multiply not George. by 2.2 (9 kilograms x 2.2 equals Lowercase king when it stands 19.8 pounds). alone. See gram; metric system; and Capitalize in plural uses before pound. names: Kings George and Edward. kilohertz Equals 1,000 hertz Lowercase in phrases such as (1,000 cycles per second), replac- chess king Bobby Fischer. ing kilocycles as the correct term See nobility and titles. in applications such as broadcast frequencies. Kitty Litter A brand of ab- sorbent material used in cat litter kilometer The metric term boxes. Use a generic term such as for 1,000 meters. (Abbrev.: km.) cat box filler. A kilometer is equal to approximately 3,281 feet, or five-eighths Klan in America See Ku (0.62) of a mile. Klux Klan. To convert to miles, multiply by 0.62 (5 kilometers x 0.62 Kleenex A trademark for a equals 3.1 miles). brand of facial tissue. See meter; metric system; and miles. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines A KLM airliner is acceptable in kiloton, kilotonnage A any reference. unit used to measure the power Headquarters is in Amster- of nuclear explosions. One kiloton dam, Netherlands. has the explosive force of 1,000 tons of TNT. Kmart No hyphen, no space, The atomic bomb dropped lowercase m. Headquarters is in Aug. 6, 1945, on Hiroshima, Troy, Mich. Japan, in the first use of the bomb as a weapon had an explo- Knesset The Israeli parlia- sive force of 20 kilotons. ment. See foreign legislative A megaton has the force of a bodies. 151-154_K.qrk 2/18/03 11:55 AM Page 143

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knickknack kowtow

knight See nobility. Kriss Kringle Not Kris.

Knights of Columbus K. of kudos It means credit or C. or the Knights may be used on praise for an achievement. second reference. The word is singular and takes See the fraternal organiza- singular verbs. tions and service clubs entry. Ku Klux Klan There are a knot A knot is 1 nautical mile number of separate organizations (6,076.10 feet) per hour. It is re- known as the Klan in America. dundant to say knots per hour. Some of them do not use the To convert knots into approxi- full name Ku Klux Klan, but each mate statute miles per hour, mul- may be called that, and the KKK tiply knots by 1.15. initials may be used for any of Always use figures: Winds them on second reference. were at 7 to 9 knots; a 10-knot The two largest Klan organiza- wind. tions are the National Knights of See nautical mile. the Ku Klux Klan, based at Stone Mountain, Ga., and the United know-how Klans of America, based at Tuscaloosa, Ala. Kodak A trademark for cam- An Imperial Board, composed eras and other photographic of leaders from the various products made by Eastman Kodak Co. of Rochester, N.Y. groups, meets occasionally to coordinate activities. Koran See Quran. Capitalize formal titles before a name: Imperial Wizard James R. Korean names North Kore- Venable, Grand Dragon Dale an names are generally three sep- Reusch. Members are Klansmen. arate words, each starting with a capital letter: Kim Il Sung. South Kuomintang The Chinese Korean names are three words Nationalist political party. Do not with the second two names hy- follow with the word party. Tang phenated and a lowercase letter means party. after the hyphen: Kim Young-sam. In all cases, the family name Kuril Islands Use in date- comes first. lines after a community name in For South Korean place stories from these islands. Name names, use the revised Roman- an individual island, if needed, in ized spellings introduced by the the text. government in 2000: Incheon (for- Explain in the text that a merly Inchon), Busan (formerly small portion of the archipelago is Pusan). claimed by Japan but most are part of Russia. Korean War But lowercase Korean conflict. Kuwait City This capital city of Kuwait stands alone in date- kosher Always lowercase. lines. 151-154_K.qrk 2/18/03 11:55 AM Page 144

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Kwanzaa A seven-day celebration, based on African festi- vals, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. The name comes from the Swahili for “first fruits.” 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 145 L la See foreign particles. lakes Erie and Ontario; Canandaigua and Seneca lakes. Labor Day The first Monday in September. lamebrain Laborers’ International lame duck (n.) lame-duck Union of North America The (adj.) shortened form Laborers’ union is acceptable in all references. Land Rover No hyphen. A Headquarters is in Washing- trademark for a brand of all-ter- ton. rain vehicle.

Labor Party Not labour, even languages Capitalize the if British. proper names of languages and dialects: Aramaic, Cajun, English, Labrador The mainland por- Gullah, Persian, Serbo-Croatian, tion of the Canadian province of Yiddish. Newfoundland. Use Newfoundland in datelines lanolin Formerly a trade- after the name of a community. mark, now a generic term. Specify in the text that it is in Labrador. larceny See the burglary, larceny, robbery, theft entry. Ladies’ Home Journal last Avoid the use of last as a lady Do not use as a syn- synonym for latest if it might onym for woman. Lady may be imply finality. The last time it used when it is a courtesy title or rained, I forgot my umbrella, is ac- when a specific reference to fine ceptable. But: The last announce- manners is appropriate without ment was made at noon today patronizing overtones. may leave the reader wondering See nobility. whether the announcement was the final announcement, or lager (beer) whether others are to follow. The word last is not necessary lake Capitalize as part of a to convey the notion of most re- proper name: Lake Erie, cent when the name of a month Canandaigua Lake, the Finger or day is used: Lakes. Preferred: It happened Lowercase in plural uses: Wednesday. It happened in April. 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 146

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Correct, but redundant: It hap- for a coin-operated laundry. pened last Wednesday. But: It happened last week. It Law Enforcement Assis- happened last month. tance Administration LEAA is acceptable on second reference. Lastex A trademark for a type of elastic yarn. laws Capitalize legislative acts but not bills: the Taft-Hartley Last Supper Act, the Kennedy bill.

Las Vegas The city in Nevada lawsuit Civil lawsuit is re- stands alone in datelines. Do not dundant. confuse with Las Vegas, N.M. lawyer A generic term for all late Do not use it to describe members of the bar. someone’s actions while alive. An attorney is someone legally Wrong: Only the late senator appointed or empowered to act opposed this bill. (The senator for another, usually, but not al- was not dead at that time.) ways, a lawyer. An attorney at law is a lawyer. latex A resin-based sub- A barrister is an English stance used in making elastic lawyer who is specially trained materials and paints. and appears exclusively as a trial lawyer in higher courts. He is re- Latin America See Western tained by a solicitor, not directly Hemisphere. by the client. There is no equivalent term in the United States. Latin Rite See Roman Counselor, when used in a Catholic Church. legal sense, means a person who conducts a case in court, usually, latitude and longitude but not always, a lawyer. A coun- Latitude, the distance north or selor at law is a lawyer. Counsel south of the equator, is designat- frequently is used collectively for ed by parallels. Longitude, the a group of counselors. distance east or west of Green- A solicitor in England is a wich, England, is designated by lawyer who performs legal ser- meridians. vices for the public. A solicitor ap- Use these forms to express de- pears in lower courts but does grees of latitude and longitude: not have the right to appear in New York City lies at 40 degrees higher courts, which are reserved 45 minutes north latitude and 74 to barristers. degrees 0 minutes west longitude; A solicitor in the United States New York City lies south of the is a lawyer employed by a govern- 41st parallel north and along the mental body. Solicitor is generally 74th meridian west. a job description, but in some agencies it is a formal title. Latter Day Saints, Latter- Solicitor general is the formal day Saints See Church of Jesus title for a chief law officer (where Christ of Latter-day Saints. there is no attorney general) or for the chief assistant to the law Laundromat A trademark officer (when there is an attorney 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 147

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general). Capitalize when used from the leather lining that was before a name. formerly part of the collar on the Do not use lawyer as a formal Marine uniform. title. See the attorney, lawyer lectern, podium, pulpit, entry and titles. rostrum A speaker stands behind a lectern, on a podium or ros- lay, lie The action word is trum, or in the pulpit. lay. It takes a direct object. Laid is the form for its past tense and lecturer A formal title in the its past participle. Its present Christian Science Church. An oc- participle is laying. cupational description in other Lie indicates a state of reclin- uses. ing along a horizontal plane. It does not take a direct object. Its lectures Capitalize and use past tense is lay. Its past partici- quotation marks for their formal ple is lain. Its present participle is titles, as described in composi- lying. tion titles. When lie means to make an untrue statement, the verb forms left hand (n.) left-handed are lie, lied, lying. (adj.) left-hander (n.) Some examples: PRESENT OR FUTURE TENS- leftist, ultra-leftist In gen- ES: eral, avoid these terms in favor of Right: I will lay the book on the a more precise description of an table. The prosecutor tried to lay individual’s political philosophy. the blame on him. As popularly used today, par- Wrong: He lays on the beach ticularly abroad, leftist often ap- all day. I will lay down. plies to someone who is merely Right: He lies on the beach all liberal or believes in a form of de- day. I will lie down. mocratic socialism. IN THE PAST TENSE: Ultra-leftist suggests an indi- Right: I laid the book on the vidual who subscribes to a com- table. The prosecutor has laid the munist view or one holding that blame on him. liberal or socialist change cannot Right: He lay on the beach all come within the present form of day. He has lain on the beach all government. day. I lay down. I have lain down. See radical and the rightist, WITH THE PRESENT PARTICI- ultra-rightist entry. PLE: Right: I am laying the book on left wing (n.) But: left-wing the table. The prosecutor is laying (adj.), left-winger (n.). the blame on him. Right: He is lying on the beach. legal holiday See the holi- I am lying down. days and holy days entry. Leaning Tower of Pisa legerdemain

leatherneck Lowercase this legion, legionnaire See nickname for a member of the American Legion and French U.S. Marine Corps. It is derived Foreign legion. 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 148

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Legionnaires’ disease The mandatory, however, provided an disease takes its name from an individual’s title is given later in outbreak at the Pennsylvania the story. American Legion convention held Deletion of the title on first ref- at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in erence is frequently appropriate, Philadelphia in July 1976. Thirty- for example, when an individual four people died — 29 Legion- has become well known: Barry naires or family members and five Goldwater endorsed President other people who had been near Ford today. The Arizona senator the hotel. The disease was diag- said he believes the president de- nosed for the first time after 221 serves another term. people contracted the illness in SECOND REFERENCE: Do not Philadelphia. use legislative titles before a The bacterium believed to be name on second reference unless responsible is found in soil and they are part of a direct quota- grows in water, such as air-condition. tioning ducts, storage tanks and CONGRESSMAN, CONGRESS- rivers. WOMAN: Rep. and U.S. Rep. are The Centers for Disease Con- the preferred first-reference forms trol and Prevention in Atlanta es- when a formal title is used before timates that 25,000 people a year the name of a U.S. House mem- in the United States get the dis- ber. The words congressman or ease, whose pneumonialike congresswoman, in lowercase, symptoms begin in two to three may be used in subsequent refer- days after exposure. ences that do not use an individual’s name, just as senator is legislative titles used in references to members of FIRST REFERENCE FORM: the Senate. Use Rep., Reps., Sen. and Sens. Congressman and congress- as formal titles before one or woman should appear as capital- more names in regular text. Spell ized formal titles before a name out and capitalize these titles be- only in direct quotation. fore one or more names in a di- ORGANIZATIONAL TITLES: rect quotation. Spell out and low- Capitalize titles for formal, orga- ercase representative and senator nizational offices within a legisla- in other uses. tive body when they are used be- Spell out other legislative titles fore a name: Speaker Thomas P. in all uses. Capitalize formal titles O’Neill, Majority Leader Robert C. such as assemblyman, assembly- Byrd, Minority Leader John J. woman, city councilor, delegate, Rhodes, Democratic Whip James etc., when they are used before a C. Wright, Chairman John J. name. Lowercase in other uses. Sparkman of the Senate Foreign Add U.S. or state before a title Relations Committee, President only if necessary to avoid confu- Pro Tem John C. Stennis. sion: U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum See party affiliation and ti- spoke with state Sen. Hugh tles. Carter. FIRST REFERENCE PRAC- legislature Capitalize when TICE: The use of a title such as preceded by the name of a state: Rep. or Sen. in first reference is the Kansas Legislature. normal in most stories. It is not Retain capitalization when the 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 149

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state name is dropped but the clude the six Sundays between reference is specifically to that Ash Wednesday and Easter. state’s legislature: See Easter for the method of TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Both computing when Easter occurs. houses of the Legislature adjourned today. lesbian, lesbianism Lower- Capitalize legislature in subse- case in references to homosexual quent specific references and in women, except in names of orga- such constructions as: the 100th nizations. Legislature, the state Legislature. Although the word legislature -less No hyphen before this is not part of the formal, proper suffix: name for the lawmaking bodies in childless waterless many states, it commonly is used tailless that way and should be treated as less See the fewer, less such in any story that does not entry. use the formal name. If a given context or local prac- let up (v.) letup (n. and adj.) tice calls for the use of a formal name such as Missouri General Levi’s A trademark for a Assembly, retain the capital let- brand of jeans. ters if the name of the state can be dropped, but lowercase the liaison word assembly if it stands alone. Lowercase legislature if a story liberal, liberalism See the uses it in a subsequent reference political parties and philoso- to a body identified as a general phies entry. assembly. Lowercase legislature when lie See the lay, lie entry. used generically: No legislature has approved the amendment. lie in state Only people who Use legislature in lowercase for are entitled to a state funeral may all plural references: The formally lie in state. In the United Arkansas and Colorado legisla- States, this occurs in the rotunda tures are considering the amend- in the Capitol. ment. Those entitled to a state funer- In 49 states the separate bod- al are a president, a former presi- ies are a senate and a house or dent, a president-elect or any assembly. The Nebraska Legisla- other person designated by the ture is a unicameral body. president. See assembly; general as- Members of Congress may lie sembly; governmental bodies; in state, and a number have done house of representatives; and so. The decision is either house’s senate. to make, although the formal process normally begins with a Lent The period from Ash request from the president. Wednesday through Holy Satur- Those entitled to an official fu- day, the day before Easter. The neral, but not to lie in state, are 40-day Lenten period for the vice president, the chief jus- penance, suggested by Christ’s 40 tice, Cabinet members and other days in the desert, does not in- government officials when desig- 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 150

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nated by the president. like- Follow with a hyphen when used as a prefix meaning lieutenant See military ti- similar to: tles. like-minded like-natured No hyphen in words that have lieutenant governor Capi- meanings of their own: talize and abbreviate as Lt. Gov. likelihood likewise or Lt. Govs. when used as a for- likeness likeness mal title before one or more like names in regular text. Capitalize like, as Use as a preposition to compare nouns and pro- and spell out when used as a for- nouns. It requires an object: Jim mal title before one or more blocks like a pro. names in direct quotations. The conjunction as is the cor- Lowercase and spell out in all rect word to introduce clauses: other uses. Jim blocks the linebacker as he See titles. should. Life Saver, Life Savers limousine Trademarks for a brand of roll candy. linage, lineage Linage is the number of lines. life-size Lineage is ancestry or descent.

lifestyle Lincoln’s Birthday Capital- ize birthday in references to the lifetime holiday. Lincoln was born Feb. 12. His lift off (v.) liftoff (n. and birthday is not a federal legal hol- adj.) iday.

light, lighted, lighting Lit line numbers Use figures is acceptable as the past tense and lowercase the word line in form. naming individual lines of a text: line 1, line 9. But: the first line, lightning The electrical dis- the 10th line. charge. Line of Control light-year The distance that light travels in one year at the linoleum Formerly a trade- rate of 186,282 miles per second. mark, now a generic term. It works out to about 5.88 trillion miles (5,878,612,800,000 miles). Linotype A trademark for a brand of typesetting machine that likable Not likeable. casts an entire line of type in one bar or slug. -like Do not precede this suffix by a hyphen unless the letter l lion’s share The term comes would be tripled or the main ele- from an Aesop fable in which the ment is a proper noun: lion took all the spoils of a joint bill-like Norwalk-like hunt. businesslike shell-like Use it to mean the whole of 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 151

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something, or the best and pale. It can mean blue, bluish biggest portion. gray, gray, dull white, dull purple Do not use it to mean majori- or grayish black. ty. Lloyd’s Register of Ship- liter The basic unit of volume ping The reference source for in the metric system. It is defined questions about nonmilitary as the volume occupied by 1 kilo- ships not covered in this book. gram of distilled water at 4 de- It is published by Lloyd’s Reg- grees Celsius. It works out to a ister of Shipping Trust Corp. Ltd. total of 1,000 cubic centimeters in London. (1 cubic decimeter). It takes 1,000 milliliters to Lloyds Bank Internation- make a liter. al Ltd. A prominent bank with A liter is equal to approximate- headquarters in London. ly 34 fluid ounces or 1.06 liquid quarts. A liter equals .91 of a dry Lloyd‚s of London A self- quart. The metric system makes regulating market of insurance. no distinction between dry vol- Founded in Britain in 1680, it re- ume and liquid volume. lies on individual investors world- To convert to liquid quarts, wide, known as Names, along multiply by 1.06 (4 liters x 1.06 with several hundred companies, equals 4.24 liquid quarts). to provide the money for under- To convert to dry quarts, mul- writing insurance. tiply by .91 (4 liters x .91 equals 3.64 dry quarts). local Avoid the irrelevant use To convert to liquid gallons, of the word. multiply by .26 (8 liters x .26 Irrelevant: The injured were equals 2.08 gallons). taken to a local hospital. See gallon; kilogram; metric Better: The injured were taken system; quart (dry); and quart to a hospital. (liquid). local of a union Always use literally See the figurative- a figure and capitalize local when ly, literally entry. giving the name of a union subdivision: Local 222 of The Newspa- literature See composition per Guild. titles. Lowercase local standing alone in plural uses: The local will vote Little League, Little Tuesday. He spoke to locals 2, 4 League Baseball The official and 10. name of the worldwide youth baseball and softball organization Lockheed Martin Corp. and its affiliated local leagues. (No hyphen.) Headquarters is in Bethesda, Md. livable Not liveable. lodges See the fraternal or- livid It is not a synonym for ganizations and service clubs fiery, bright, crimson, red or flam- entry. ing. If a person turns livid with rage, his face becomes ashen or London The city in England 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 152

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stands alone in datelines. Low Countries Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands. long distance, long-distance Always a hyphen in refer- lowercase One word (n., v., ence to telephone calls: We keep adj.) when referring to the ab- in touch by long-distance. He sence of capital letters. Originally called long-distance. She took the from printers’ practice. long-distance call. In other uses, hyphenate only LSD Acceptable in all refer- when used as a compound modi- ences for lysergic acid diethy- fier: She traveled a long distance. lamide. She made a long-distance trip. Lt. Gov. See lieutenant gov- longitude See the latitude ernor. and longitude entry. Lucite A trademark for an longshoreman Capitalize acrylic plastic. longshoreman only if the intended Lufthansa German Air- meaning is that the individual is lines A Lufthansa airliner is ac- a member of the International ceptable in any reference. Longshore and Warehouse Union Headquarters is in Cologne, or the International Longshore- Germany. men’s Association. Lutheran churches The long term, long-term Hy- basic unit of government in phenate when used as a com- Lutheran practice is the congre- pound modifier: We will win in the gation. It normally is adminis- long term. He has a long-term as- tered by a council, headed either signment. by the senior pastor or a lay person elected from the membership long time, longtime They of the council. The council cus- have known each other a long tomarily consists of a congrega- time. They are longtime partners. tion’s clergy and elected lay people. long ton Also known as a The three major Lutheran bod- British ton. Equal to 2,240 ies in the United States merged pounds. See ton. on Jan. 1, 1988, into a new organization, the Evangelical Luther- Lord’s Supper See sacra- an Church in America, with ments. about 5.3 million members in more than 11,000 congregations. Los Angeles The city in Cal- The Lutheran Church in ifornia stands alone in datelines. America was the largest and most Confine L.A. to quoted matter. geographically spread of the three and was formed in 1962 from a LOT Polish Airlines Head- merger of four bodies with Dan- quarters is in Warsaw, Poland. ish, Finnish, German and Swedish backgrounds. It merged Louisiana Abbrev.: La. See with the American Lutheran state names. Church, a mostly Midwestern 155-163_L.qrk 1/27/03 3:05 PM Page 153

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group formed in 1960 through a See John F. Kennedy Space merger of four bodies with Dan- Center. ish, German and Norwegian backgrounds, and the relatively small west-central Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches. The Lutheran Church-Mis- souri Synod, founded in 1847, has 2.6 million members and is a separate and distinct body. Lutheran teachings go back to Martin Luther, a 16th-century Roman Catholic priest whose ob- jections to elements of Roman Catholic practice began the movement known as the Protestant Reformation. Members of the clergy are known as ministers. Pastor applies if a minister leads a congregation. On first reference, use the Rev. before the name of a man or woman. On second reference, use only the last name. See religious titles.

Luxembourg Stands alone in datelines.

-ly Do not use a hyphen between adverbs ending in -ly and adjectives they modify: an easily remembered rule, a badly damaged island, a fully informed woman. See the compound modifiers section of the hyphen entry. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Formerly the Manned Spacecraft Center. Located in Houston, it is the National Aero- nautics and Space Administra- tion’s principal control and training center for manned spaceflight. Johnson Space Center is acceptable in all references. In datelines: SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) — 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 154 M Macau Stands alone in date- quotes. Lowercase magazine un- lines. (Spelling is an exception to less it is part of the publication’s Webster’s New World.) formal title: Harper’s Magazine, Newsweek magazine, Time maga- Mace A trademark, shortened zine. from Chemical Mace, for a brand Check the masthead if in of tear gas that is packaged in an doubt. aerosol canister and temporarily stuns its victims. magistrate Capitalize when used as a formal title before a machine gun (n.) But: ma- name. Use magistrate judge when chine-gun (v. and adj.), machine- referring to the fixed-term judge gunner. who presides in U.S. District See weapons. Court and handles cases referred by U.S. district judges. See titles. Mach number Named for Ernst Mach, an Austrian physi- Magna Carta Not Magna cist, the figure represents the Charta. The charter the English ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the sur- barons forced King John of Eng- rounding medium, such as air, land to grant at Runnymede in through which the object is mov- June 1215. It guaranteed certain ing. civil and political liberties. A rule of thumb for speed of sound is approximately 750 miles Mailgram A trademark for a per hour at sea level and approxi- telegram sent to a post office near mately 660 miles per hour at the recipient’s address and deliv- 30,000 feet above sea level. ered to the address by a letter A body traveling at Mach 1 carrier. would be traveling at the speed of sound. Mach 2 would equal twice mailman Letter carrier or the speed of sound. postal worker is preferable because many women hold this job. Mafia Lowercase as a synonym for organized crime. (A cap Maine Do not abbreviate. See M can be used when referring to state names. the secret society of criminals.) mainland China See China. magazine names Capitalize the name but do not place it in major See military titles. 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 155

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majority leader Capitalize make up (v.) makeup (n., when used as a formal title before adj.) a name: Majority Leader Richard Gephardt. Lowercase elsewhere. malarkey Not malarky. See legislative titles and titles. Maldives Use this official name with a community name in majority, plurality Majority a dateline. The body of the story means more than half of an should note that the nation fre- amount. Plurality means more than the quently is called the Maldive Is- next highest number. lands. COMPUTING MAJORITY: To describe how large a majority is, Mallorca Use instead of take the figure that is more than Spain in datelines on stories from half and subtract everything else communities on this island. from it: If 100,000 votes were cast in an election and one candidate manageable received 60,000 while opponents received 40,000, the winner manager Capitalize when would have a majority of 20,000 used as a formal title before a votes. name: General Manager Dick COMPUTING PLURALITY: To O’Connell. describe how large a plurality is, Do not capitalize in job de- take the highest number and scriptions such as equipment subtract from it the next highest manager John Smith. number: If, in the election exam- See titles. ple above, the second-place finisher had 25,000 votes, the winner?s plurality would be 35,000 managing editor Capitalize votes. when used as a formal title before Suppose, however, that no a name. candidate in this example had a See titles. majority. If the first-place finisher had 40,000 votes and the second- Manitoba A province of cen- place finisher had 30,000, for ex- tral Canada. Do not abbreviate. ample, the leader?s plurality See datelines. would be 10,000 votes. USAGE: When majority and man, mankind Either may plurality are used alone, they take be used when both men and singular verbs and pronouns: The women are involved and no other majority has made its decision. term is convenient. In these If a plural word follows an of cases, do not use duplicate construction, the decision on phrases such as a man or a whether to use a singular or plural verb depends on the sense of woman or mankind and wom- the sentence: A majority of two ankind. votes is not adequate to control the Frequently the best choice is a committee. The majority of the substitute such as humanity, a houses on the block were de- person or an individual. stroyed. See women. 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 156

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manslaughter See the Marshall Islands Named for homicide, murder, manslaugh- John Marshall, a British explorer. ter entry. In datelines, give the name of a city and Marshall Islands. List mantel, mantle A mantel is the name of an individual island a shelf. A mantle is a cloak. in the text. Maoism (Maoist) The com- marshal, marshaled, munist philosophy and policies of marshaling, Marshall Mar- Mao Zedong. See the political shal is the spelling for both the parties and philosophies entry. verb and the noun: Marilyn will marshal her forces. Erwin Rommel March See months. was a field marshal. Marshall is used in proper Mardi Gras Literally fat names: George C. Marshall, John Tuesday, the term describes a Marshall, the Marshall Islands. day of merrymaking on the Tues- day before Ash Wednesday. Martin Luther King Jr. In New Orleans and many Day Federal holiday honoring Roman Catholic countries, the Martin Luther King Jr., who was Tuesday celebration is preceded born Jan. 15, 1929, is on the by a week or more of parades and third Monday in January. It was parties. first celebrated in 1986.

marijuana Not marihuana. Marxism (Marxist) The system of thought developed by Marines Capitalize when re- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ferring to U.S. forces: the U.S. See the political parties and Marines, the Marines, the Marine philosophies entry. Corps, Marine regulations. Do not use the abbreviation USMC. Maryland Abbrev.: Md. See Capitalize Marine when refer- state names. ring to an individual in a Marine Corps unit: He is a Marine. Mason-Dixon Line The Do not describe Marines as boundary line between Pennsyl- soldiers, which is generally asso- vania and Maryland, generally re- ciated with the Army. Use troops garded as separating the North if a generic term is needed. from the South. (Named for 18th- century surveyors Charles Mason Maritime Provinces The and Jeremiah Dixon, the line Canadian provinces of Nova Sco- later was extended to West Vir- tia, New Brunswick and Prince ginia.) Edward Island. Masonite A trademark for a marketbasket, market- brand of hardboard. place Mass It is celebrated, not marquess, marchioness, said. Always capitalize when re- marquis, marquise See nobil- ferring to the ceremony, but low- ity. ercase any preceding adjectives: 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 157

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high Mass, low Mass, requiem mean See the average, Mass. mean, median, norm entry. In Eastern Orthodox churches the correct term is Divine Liturgy. Medal of Freedom It is See Roman Catholic Church. now the Presidential Medal of Freedom. See entry under that Massachusetts Abbrev.: name. Mass. Legally a commonwealth, not a state. Medal of Honor The na- See state and state names. tion’s highest military honor, awarded by Congress for risk of master of arts, master of life in combat beyond the call of science A master’s degree or a duty. Use Medal of Honor recipient master’s is acceptable in any ref- or a synonym, but not winner. erence. There is no Congressional See academic degrees. Medal of Honor.

matrimony See sacraments. Medfly Mediterranean fruit fly. The capital M is an exception maturity In a financial to Webster’s. sense, the date on which a bond, debenture or note must be re- media In the sense of mass paid. communication, such as maga- See loan terminology in zines, newspapers, the news ser- Business Guidelines. vices, radio and television, the The news media May See months. word is plural: are resisting attempts to limit their May Day, mayday May freedom. Day is May 1, often observed as a festive or political holiday. median See the average, Mayday is the international mean, median, norm entry. distress signal, from the French m’aider, meaning“help me” mediate See the arbitrate, mediate entry. mayors’ conference See U.S. Conference of Mayors. Medicaid A federal-state program that helps pay for health MC For master of ceremonies, care for the needy, aged, blind but only in quoted matter. See and disabled, and for low-income emcee. families with children. A state determines eligibility McDonnell Douglas Corp. and which health services are Headquarters is in St. Louis. covered. The federal government reimburses a percentage of the M.D. A word such as physi- state’s expenditures. cian or surgeon is preferred. See doctor and academic ti- Medicare The federal health tles. care insurance program for people aged 65 and over, and for the meager disabled. Eligibility is based 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 158

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mainly on eligibility for Social Se- talize only in references to the or- curity. ganization the Merchant Marine Medicare helps pay charges for or the U.S. Merchant Marine hospitalization, for stays in Academy. Members are merchant skilled nursing facilities, for mariners or merchant crewmen, physician’s charges and for some but not marines. associated health costs. There are limitations on the length of stay Mercurochrome A trade- and type of care. mark for a brand of antiseptic for In Canada, Medicare refers to wounds. the nation’s national health insurance program. meridians Use numerals and lowercase to identify the medicine See the drugs, imaginary locater lines that ring medicine entry. the globe from north to south through the poles. They are mea- medieval sured in units of 0 to 180 degrees east and west of the prime meridi- mega- A prefix denoting 1 an, which runs through Green- million units of a measure. Move wich, England. the decimal point six places to Examples: 33rd meridian (if lo- the right, adding zeros if neces- cation east or west of Greenwich sary, to convert to the basic unit: is obvious), 1st meridian west, 5.5 megatons = 5,500,000 tons. 100th meridian. See the latitude and longi- melee tude entry. Melkite Church See East- merry-go-round ern Rite churches. messiah Capitalize in reli- memento, mementos gious uses. Lowercase when used memo, memos generically to mean a liberator. memorandum, memo- meter The basic unit of randums length in the metric system. It is equal to approximately Memorial Day Formerly 39.37 inches, which may be May 30. The federal legal holiday rounded off to 39.5 inches in is the last Monday in May. most comparisons. It takes 100 centimeters to menage a trois make a meter. It takes 1,000 meters to make menswear Not men’s wear. a kilometer. To convert to inches, multiply Mercedes-Benz Note hy- by 39.37 (5 meters x 39.37 = phen in this division of Daimler- 196.85 inches). Chrysler. To convert to yards, multiply by 1.1 (5 meters x 1.1 = 5.5 merchant marine Lower- yards). case in referring to the ships of a See inch; metric system; and nation used in commerce. Capi- yards. 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 159

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Methodist churches The Methodist Episcopal Church, the term Methodist originated as a African Methodist Episcopal Zion nickname applied to a group of Church and the Christian 18th century Oxford University Methodist Episcopal Church. students known for their method- Methodists believe in the Trini- ical application to Scripture study ty and the humanity and divinity and prayer. of Christ. There are two sacra- The principal Methodist body ments, baptism and the Lord’s in the United States is the United Supper. Methodist Church, which also Ordained individuals are has some member conferences known as bishops and ministers. outside the United States. It was Pastor applies if a minister leads formed in 1968 by the merger of a congregation. the Methodist Church and the For first references to bishops Evangelical United Brethren use the word: Bishop W. Kenneth Church. It has about 10 million Goodson of Richmond, Va. members. For first reference to ministers, The government of the United use the Rev. before the name of a Methodist Church follows a strat- man or woman. On second refer- ified pattern from the General ence, use only the last name. Conference through several inter- See religious titles. mediate conferences down to the local congregation. metric system In general, The General Conference, metric terms should be included which meets every four years, has in a story when they are relevant. final authority in all matters. Its There are no hard-and-fast members, half lay and half clergy, rules on when they are relevant, are elected by the annual confer- but the following two guidelines ences. have been developed to cover A Methodist bishop presides questions likely to arise as metric over a“church area,”which may measurements gain increased ac- embrace one or more annual con- ceptance in the United States: ferences. Bishops have extensive —Use metric terms when they administrative powers, including are the primary form in which the the authority to place, transfer source of a story has provided and remove local church pastors, statistics. Follow the metric units usually in consultation with dis- with equivalents in the terms trict superintendents. more widely known in the United Districts in each conference States. Normally, the equivalent are responsible for promotion of should be in parentheses after mission work, support of colleges, the metric figure. A general state- hospitals and publications, and ment such as: A kilometer equals examination of candidates for the about five-eighths of a mile, would ministry. be acceptable, however, to avoid Members of a congregation repeated use of parenthetical form a charge conference. It equivalents in a story that uses elects officers to a board that as- kilometers many times. sists the pastor. —Provide metric equivalents Methodism in the United for traditional forms if a metric States also includes three major unit has become widely known. black denominations: the African As speedometers with kilometer 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 160

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markings become more prevalent, lion units). Entries for each prefix for example, a story about speed show how to convert a unit pre- limits might list miles per hour ceded by the prefix to the basic and provide kilometers per hour unit. in parentheses. In addition, separate entries CONVERSION FORMULAS: A for gram, meter, liter, Celsius conversion table follows. To avoid and other frequently used metric the need for long strings of fig- units define them and give exam- ures, prefixes are added to the ples of how to convert them to metric units to denote fractional equivalents in the terminology elements or large multiples. The that has been used in the United prefixes are: pico- (one-trillionth), States. nano- (one-billionth), micro- (one- Similarly, entries for pound, millionth), milli- (one-thou- inch, quart, Fahrenheit, etc., sandth), centi- (one-hundreth), contain examples of how to con- deci- (one-tenth), deka- (10 units), vert these terms to metric forms. hecto- (100 units), kilo- (1,000 ABBREVIATIONS: The abbre- units), mega- (1 million units), viation mm for millimeter is ac- giga- (1 billion units), tera- (1 tril- ceptable in references to film

METRIC CONVERSION CHART

INTO METRIC OUT OF METRIC If You Know Multiply By To get If You Know Multiply By To get LENGTH LENGTH inches 2.54 centimeters millimeters 0.04 inches foot 30 centimeters centimeters 0.4 inches yards 0.91 meters meters 3.3 feet miles 1.6 kilometers kilometers 0.62 miles AREA sq. inches 6.5 sq. centimeters AREA sq. feet 0.09 sq. meters sq. centimeters 0.16 sq. inches sq. yards 0.8 sq. meters sq. meters 1.2 sq. yards sq. miles 2.6 sq. kilometers sq. kilometers 0.4 sq. miles acres 0.4 hectares hectares 2.47 acres MASS (Weight) ounces 28 grams MASS (Weight) pounds 0.45 kilograms grams 0.035 ounces short ton 0.9 metric ton kilograms 2.2 pounds VOLUME metric tons 1.1 short tons teaspoons 5 milliliters tablespoons 15 milliliters VOLUME fluid ounces 30 milliliters milliliters 0.03 fluid ounces cups 0.24 liters liters 2.1 pints pints 0.47 liters liters 1.06 quarts quarts 0.95 liters liters 0.26 gallons gallons 3.8 liters cubic meters 35 cubic feet cubic feet 0.03 cubic meters cubic meters 1.3 cubic yards cubic yards 0.76 cubic meters TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE Subtract 32 Multiply by Fahrenheit then multiply Celsius Celsius 9/5ths, then Fahrenheit by 5/9ths add 32 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 161

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widths (8 mm film) and weapons reau, they are New Jersey, New (a 105 mm cannon). (Note space York and Pennsylvania. between numeral and abbrevia- Less formal references often tion.) consider Delaware part of the Do not otherwise use metric group. abbreviations in news copy. See Northeast region. The principal abbreviations, for reference in the event they are middle class, middle- used by a source, are: g (gram), class He is a member of the mid- kg (kilogram), t (metric ton), m dle class. She has middle-class (meter), cm (centimeter), km (kilo- values. meter), mm (millimeter), L (liter, capital L to avoid confusion with Middle East The term ap- the figure 1) and mL (milliliter). plies to southwest Asia west of Pakistan and Afghanistan (Iran, metric ton Equal to approxi- Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, mately 2,204.62 pounds. See ton. Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Arab Emirates and Yemen), Inc. MGM is acceptable in all ref- northeastern Africa (Egypt and erences. Sudan), and the island of Cyprus. Headquarters is in Santa Mon- Popular usage once distin- ica, Calif. guished between the Near East (the westerly nations in the list- Mexico City The city in Mex- ing) and the Middle East (the ico stands alone in datelines. easterly nations), but the two terms now overlap, with current Miami The city in Florida practice favoring Middle East for stands alone in datelines. both areas. Use Middle East unless Near Michigan Abbrev.: Mich. See East is used by a source in a state names. story. Mideast is also acceptable, but micro- A prefix denoting one- Middle East is preferred. millionth of a unit. Move the decimal point six middle initials In general, places to the left in converting to use them. They are an integral the basic unit: 2,999,888.5 mi- part of a person’s name. croseconds = 2.9998885 seconds. Particular care should be taken to include middle initials in mid- No hyphen unless a capitalized word follows: stories where they help identify a mid-America midsemester specific individual. Examples in- mid-Atlantic midterm clude casualty lists and stories But use a hyphen when mid- naming the accused in a crime. precedes a figure: mid-30s. A middle initial may be dropped if a person does not use Middle Ages A.D. 476 to one or is publicly known without approximately A.D. 1450. it: Mickey Mantle (not Mickey C.), the Rev. Billy Graham (not Billy Middle Atlantic States As F.). defined by the U.S. Census Bu- See names. 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 162

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middleman speeds: The farm measures 5 miles by 4 miles. The car slowed middle names Use them to 7 mph. The new model gets 4 only with people who are publicly miles more per gallon. known that way (James Earl Spell out below 10 in dis- Jones), or to prevent confusion tances: He drove four miles. with people of the same name. See middle initials; names. miles per gallon The abbreviation mpg is acceptable on Middle West Definitions second reference. vary, but the term generally applies to the 12 states that the miles per hour The abbrevi- U.S. Census Bureau includes in ation mph (no periods) is accept- the North Central region. See able in all references. North Central region. The shortened form Midwest is military academies Capi- acceptable in all references. talize U.S. Air Force Academy, The forms for adjectives are U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Middle Western, Midwestern. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. See the directions and re- Military Academy, U.S. Naval gions entry. Academy. Retain capitalization if the U.S. is dropped: the Air Force midnight Do not put a 12 in Academy, etc. front of it. It is part of the day Lowercase academy whenever that is ending, not the one that is it stands alone. beginning. Cadet is the proper title on first reference for men and See military midshipman women enrolled at the Army, Air academies. Force, Coast Guard and Mer- MiG The i in this designation chant Marine academies. Mid- for a type of Russian fighter is shipman is the proper title for lowercase because it is the Russ- men and women enrolled at the ian word for and. The initials are Naval Academy. from the last names of the de- Use the appropriate title on signers, Arten Mikoyan and first reference. On second refer- Mikhail Gurevich. ence, use only the last name. The forms: MiG-19, MiG-21s. See aircraft names. military titles Capitalize a military rank when used as a for- mile Also called a statute mal title before an individual‚s mile, it equals 5,280 feet. name. The metric equivalent is ap- See the lists that follow to de- proximately 1.6 kilometers. termine whether the title should To convert to kilometers, mul- be spelled out or abbreviated in tiply by 1.6 (5 miles x 1.6 equals regular text. Spell out any title 8 kilometers). used before a name in a direct See foot; kilometer; knot; quotation. and nautical mile. On first reference, use the ap- Use figures for amounts under propriate title before the full 10 in dimensions, formulas and name of a member of the military. 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 163

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In subsequent references, do Enlisted Personnel not continue using the title before sergeant major Sgt. Maj. a name. Use only the last name. of the army of the Army Spell out and lowercase a title command sergeant Command Sgt. when it is substituted for a name: major Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing arrived sergeant major Sgt. Maj. today. An aide said the general first sergeant 1st Sgt. would review the troops. master sergeant Master Sgt. sergeant first classSgt. 1st Class In some cases, it may be nec- staff sergeant Staff Sgt. essary to explain the significance sergeant Sgt. of a title: Army Sgt. Maj. John corporal Cpl. Jones described the attack. Jones, specialist Spc. who holds the Army’s highest private first class Pfc. rank for enlistees, said it was un- private Pvt. provoked. In addition to the ranks listed NAVY, COAST GUARD on the next page, each service has ratings such as machinist, radarman, torpedoman, etc., that Commissioned Officers admiral Adm. are job descriptions. Do not use vice admiral Vice Adm. any of these designations as a rear admiral Rear Adm. title on first reference. If one is upper half used before a name in a subse- rear admiral Rear Adm. quent reference, do not capitalize lower half captain Capt. or abbreviate it. commander Cmdr. ABBREVIATIONS: The abbre- lieutenant Lt. Cmdr. viations, with the highest ranks commander listed first: lieutenant Lt. lieutenant junior Lt. j.g. grade MILITARY TITLES ensign Ensign Rank Usage before a name Warrant Officers chief warrant Chief Warrant ARMY officer Officer Enlisted Personnel Commissioned Officers master chief Master Chief general Gen. petty officer Petty Officer lieutenant general Lt. Gen. of the Navy of the Navy major general Maj. Gen. senior chief Senior Chief brigadier general Brig. Gen. petty officer Petty Officer colonel Col. chief petty officer Chief Petty Officer lieutenant colonel Lt. Col. petty officer Petty Officer major Maj. first class 1st Class captain Capt. petty officer Petty Officer first lieutenant 1st Lt. second class 2nd Class second lieutenant 2nd Lt. petty officer Petty Officer third class 3rd Class Warrant Officers seaman Seaman chief warrant Chief Warrant seaman apprentice Seaman Apprentice officer Officer seaman recruit Seaman Recruit warrant officer Warrant Officer 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 164

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MARINE CORPS vant to a story. Do not, however, Ranks and abbreviations for use the military abbreviation Ret. commissioned officers are the Instead, use retired just as for- same as those in the Army. War- mer would be used before the title rant officer ratings follow the of a civilian: They invited retired same system used in the Navy. Army Gen. John Smith. There are no specialist ratings. FIREFIGHTERS, POLICE OF- FICERS: Use the abbreviations Others listed here when a military-style sergeant major Sgt. Maj. of the title is used before the name of a of the Marine Marine Corps firefighter or police officer outside master gunnery Master Gunnery a direct quotation. Add police or sergeant Sgt. master sergeant Master Sgt. fire before the title if needed for first sergeant 1st Sgt. clarity: police Sgt. William Smith, gunnery sergeant Gunnery Sgt. fire Capt. David Jones. staff sergeant Staff Sgt. Spell out titles such as detec- sergeant Sgt. tive that are not used in the corporal Cpl. armed forces. lance corporal Lance Cpl. private first class Pfc. military units Use Arabic private Pvt. figures and capitalize the key AIR FORCE words when linked with the fig- Ranks and abbreviations for ures: 1st Infantry Division (or the commissioned officers are the 1st Division), 5th Battalion, 395th same as those in the Army. Field Artillery, 7th Fleet. But: the division, the battalion, Enlisted Designations the artillery, the fleet. chief master Chief Master Sgt. sergeant of the of the Air Force millennium Air Force chief master Chief Master Sgt. milli- A prefix denoting one- sergeant thousandth of a unit. Move the senior master Senior Master Sgt. decimal three places to the left in sergeant master sergeant Master Sgt. converting to the basic unit: technical sergeant Tech. Sgt. 1,567.5 millimeters equals staff sergeant Staff Sgt. 1.5675 meters. senior airman Senior Airman airman first class Airman 1st Class milligram One-thousandth airman Airman of a gram. airman basic Airman Equal to approximately one- twenty-eight-thousandth of an PLURALS: Add s to the princi- ounce. pal element in the title: Majs. To convert to ounces, multiply John Jones and Robert Smith; by 0.000035 (140 milligrams x Maj. Gens. John Jones and Robert 0.000035 equals 0.0049 ounces). Smith; Spcs. John Jones and See metric system. Robert Smith. RETIRED OFFICERS: A mili- milliliter One-thousandth of tary rank may be used in first ref- a liter. erence before the name of an offi- Equal to approximately one- cer who has retired if it is rele- fifth of a teaspoon. 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 165

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Thirty milliliters equals 1 fluid milquetoast Not milk toast ounce. when referring to a shrinking, To convert to teaspoons, mul- apologetic person. Derived from tiply by 0.2 (5 milliliters x 0.2 Caspar Milquetoast, a character equals 1 teaspoon). in a comic strip by Harold T. See liter and metric system. Webster.

millimeter One-thousandth Milwaukee The city in Wis- of a meter. consin stands alone in datelines. It takes 10 millimeters to make a centimeter. mimeograph Formerly a A millimeter is roughly equal trademark, now a generic term. to the thickness of a paper clip. To convert to inches, multiply mini- The rules in prefixes by .04 (5 millimeters x .04 is 0.2 apply, but in general, no hyphen. of an inch). Some examples: May be abbreviated as mm miniseries miniskirt when used with a numeral in first minivan or subsequent references to film or weapons: 35 mm film, 105 mm minister It is not a formal artillery piece. (Note space after title in most religions, with excep- numeral.) tions such as the Nation of Islam, and is not capitalized. Where it is See meter; metric system; a formal title, it should be capital- and inch. ized before the name: Minister millions, billions Use fig- John Jones. ures with million or billion in all See religious titles and the except casual uses: I’d like to entry for an individual’s denomi- make a billion dollars. But: The nation. nation has 1 million citizens. I ministry See foreign gov- need $7 billion. ernmental bodies. Do not go beyond two decimal places. 7.51 million people, $256 Minneapolis The city in billion, 7,542,500 people, Minnesota stands alone in date- $2,565,750,000. Decimals are lines. preferred where practical: 1.5 million. Not: 1 1/2 million. Minnesota Abbrev.: Minn. Do not mix millions and bil- See state names. lions in the same figure: 2.6 billion. Not: 2 billion 600 million. Minnesota Mining and Do not drop the word million Manufacturing See 3M entry. or billion in the first figure of a range: He is worth from $2 million minority leader Treat the to $4 million. Not: $2 to $4 million, same as majority leader. See that unless you really mean $2. entry and legislative titles. Note that a hyphen is not used to join the figures and the word minuscule Not miniscule. million or billion, even in this type of phrase: The president submit- minus sign Use a hyphen, ted a $300 billion budget. not a dash, but use the word 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 166

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minus if there is any danger of modem Acceptable in all ref- confusion. erences for the acronym formed Use a word, not a minus sign, from modulator and demodulator. to indicate temperatures below zero: minus 10 or 5 below zero. mom Uppercase only when the noun substitutes for a name mips Acronym for million in- as a term of address: Hi, Mom! structions per second. Spell out on first reference. Monaco After the Vatican, the world’s smallest state. MIRV, MIRVs Acceptable on The Monaco section stands first reference for multiple inde- alone in datelines. The other two pendently targetable re-entry vehi- sections, La Condamine and cle(s). Monte Carlo, are followed by Explain in the text that a MIRV Monaco: is an intercontinental ballistic MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) — missile with several warheads, each of which can be directed to a Monday See days of the different target. week.

misdemeanor See the Monday morning quar- felony, misdemeanor entry. terback One who second-guess- es. mishap A minor misfortune. People are not killed in mishaps. M-1, M-14 See weapons.

Miss See courtesy titles. monetary See the fiscal, monetary entry. missile names Use Arabic figures and capitalize the proper monetary units See cents; name but not the word missile: dollars; and pounds. Pershing 2 missile. See ABM; ICBM; MIRV; and moneymaker SAM. monsignor See Roman Mississippi Abbrev.: Miss. Catholic Church. See state names. Montana Abbrev.: Mont. See Missouri Abbrev.: Mo. See state names. state names. Montessori method After mix up (v.) mix-up (n. and Maria Montessori, a system of adj.) training young children. It em- phasizes training of the senses Mobil Corp. See Exxon and guidance to encourage self- Mobil. education.

mock-up (n.) monthlong

model numbers See serial months Capitalize the names numbers. of months in all uses. When a 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 167

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month is used with a specific ing primarily with church activi- date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., ties. Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. See the entry under the formal Spell out when using alone, or name. with a year alone. When a phrase lists only a Moscow The city in Russia month and a year, do not sepa- stands alone in datelines. rate the year with commas. When a phrase refers to a month, day Moslem(s) The preferred and year, set off the year with term to describe adherents of commas. Islam is Muslim(s). EXAMPLES: January 1972 was a cold month. Jan. 2 was the mosquito, mosquitoes coldest day of the month. His birthday is May 8. Feb. 14, 1987, Mother’s Day The second was the target date. Sunday in May. In tabular material, use these three-letter forms without a peri- mother-in-law, mothers- od: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, in-law Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec. See dates and years. Mother Nature

Montreal The city in Canada motor See the engine, stands alone in datelines. motor entry.

monuments Capitalize the mount Spell out in all uses, popular names of monuments including the names of communi- and similar public attractions: ties and of mountains: Mount Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Clemens, Mich.; Mount Everest. Liberty, Washington Monument, Leaning Tower of Pisa, etc. mountains Capitalize as part of a proper name: Appalachi- moon Lowercase. See heav- an Mountains, Ozark Mountains, enly bodies. Rocky Mountains. the Appalachians mo-ped Hyphen is an excep- Or simply: , tion to Webster’s. the Ozarks, the Rockies.

mop up (v.) mop-up (n. and Mountain Standard Time adj.) (MST), Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) See time zones. Moral Majority Not the Moral Majority. Mountain States As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than See over. the eight are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mormon church Acceptable Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. in references to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, movie ratings The ratings but the official name is preferred used by the Motion Picture Asso- in first reference in a story deal- ciation of America are: 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 168

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G — General audiences. All gion. Use other spellings only if ages admitted. preferred by a specific person for PG — Parental guidance sug- his own name or in a title or the gested. Some material may not be name of an organization. suitable for children. PG-13 — Special parental guid- mujahedeen Lowercase ance strongly suggested for chil- when using the Arabic for holy dren under 13. Some material warriors; uppercase if it is part of may be inappropriate for young the name of a group. children. R — Restricted. Under 17 re- mullah An Islamic leader or quires accompanying parent or teacher, often a general title fo re- adult guardian. spect for a learned man. NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted. multi- The rules in prefixes When the ratings are used in apply, but in general, no hyphen. news stories or reviews, use these Some examples: multicolored multimillion forms as appropriate: the movie multilateral multimillionaire has an R rating, an R-rated movie, the movie is R-rated. Multigraph A trademark for a brand of dictating machine. movie titles See composition titles. Multilith A trademark for a brand of duplicating machine. mph Acceptable in all references for miles per hour or miles murder See the homicide, an hour. murder, manslaughter entry.

Mr., Mrs. The plural of Mr. is murderer See the assassin, Messrs.; the plural of Mrs. is killer, murderer entry. Mmes. These abbreviated spellings Murphy’s law The law is: If apply in all uses, including direct something can go wrong, it will. quotations. See courtesy titles for guide- music Capitalize, but do not lines on when to use Mr. and use quotation marks, on descrip- Mrs. tive titles for orchestral works: Bach’s Suite No. 1 for Orchestra; Ms. This is the spelling and Beethoven’s Serenade for Flute, punctuation for all uses of the Violin and Viola. If the instrumen- courtesy title, including direct tation is not part of the title but is quotations. added for explanatory purposes, There is no plural. If several the names of the instruments are women who prefer Ms. must be lowercased: Mozart’s Sinfonia listed in a series, repeat Ms. be- Concertante in E flat major (the fore each name. common title) for violin and viola. See courtesy titles for guide- If in doubt, lowercase the names lines on when to use Ms. of the instruments. Use quotation marks for non- Muhammad The prophet musical terms in a title: and founder of the Islamic reli- Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony. If 164-179_M.qrk 2/11/03 2:55 PM Page 169

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the work has a special full title, all of it is quoted: “Symphonie Fantastique,” “Rhapsody in Blue.” In subsequent references, lowercase symphony, concerto, etc.

musket See weapons.

Muslims The preferred term to describe adherents of Islam. A Black Muslim is a member of a predominantly black Islamic sect in the United States. Howev- er, the term is considered derogatory by members of the sect, who call themselves Muslims. Mutual Broadcasting Sys- tem Inc. Mutual Radio is acceptable in all references. Use Mutual, not MBS, in subsequent references.

Muzak A trademark for a type of recorded background music. 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 170 N n. See nouns. mention the full name later. naive national anthem Lower- case. But: “The Star-Spangled names In general, use last Banner.” names only on second reference. (See courtesy titles.) National Association for In stories involving young- the Advancement of Col- sters, generally refer to them by ored People NAACP is accept- first name on second reference if able on first reference to avoid a they are 15 or younger and by cumbersome lead, but provide the their surname at 18 and older. full name in the body of the story. However, use news judgment Headquarters is in Baltimore. and refer to children under 15 by their last name if the story is a National Association of serious one involving, for exam- Letter Carriers The shortened ple, a major crime. With 16- or form Letter Carriers union is ac- 17-year-olds, use the surname ceptable in all references. unless it’s a light-hearted story. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. nano- A prefix denoting one- billionth of a unit. Move the deci- National Baptist Conven- mal point nine places to the left tion of America See Baptist in converting to the basic unit: churches. 2,999,888,777.5 nanoseconds equals 2.9998887775 seconds. National Baptist Conven- tion U.S.A. Inc. See Baptist naphtha See the oil entry. churches. narrow-minded National Broadcasting Co. See NBC. national See the citizen, resident, subject, national, native national chairman Capital- entry. ize when used before the name of the individual who heads a politi- National Aeronautics and cal party: Democratic National Space Administration NASA Chairman Kenneth M. Curtis. is acceptable on first reference. If NASA is used in first refer- National Council of the ence to avoid a cumbersome lead, Churches of Christ in the 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 171

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U.S.A. This interdenominational, ter See weather terms. cooperative body includes most major Protestant and Eastern Or- National Institutes of thodox denominations in the Health This agency within the United States. Department of Health and The shortened form National Human Services is the principal Council of Churches is acceptable biomedical research arm of the in all references. federal government. Headquarters is in New York. Its agencies are: National Can- See World Council of Church- cer Institute; National Center for es. Research Resources; National Eye Institute; National Human National Education Asso- Genome Research Institute; Na- ciation NEA is acceptable on tional Heart, Lung and Blood In- second reference. stitute; National Institute on Headquarters is in Washing- Aging; National Institute on Alco- ton. hol Abuse and Alcoholism; Na- tional Institute of Allergy and In- National FFA Organiza- fectious Diseases; National Insti- tion Formerly the Future Farm- tute of Arthritis and Muscu- ers of America. FFA is acceptable loskeletal and Skin Diseases; Na- on second reference. tional Institute of Child Health Headquarters is in Alexandria, and Human Development; Na- Va. tional Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute on Deafness National Governors’ As- and Other Communication Disor- sociation Note the apostrophe. ders; National Institute of Dia- Represents the governors of the betes and Digestive and Kidney 50 states and five territories. Diseases; National Institute of Its office is in Washington. Dental Research; National Insti- national guard Capitalize tute of Environmental Health Sci- when referring to U.S. or state- ences; National Institute of Gen- level forces: the National Guard, eral Medical Sciences; National the Guard, the Iowa National Institute of Mental Health; Na- Guard, Iowa’s National Guard, tional Institute of Neurological National Guard troops. Disorders and Stroke; National Use lowercase for the forces of Institute of Nursing Research; other nations. National Library of Medicine; Of- fice of Alternative Medicine; Office National Guardsman Note of Medical Applications of Re- spelling. Capitalize as a proper search; Office of Research on noun when referring to an indi- Women’s Health; National Insti- vidual in a federal or state Na- tutes of Health Clinical Center; tional Guard unit: He is a Nation- Center for Scientific Review; Cen- al Guardsman. ter for Information Technology. Lowercase guardsman when it All the agencies are in Bethes- stands alone. da, Md., except the National Insti- See military titles. tute of Environmental Health Sci- ences, which is in Research Tri- National Hurricane Cen- angle Park, N.C. 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 172

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nationalist Lowercase when National Organization referring to a partisan of a coun- for Women Not of. NOW is ac- try. Capitalize only when referring ceptable on second reference. to alignment with a political party Headquarters is in Washing- for which this is the proper name. ton. See the political parties and philosophies entry. National Rifle Associa- tion NRA is acceptable on sec- Nationalist China See ond reference. China. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. nationalities and races Capitalize the proper names of National Weather Service nationalities, peoples, races, No longer the U.S. Weather Bu- tribes, etc.: Arab, Arabic, African, reau. The weather service (lower- American, Caucasian, Cherokee, case) may be used in any refer- Chinese (both singular and plur- ence. al), Eskimo (plural Eskimos), See weather terms. French Canadian, Gypsy (Gypsies), Japanese (singular and Nation of Islam The nation- plural), Jew, Jewish, Latin, Negro alist religious movement traces (Negroes), Nordic, Sioux, Swede, its origins in 1930 to W.D. Fard, etc. also known as Wali Fard, who Lowercase black (noun or ad- called for racial separation. Elijah jective), white, red, mulatto, etc. Muhammad took over the leader- See colored. ship in 1934, holding the post See race for guidelines on until his death in 1975. A son, when racial identification is perti- Warith (Wallace) Dean Muham- nent in a story. mad, succeeded to the leadership Lowercase derogatory terms and pointed the movement to- such as honky and nigger. Use ward integration and traditional them only in direct quotes when Islam. Louis Farrakhan led a mil- essential to the story and flag the itant faction into a separatist contents in an editor’s note. movement in 1976. The Nation of Islam does not National Labor Relations release membership figures, but Board NLRB is acceptable on published estimates have ranged second reference. from 10,000 to more than 20,000. Use the title minister on first National League of Cities reference to clergymen: Minister Its members are the governments Louis Farrakhan. of cities with 30,000 or more residents, and some state and mu- nationwide nicipal leagues. It is separate from the U.S. native See the citizen, resi- Conference of Mayors, whose dent, subject, national, native membership is limited to mayors entry. of cities with 30,000 or more residents. The organizations often en- NATO Acceptable in all refer- gage in joint projects, however. ences for the North Atlantic Treaty The office is in Washington. Organization, but use it sparingly. 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 173

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A phrase such as the alliance is ences to the National Broadcast- less burdensome to the reader. ing Co. Divisions are NBC News, NBC Naugahyde A trademark for Radio and NBC-TV. a brand of simulated leather. NC-17 The movie rating that nautical mile It equals 1 denotes individuals under 17 are minute of arc of a great circle or not admitted. (Previously, an X 6,076.11549 feet, or 1,852 me- rating.) ters. To convert to approximate statute miles (5,280 feet), multi- NCR Corp. Formerly National ply the number of nautical miles Cash Register Co. by 1.15. Headquarters is in Dayton, See knot. Ohio.

naval, navel Use naval in Near East There is no longer copy pertaining to a navy. a substantial distinction between A navel is a bellybutton. this term and Middle East. A navel orange is a seedless See the Middle East entry. orange, so named because it has a small depression, like a navel. nearsighted When used in a medical sense, it means an indi- naval station Capitalize vidual can see well at close range only as part of a proper name: but has difficulty seeing objects Norfolk Naval Station. at a distance.

navy Capitalize when refer- Nebraska Abbrev.: Neb. See ring to U.S. forces: the U.S. Navy, state names. the Navy, Navy policy. Do not use the abbreviation USN. negligee Lowercase when referring to the naval forces of other nations: neither...nor See the ei- the British navy. ther...or, neither...nor entry. This approach has been adopted for consistency, because many Netherlands In datelines, foreign nations do not use navy give the name of the community as the proper name. followed by Netherlands: See military academies and AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) military titles. — In stories: the Netherlands or Nazi, Nazism Derived from Netherlands as the construction the German for the National So- of a sentence dictates. cialist German Workers’ Party, the fascist political party founded Netherlands Antilles In in 1919 and abolished in 1945. datelines, give the name of the Under Adolf Hitler, it seized con- community followed by Nether- trol of Germany in 1933. lands Antilles. Do not abbreviate. See the political parties and Identify an individual island, if philosophies entry. needed, in the text.

NBC Acceptable in all refer- net income, net profit See 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 174

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profit terminology in the Busi- New Hampshire Abbrev.: ness Guidelines and Style sec- N.H. See state names. tion. New Jersey Abbrev.: N.J. neutron weapon A small See state names. warhead designed to be mounted on a Lance missile or fired from New Mexico Abbrev.: N.M. an 8-inch gun. It produces twice See state names. the deadly radiation of older, tac- tical nuclear warheads but less New Orleans The city in than one-tenth as much explosive Louisiana stands alone in date- power, heat and fallout. This lines. means the warhead can kill people while causing little damage to New South The era that buildings and other structures. began in the South in the 1960s It is not a bomb. It is a weapon with a thriving economy and the or a warhead. election of state officials who ad- If neutron bomb is used in a di- vocated the abolition of racial seg- rect quote, explain in a subse- regation. quent paragraph that the war- Old South applies to the South head would be fired on a missile before the Civil War. or from artillery and not dropped, like a bomb, from a plane. Newspaper Association The weapon officially is known of America Formerly the Amer- as an enhanced radiation ican Newspaper Publishers Asso- weapon. ciation. NAA is acceptable in second reference. Also the newspa- Nevada Abbrev.: Nev. See per association, the association. state names. Headquarters is in Reston, Va.

New Brunswick One of the Newspaper Guild, The three Maritime Provinces of Cana- Formerly the American Newspa- da. Do not abbreviate. per Guild, it is a union for news- See datelines. paper and news service employees, generally those in the news New England Connecticut, and business departments. Maine, Massachusetts, New On second reference: the Hampshire, Rhode Island and Guild. Vermont. Headquarters is in Washing- ton. Newfoundland This Cana- dian province comprises the is- newspaper names Capital- land of Newfoundland and the ize the in a newspaper’s name if mainland section known as that is the way the publication Labrador. Do not abbreviate. prefers to be known. Do not place In datelines, use Newfound- name in quotes. land after the names of all cities Lowercase the before newspa- and towns. Specify in the text per names if a story mentions whether the community is on the several papers, some of which use island or in Labrador. the as part of the name and some See datelines. of which do not. 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 175

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Where location is needed but vidual prefers to be known: is not part of the official name, Jimmy Carter. use parentheses: The Huntsville When a nickname is inserted (Ala.) Times. into the identification of an indi- Consult the International Year vidual, use quotation marks: Sen. Book published by Editor & Pub- Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson. Also: lisher to determine whether a Jackson is known as “Scoop.” two-name combination is hy- In sports stories and sports phenated. columns, commonly used nicknames may be substituted for a newsstand first name without the use of quotation marks: Woody Hayes, Bear New Testament See Bible. Bryant, Catfish Hunter, Bubba Smith, etc. But in sports stories New World The Western where the given name is used, Hemisphere. and in all news stories: Paul New Year’s, New Year’s “Bear” Bryant. Day, New Year’s Eve But: Capitalize without quotation What will the new year bring? marks such terms as Sunshine The federal legal holiday is ob- State, the Old Dominion, Motown, served on Friday if Jan. 1 falls on the Magic City, Old Hickory, Old a Saturday, on Monday if it falls Glory, Galloping Ghost. on a Sunday. See names.

New York Abbrev.: N.Y. Use nightclub New York state when a distinction must be made between state and nighttime city. See state names. 9-11 Sept. 11 is the preferred New York City Use NEW term to use in describing the ter- YORK in datelines, not the name ror attacks in the United States of an individual community or Sept. 11, 2001. If the numerals borough such as Flushing or are required, in quotations, for Queens. example, use a hyphen, not a Identify the borough in the slash. body of the story if pertinent. nitpicking New York Stock Ex- change NYSE is acceptable on nitty-gritty second reference as an adjective. Use the stock exchange or the ex- No. Use as the abbreviation change for other second refer- for number in conjunction with a ences. figure to indicate position or Capitalize the nickname Big rank: No. 1 man, No. 3 choice. Board when used. Do not use in street addresses, with this exception: No. 10 Down- nicknames A nickname ing St., the residence of Britain’s should be used in place of a per- prime minister. son’s given name in news stories Do not use in the names of only when it is the way the indi- schools: Public School 19. 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 176

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Nobel Prize, Nobel Prizes nobility begin with the royal fami- The five established under terms ly. The term royalty is reserved of the will of Alfred Nobel are: for the families of living and de- Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize in ceased sovereigns. chemistry, Nobel Prize in litera- Next, in descending order, are ture, Nobel Prize in physics, dukes, marquesses (also called Nobel Prize in physiology or medi- marquises), earls, viscounts and cine. (Note the capitalization barons. Many hold inherited ti- styles.) tles; others have been raised to The Nobel Memorial Prize in the nobility by the sovereign for Economic Sciences (officially it is their lifetimes. Occasionally the the cumbersome Bank of Sweden sovereign raises an individual to Prize in Economic Sciences in the nobility and makes the title Memory of Alfred Nobel) is not a inheritable by the person’s heirs, Nobel Prize in the same sense. but the practice is increasingly The Central Bank of Sweden es- rare. tablished it in 1968 as a memori- Sovereigns also confer hon- al to Alfred Nobel. References to orary titles, which do not make this prize should include the an individual a member of the no- word Memorial to help make this bility. The principal designations, distinction. Explain the status of in descending order, are baronet the prize in the story when appro- and knight. priate. In general, the guidelines in Nobel Prize award ceremonies courtesy titles and titles apply. are held on Dec. 10, the anniver- However, honorary titles and ti- sary of Alfred Nobel’s death in tles of nobility are capitalized 1896. The award ceremony for when they serve as an alternate peace is in Oslo and the other name. ceremonies are in Stockholm. Some guidelines and exam- Capitalize prize in references ples: that do not mention the category: ROYALTY: Capitalize king, He is a Nobel Prize winner. She is queen, prince and princess when a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. they are used directly before one Lowercase prize when not or more names; lowercase when linked with the word Nobel: The they stand alone: peace prize was awarded Mon- Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Eliz- day. abeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern nobility References to mem- Ireland, the queen. Kings George bers of the nobility in nations and Edward. Queen Mother Eliza- that have a system of rank pre- beth, the queen mother. sent special problems because Also capitalize a longer form of nobles frequently are known by the sovereign’s title when its use their titles rather than their given is appropriate in a story or it is or family names. Their titles, in being quoted: Her Majesty Queen effect, become their names. Elizabeth. The guidelines here relate to Use Prince or Princess before Britain’s nobility. Adapt them as the names of a sovereign’s chil- appropriate to members of nobili- dren: Princess Anne, the princess. ty in other nations. The male heir to the throne Orders of rank among British normally is designated Prince of 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 177

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Wales, and the title becomes, in Use Lady before the name of a common usage, an alternate woman married to a man who name. Capitalize when used: The holds one of these titles. The wife queen invested her eldest son as of a marquess is a marchioness, Prince of Wales. Prince Charles is the wife of a marquis is a mar- now the Prince of Wales. The quise, the wife of an earl is a prince is a bachelor. Charles, countess (earl is the British Prince of Wales, was married equivalent of count), the wife of a today. His wife is known as the viscount is a viscountess, the wife Princess of Wales. of a baron is a baroness. DUKE: The full title — Duke of Use Lord or Lady before the Wellington, for example — is an first names of the children of a alternate name, capitalized in all marquess. uses. Lowercase duke when it Use Lady before the first name stands alone. of an earl’s daughter. The designation Arthur, Duke The Honorable often appears of Wellington, is appropriate in before the names of sons of earls, some cases, but never Duke viscounts and barons who do not Arthur or Lord Arthur. have titles. Their names should The wife of a duke is a stand alone in news stories, how- duchess: the Duchess of Welling- ever. ton, the duchess, but never The Honorable also appears Duchess Diana or Lady Diana. frequently before the names of A duke normally also has a unmarried daughters of viscounts lesser title. It is commonly used and barons. In news stories, how- for his eldest son if he has one. ever, use a full name on first ref- Use the courtesy titles Lord or erence, a last name preceded by Lady before the first names of a Miss on second. duke’s children. Some examples: Some examples: Queen Elizabeth gave her sis- Lady Jane Wellesley, only ter’s husband, Antony Armstrong- daughter of the eighth Duke of Jones, the title Earl of Snowdon. Wellington, has been linked ro- Their son, David, is the Viscount mantically with Prince Charles, Linley. They also have a daughter, heir to the British throne. The el- Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones. dest of Lady Jane’s four brothers Lord Snowdon, a photographer, is Arthur Charles, the Marquess was known as Antony Armstrong- Douro. The Wellingtons, whose Jones before he received his title. family name is Wellesley, are not BARONET, KNIGHT: Use Sir of royal blood. However, they rank before a name if appropriate in among the nation’s most famous the context; otherwise follow rou- aristocrats thanks to the first tine practice for names: Sir duke, the victor at Waterloo. Harold Wilson on first reference, MARQUESS, MARQUIS, EARL, Sir Harold (not Sir Wilson) on sec- VISCOUNT, BARON: The full ti- ond. Or: Prime Minister Harold tles serve as alternate names and Wilson on first reference, Wilson should be capitalized. Frequently, on second. however, the holder of such a title Do not use both an honorary is identified as a lord: The Mar- title and a title of authority such quess of Bath, for example, more as prime minister before a name. commonly is known as Lord Bath. Use Lady before the name of 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 178

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the wife of a baronet or knight. liances or blocs, they profess not For a woman who has received to be neutral, like Switzerland, an honor in her own right, use but activist alternatives. Dame before her name if it is the Do not confuse nonaligned way she is known or it is appro- with Third World, although some priate in the context: Dame Mar- Third World nations may belong got Fonteyn on first reference, to the nonaligned group. Dame Margot on second. See the Third World entry.

nobody noncontroversial All issues are controversial. A noncontrover- noisome, noisy Noisome sial issue is impossible. A contro- means offensive, noxious. versial issue is redundant. Noisy means clamorous. none It usually means no nolo contendere The literal single one. When used in this meaning is, “I do not wish to con- sense, it always takes singular tend.” Terms such as no contest verbs and pronouns: None of the or no-contest plea are acceptable seats was in its right place. in all references. When a defendant in a crimi- Use a plural verb only if the nal case enters this plea, it sense is no two or no amount: means that he is not admitting None of the consultants agree on guilt but is stating that he will the same approach. None of the offer no defense. The person is taxes have been paid. then subject to being judged guilty and punished as if he had nonrestrictive clauses See pleaded guilty or had been con- essential clauses, nonessential victed. The principal difference is clauses. that the defendant retains the option of denying the same charge noon Do not put a 12 in front in another legal proceeding. of it. See midnight and times. no man’s land no one non- The rules of prefixes apply, but in general no hyphen norm See the average, when forming a compound that mean, median, norm entry. does not have special meaning and can be understood if not is North America See West- used before the base word. Use a ern Hemisphere. hyphen, however, before proper nouns or in awkward combina- North Atlantic Treaty Or- tions, such as non-nuclear. ganization NATO is acceptable in all references, but use it spar- nonaligned nations A po- ingly. A phrase such as the al- litical rather than economic or ge- liance is less burdensome to the ographic term used primarily reader. during the Cold War. Although nonaligned nations do not belong North Carolina Abbrev.: to Western or Eastern military al- N.C. See state names. 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 179

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North Central region As Alaska north of Brooks Range, a defined by the U.S. Census Bu- string of mountains extending reau, the 12-state region is bro- across the northern part of the ken into eastern and western di- state. visions. The five East North Central North Warning System A states are Indiana, Illinois, Michi- system of long-range radar sta- gan, Ohio and Wisconsin. tions along the 70th parallel in The seven West North Central North America. Previous system, states are Iowa, Kansas, Min- known as the Distant Early nesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Warning (DEW) line, was deacti- North Dakota and South Dakota. vated in 1985. See Northeast region; South; and West for the bureau’s other Northwest Airlines Head- regional breakdowns. quarters is in Eagan, Minn.

North Dakota Abbrev.: N.D. Northwest Territories A See state names. territorial section of Canada. Do not abbreviate. Use in datelines Northeast region As de- after the names of all cities and fined by the U.S. Census Bureau, towns in the territory. the nine-state region is broken See Canada. into two divisions — the New Eng- land states and the Middle At- nouns The abbreviation n. is lantic states. used in this book to identify the Connecticut, Maine, Massa- spelling of the noun forms of chusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode words frequently misspelled. Island and Vermont are the New England states. Nova Scotia One of the New Jersey, New York and three Maritime Provinces of Cana- Pennsylvania are classified as the da. Do not abbreviate. Middle Atlantic states. See datelines. See North Central region; South; and West for the bureau’s November See months. other regional breakdowns. Novocain A trademark for a Northern Ireland Use drug used as a local anesthetic. It Northern Ireland after the names also may be called procaine. of all communities in datelines. See datelines and United nowadays Not nowdays. Kingdom. Nuclear Regulatory Com- north, northern, north- mission This commission has east, northwest See the direc- taken over the regulatory functions and regions entry. tions previously performed by the Atomic Energy Commission. Northrop Grumman NRC is acceptable on second Corp. Headquarters is in Los An- reference, but the agency or the geles. commission is preferred.

North Slope The portion of nuclear terminology In re- 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 180

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porting on nuclear energy, in- 30 millirems of radiation. Each clude the definitions of appropri- American, on average, receives ate terms, especially those related 100 millirems to 200 millirems of to radiation. radiation a year from natural“background”sources, core The part of a nuclear re- such as cosmic rays, and man- actor that contains its fissionable made sources, such as diagnostic fuel. In a reactor core, atoms of X-rays. There is considerable de- fuel, such as uranium, are split. bate among scientists over the This releases energy in the form safety of repeated low doses of ra- of heat which, in turn, is used to diation. boil water for steam. The steam powers a turbine, and the turbine roentgen The standard mea- drives a generator to produce sure of X-ray exposure. electricity. uranium A metallic, radioac- fission The splitting of the nu- tive element used as fuel in nu- cleus of an atom, releasing ener- clear reactors. gy. numerals A numeral is a fig- meltdown The worst possible ure, letter, word or group of nuclear accident in which the re- words expressing a number. actor core overheats to such a de- Roman numerals use the let- gree that the fuel melts. If the fuel ters I, V, X, L, C, D and M. Use penetrates its protective housing, Roman numerals for wars and to radioactive materials will be re- show personal sequence for ani- leased into the environment. mals and people: World War II, Native Dancer II, King George VI, rad The standard unit of mea- Pope John XXIII. See Roman nu- surement for absorbed radiation. merals. A millirad is a thousandth of a Arabic numerals use the fig- rad. There is considerable debate ures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0. among scientists whether there is Use Arabic forms unless Roman any safe level of absorption. numerals are specifically required. See Arabic numerals. radiation Invisible particles or The figures 1, 2, 10, 101, etc. waves given off by radioactive ma- and the corresponding words — terial, such as uranium. Radia- one, two, ten, one hundred one, tion can damage or kill body cells, etc. — are called cardinal num- resulting in latent cancers, genet- bers. The term ordinal number ic damage or death. applies to 1st, 2nd, 10th, 101st, first, second, tenth, one hundred rem The standard unit of mea- first, etc. surement of absorbed radiation in Follow these guidelines in living tissue, adjusted for differ- using numerals: ent kinds of radiation so that 1 LARGE NUMBERS: When rem of any radiation will produce large numbers must be spelled the same biological effect. A mil- out, use a hyphen to connect a lirem is a thousandth of a rem. word ending in y to another word; A diagnostic chest X-ray indo not use commas between volves between 20 millirems and other separate words that are 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 181

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part of one number: twenty; addresses mile thirty; twenty-one; thirty-one; one ages millions, billions hundred forty-three; one thousand aircraft names monetary units amendments to No. one hundred fifty-five; one million the Constitution two hundred seventy-six thousand betting odds page numbers five hundred eighty-seven. century parallels SENTENCE START: Spell out a channel percentages numeral at the beginning of a chapters political divisions congressional proportions sentence. If necessary, recast the districts sentence. There is one exception course numbers ratios — a numeral that identifies a cal- court decisions recipes endar year. court names room numbers Wrong: 993 freshmen entered dates route numbers the college last year. decades scene numbers decimal units serial numbers Right: Last year 993 freshmen dimensions sizes entered the college. district spacecraft Right: 1976 was a very good designations year. earthquakes speeds CASUAL USES: Spell out ca- election returns telephone fleet temperatures sual expressions: formula times A thousand times no! Thanks a fractions weights million. He walked a quarter of a handicaps (sports) years mile. highway designations PROPER NAMES: Use words or numerals according to an orga- SOME PUNCTUATION AND nization’s practice: 3M, Twentieth USAGE EXAMPLES: Century Fund, Big Ten. —Act 1, Scene 2 FRACTIONS: See the fractions —a 5-year-old girl entry. —DC-10 but 747B DECIMALS: See the decimal —a 5-4 court decision units entry. —2nd District Court FIGURES OR WORDS? —the 1980s, the ’80s For ordinals: —the House voted 230-205. —Spell out first through ninth (Fewer than 1,000 votes.) when they indicate sequence in —Jimmy Carter defeated Ger- time or location: first base, the ald Ford 40,827,292 to First Amendment, he was first in 39,146,157. (More than 1,000 line. Starting with 10th use fig- votes.) ures. —Carter defeated Ford 10 —Use 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. votes to 2 votes in Little Junction. when the sequence has been as- (To avoid confusion with ratio.) signed in forming names. The —5 cents, $1.05, $650,000, principal examples are geograph- $2.45 million ic, military and political designa- —No. 3 choice, but Public tions such as 1st Ward, 7th Fleet School 3 and 1st Sgt. See examples in the —0.6 percent, 1 percent, 6.5 separate entries listed below. percent For cardinal numbers, consult —a pay increase of 12 percent the following separate entries: to 15 percent. Or: a pay increase act numbers latitude and of between 12 percent and 15 per- longitude cent 180-192_N.qrk 2/18/03 12:00 PM Page 182

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Also: from $12 million to $14 million —a ratio of 2-to-1, a 2-1 ratio —a 4-3 score —(350) 262-4600 —minus 10, zero, 60 degrees OTHER USES: For uses not covered by these listings: Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above. Typical examples: They had three sons and two daughters. They had a fleet of 10 station wagons and two buses. IN A SERIES: Apply the appropriate guidelines: They had 10 dogs, six cats and 97 hamsters. They had four four-room houses, 10 three-room houses and 12 10- room houses.

nuns See sister.

Nuremberg Use this spelling for the city in Germany, instead of Nuernberg, in keeping with widespread practice.

nylon Not a trademark. 193-198_O.qrk 2/18/03 12:12 PM Page 183 O oasis, oases Eds: Note contents. For guidelines on racial or eth- obscenities, profanities, nic slurs, see the nationalities vulgarities Do not use them in and races entry. stories unless they are part of direct quotations and there is a Occidental Petroleum compelling reason for them. Corp. Headquarters is in Los An- Try to find a way to give the geles. reader a sense of what was said without using the specific word or Occident, Occidental Capi- phrase. If a profanity, obscenity talize when referring to Europe, or vulgarity must be used, flag the Western Hemisphere or an in- the story at the top: habitant of these regions. Eds: Note contents of 4th graf. Occupational Safety and Confine the offending lan- Health Administration OSHA guage, in quotation marks, to a is acceptable on second reference. separate paragraph that can be deleted easily by editors who do occupational titles They not want to use it. are always lowercase. See titles. In reporting profanity that nor- occur, occurred, occur- mally would use the words damn ring Also: occurrence. or god, lowercase god and use the following forms: damn, damn it, ocean The five, from the goddam it. (Do not change damn largest to the smallest: Pacific it to darn it.) Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian If a full quote that contains an Ocean, Antarctic Ocean, Arctic obscenity, profanity or vulgarity Ocean. cannot be dropped but there is no Lowercase ocean standing compelling reason for the offen- alone or in plural uses: the ocean, sive language, replace the letters the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. of the offensive word with hyphens, using only an initial letter. oceangoing When the subject matter of a story may be considered offen- October See months. sive, but the story does not contain quoted profanity, obscenities odd- Follow with a hyphen: or vulgarities, flag the story at the odd-looking odd-numbered top: See betting odds. 193-198_O.qrk 2/18/03 12:12 PM Page 184

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oddsmaker Some combinations without a hyphen: off-Broadway, off-off- cutoff offside Broadway See the Broadway, liftoff offstage off-Broadway, off-off-Broad- offhand playoff offset standoff way entry. offshore takeoff

office Capitalize office when Ohio Do not abbreviate. See it is part of an agency’s formal state names. name: Office of Management and Budget. oil In shipping, oil and oil Lowercase all other uses, in- products normally are measured cluding phrases such as: the of- by the ton. For news stories, con- fice of the attorney general, the vert these tonnage figures to gal- U.S. attorney’s office. lons. See Oval Office. There are 42 gallons to each barrel of oil. The number of bar- officeholder rels per ton varies, depending on the type of oil product. off of The of is unnecessary: To convert tonnage to gallons: He fell off the bed. Not: He fell off of the bed. —Determine the type of oil. —Consult the table below to off-, -off Follow Webster’s find out how many barrels per New World Dictionary. Hyphenate ton for that type of oil. if not listed there. —Multiply the number of tons Some commonly used combi- by the number of barrels per ton. nations with a hyphen: The result is the number of bar- off-color off-white rels in the shipment. off-peak send-off —Multiply the number of bar-

OIL EQUIVALENCY TABLE

Type Barrels Per Barrels Per Barrels Per of Short Ton Metric Ton Long Ton Product (2,000 lbs.) (2,204.6 lbs.) (2,240 lbs.) crude oil, foreign 6.349 6.998 7.111 crude oil, domestic 6.770 7.463 7.582 gasoline and naphtha 7.721 8.511 8.648 kerosene 7.053 7.775 7.900 distillate fuel oil 6.580 7.253 7.369 residual fuel oil 6.041 6.660 6.766 lubricating oil 6.349 6.998 7.111 lubricating grease 6.665 7.346 7.464 wax 7.134 7.864 7.990 asphalt 5.540 6.106 6.205 coke 4.990 5.500 5.589 road oil 5.900 6.503 6.608 jelly and petrolatum 6.665 7.346 7.464 liquefied pet. gas 10.526 11.603 11.789 Gilsonite 5.515 6.080 6.177 193-198_O.qrk 2/18/03 12:12 PM Page 185

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rels by 42. The result is the num- Olympics, the Olympic Games, an ber of gallons. Olympic-size pool, but lowercase EXAMPLE: A tanker spills the games when used alone. 20,000 metric tons of foreign An Olympic-size pool is 50 me- crude petroleum. The table shows ters long by 25 meters wide. 6.998 barrels of foreign crude pe- Lowercase other uses: a beer- troleum per metric ton. Multiply drinking olympics. 6.998 x 20,000 equals 139,960 barrels. Multiply 139,960 x 42 is on Do not use on before a 5,878,320 gallons. date or day of the week when its TABLE: The table on the previ- absence would not lead to confu- ous page is based on figures sup- sion: The meeting will be held plied by the American Petroleum Monday. He will be inaugurated Institute. Jan. 20. Use on to avoid an awkward Oklahoma Abbrev.: Okla. juxtaposition of a date and a See state names. proper name: John met Mary on Monday. He told Reagan on Oklahoma City Stands Thursday that the bill was alone in datelines. doomed. Use on also to avoid any sug- OK, OK’d, OK’ing, OKs Do gestion that a date is the object of not use okay. a transitive verb: The House killed on Tuesday a bid to raise taxes. Old City of Jerusalem The The Senate postponed on Wednes- walled part of the city. day its consideration of a bill to reduce import duties. Old South The South before the Civil War. See New South. one- Hyphenate when used in writing fractions: Old Testament See Bible. one-half one-third Use phrases such as a half or old-time, old-timer, old a third if precision is not intend- times ed. See fractions. Old West The American West as it was being settled in the 19th one another See the each century. other, one another entry.

Old World The Eastern one person, one vote The Hemisphere: Asia, Europe, Africa. adjective form: one-person, one- The term also may be an allusion vote. He supports the principle of to European culture and cus- one person, one vote. The one- toms. man, one-vote rule. Supreme Court rulings all use Olympic Airways Head- the phrase one person, one vote, quarters is in Athens, Greece. not one man, one vote. Olympics Capitalize all refer- one-sided ences to the international athletic contests: the Olympics, the Winter one time, one-time He did 193-198_O.qrk 2/18/03 12:12 PM Page 186

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it one time. He is a one-time win- Organization of Petrole- ner. She is a one-time friend. um Exporting Countries Use the full name for most first refer- Ontario This Canadian ences. OPEC may be used on first province is the nation’s first in reference in business oriented total population and second to copy, but the body of the story Quebec in area. Do not abbrevi- should identify it as the short- ate. ened form of the name. See datelines. The 11 OPEC members: Alge- ria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, operas See composition ti- Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Ara- tles. bia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela. opinion polls See the polls Headquarters is in Vienna, and surveys entry. Austria. opossum The only North organizations and insti- American marsupial. No apostro- tutions Capitalize the full phe is needed to indicate missing names of organizations and insti- letters in a phrase such as play- tutions: the American Medical As- ing possum. sociation; First Presbyterian Church; General Motors Corp.; oral, verbal, written Use Harvard University, Harvard Uni- oral to refer to spoken words: He versity Medical School; the Pro- gave an oral promise. crastinators Club; the Society of Use written to refer to words Professional Journalists. committed to paper: We had a Retain capitalization if Co., written agreement. Corp. or a similar word is deleted Use verbal to compare words from the full proper name: Gener- with some other form of commu- al Motors. See company; corpo- nication: His tears revealed the ration; and incorporated. sentiments that his poor verbal SUBSIDIARIES: Capitalize the skills could not express. names of major subdivisions: the Pontiac Motor Division of General ordinal numbers See nu- Motors. merals. INTERNAL ELEMENTS: Use lowercase for internal elements of Oregon Abbrev.: Ore. See an organization when they have state names. names that are widely used generic terms: the board of direc- Oreo A trademark for a brand tors of General Motors, the board of chocolate sandwich cookie held of trustees of Columbia University, together by a white filling. the history department of Harvard The use of the word by blacks University, the sports department indicates belief that another black of the Daily Citizen-Leader. is“black outside but white inside” Capitalize internal elements of an organization when they have Organization of Ameri- names that are not widely used can States OAS is acceptable on generic terms: the General Assem- second reference. Headquarters is bly of the World Council of Church- in Washington. es, the House of Delegates of the 193-198_O.qrk 2/18/03 12:12 PM Page 187

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American Medical Association, the Lowercase orthodox in nonreli- House of Bishops and House of gious uses: an orthodox Deputies of the Episcopal Church. procedure. FLIP-FLOPPED NAMES: Re- tain capital letters when com- Orthodox Church in monly accepted practice flops a America See Eastern Orthodox name to delete the word of: Col- churches. lege of the Holy Cross, Holy Cross College; Harvard School of Dental Oscar, Oscars See Academy Medicine, Harvard Dental School. Awards. Do not, however, flop formal names that are known to the oscillating theory See big- public with the word of: Massa- bang theory. chusetts Institute of Technology, for example, not Massachusetts Ottawa The capital of Cana- Technology Institute. da stands alone in datelines. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS: Some organizations Ouija A trademark for a and institutions are widely recog- board used in seances. nized by their abbreviations: Alcoa, GOP, NAACP, NATO. For ounce (dry) Units of dry vol- guidelines on when such abbrevi- ume are not customarily carried ations may be used, see the indi- to this level. vidual listings and the entries See pint (dry). under abbreviations and acronyms and second reference. ounce (liquid) See fluid ounce. Orient, Oriental Capitalize when referring to the Far East ounce (weight) It is defined nations of Asia and nearby is- as 437.5 grains. lands. Asian is the preferred term The metric equivalent is ap- for an inhabitant of these regions. proximately 28 grams. Also: Oriental rug, Oriental cui- To convert to grams, multiply sine. by 28 (5 ounces x 28 = 140 grams). Orlon A trademark for a form See grain and gram. of acrylic fiber similar to nylon. -out Follow Webster’s New orthodox Capitalize when World. Hyphenate nouns and ad- referring to membership in or the jectives not listed there. activities of an Eastern Orthodox Some frequently used words church. See Eastern Orthodox (all nouns): Churches. cop-out hide-out Capitalize also in phrases fade-out pullout Orthodox Judaism Or- fallout walkout such as or flameout washout thodox Jew. See Jewish congre- Two words for verbs: gations. fade out walk out Do not describe a member of hide out wash out an Eastern Orthodox church as a pull out Protestant. Use a phrase such as Orthodox Christian instead. out- Follow Webster’s New 193-198_O.qrk 2/18/03 12:12 PM Page 188

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World. Hyphenate if not listed overall A single word in ad- there. jectival and adverbial use: Over- Some frequently used words: all, the Democrats succeeded. outargue outpost Overall policy. outbox output The word for the garment is outdated outscore outfield outstrip overalls. outfox outtalk outpatient (n., adj.) owner Not a formal title. Al- ways lowercase: Atlanta Braves Outer Banks The sandy is- owner Ted Turner. lands along the North Carolina coast. Oyez Not oyes. The cry of court and public officials to com- out of bounds But as a mand silence. modifier: out-of-bounds. The ball went out of bounds. He took an Ozark Mountains Or sim- out-of-bounds pass. ply: the Ozarks. out of court, out-of-court They settled out of court. He accepted an out-of-court settlement.

Oval Office The White House office of the president.

-over Follow Webster’s New World Dictionary. Hyphenate if not listed there. Some frequently used words (all are nouns, some also are used as adjectives): carry-over stopover holdover walkover takeover Use two words when any of these occurs as a verb. See suffixes.

over It generally refers to spatial relationships: The plane flew over the city. More than is preferred with numerals: Their salaries went up more than $20 a week.

over- Follow Webster’s New World. A hyphen seldom is used. Some frequently used words: overbuy overrate overexert override See the overall entry. 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 189 P Pablum A trademark for a pan- Prefix meaning “all” soft, bland food for infants. takes no hyphen when combined In lowercase, pablum means with a common noun: any over-simplified or bland writ- panchromatic pantheism ing or idea. Most combinations with pan- are proper nouns, however, and pacemaker Formerly a both pan- and the proper name it trademark, now a generic term is combined with are capitalized: for a device that electronically Pan-African Pan-Asiatic Pan-American helps a person’s heart maintain a steady beat. Panama City Use PANAMA CITY, Fla., or PANAMA CITY, ocean Pacific Ocean See . Panama, in datelines to avoid Pacific Standard Time confusion between the two. (PST), Pacific Daylight Time pantsuit Not pants suit. (PDT) See time zones. pantyhose page numbers Use figures and capitalize page when used papal nuncio Do not con- with a figure. When a letter is ap- fuse with an apostolic delegate. pended to the figure, capitalize it See the apostolic delegate, but do not use a hyphen: Page 1, papal nuncio entry. Page 10, Page 20A. One exception: It’s a Page One Pap test (or smear) After story. George Papanicolaou, the U.S. anatomist who developed this test paintings See composition for cervical and uterine cancer. titles. parallel, paralleled, par- palate, palette, pallet alleling Palate is the roof of the mouth. A palette is an artist’s paint parallels Use figures and board. lowercase to identify the imagi- A pallet is a bed. nary locater lines that ring the globe from east to west. They are Palestine Liberation Or- measured in units of 0 to 90 de- ganization Not Palestinian. PLO grees north or south of the equa- is acceptable in all references. tor. 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 190

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Examples: 4th parallel north, parish Capitalize as part of 89th parallel south, or, if location the formal name for a church north or south of the equator is congregation or a governmental obvious: 19th parallel. jurisdiction: St. John’s Parish, See the latitude and longi- Jefferson Parish. tude entry. Lowercase standing alone or in plural combinations: the parish, pardon, parole, proba- St. John’s and St. Mary’s tion The terms often are con- parishes, Jefferson and Plaquem- fused, but each has a specific ines parishes. meaning. Do not use them inter- See county for additional changeably. guidelines on governmental juris- A pardon forgives and releases dictions. a person from further punish- ment. It is granted by a chief of parishioner Note spelling for state or a governor. By itself, it this member of a parish, an ad- does not expunge a record of con- minstrative district of various viction, if one exists, and it does churches, particularly Roman not by itself restore civil rights. Catholic and Anglican churches. A general pardon, usually for Do not use for Judaism or non- political offenses, is called hierarchal Protestant denomina- amnesty. tions. Parole is the release of a prisoner before the sentence has ex- Parkinson’s disease After pired, on condition of good behav- James Parkinson, the English ior. It is granted by a parole physician who described this de- board, part of the executive generative disease of later life. branch of government, and can be revoked only by the board. Parkinson’s law After C. Probation is the suspension of Northcote Parkinson, the British sentence for a person convicted, economist who came to the satiri- but not yet imprisoned, on condi- cal conclusion that work expands tion of good behavior. It is im- to fill the time allotted to it. posed and revoked only by a judge. parliament See foreign legislative bodies. parentheses See the entry in the Punctuation chapter. parliamentary Lowercase unless part of a proper name. parent-teacher association PTA is acceptable in all ref- parole See the pardon, pa- erences. Capitalize when part of a role, probation entry. proper name: the Franklin School Parent-Teacher Association or the partial quotes See quota- Parent-Teacher Association of the tion marks in the Punctuation Franklin School. chapter.

pari-mutuel particles See foreign particles. Paris The city in France stands alone in datelines. part time, part-time Hy- 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 191

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phenate when used as a com- breviations for Alaska, Hawaii, pound modifier: She works part Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas time. She has a part-time job. and Utah.) Use R- for Republicans, D- for party See the political par- Democrats, and three-letter com- ties and philosophies entry. binations for other affiliations: Sen. James Buckley, R-Con-N.Y., party affiliation Let rele- spoke with Sen. Harry Byrd, D- vance be the guide in determining Ind-Va. whether to include a political fig- FORM FOR U.S. HOUSE ure’s party affiliation in a story. MEMBERS: The normal practice Party affiliation is pointless in for U.S. House members is to some stories, such as an account identify them by party and state. of a governor accepting a button In contexts where state affiliation from a poster child. is clear and home city is relevant, It will occur naturally in many such as a state election roundup, political stories. identify representatives by party For stories between these ex- and city: U.S. Reps. Thomas P. tremes, include party affiliation if O’Neill Jr., D-Cambridge, and Mar- readers need it for understanding garet Heckler, R-Wellesley. If this or are likely to be curious about option is used, be consistent what it is. throughout the story. GENERAL FORMS: When FORM FOR STATE LEGISLA- party designation is given, use TORS: Short-form listings show- any of these approaches as logical ing party and home city are ap- in constructing a story: propriate in state wire stories. For —Democratic Sen. Hubert trunk wire stories, the normal Humphrey of Minnesota said... practice is to say that the individ- —Sen. Hubert Humphrey, D- ual is a Republican or Democrat. Minn., said... Use a short-form listing only if —Sen. Hubert Humphrey also the legislator’s home city is rele- spoke. The Minnesota Democrat vant. said... See legislative titles. —Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona is seeking the Democratic presi- pass See the adopt, approve, dential nomination. Not: Rep. Mor- enact, pass entry. ris Udall, D-Ariz., is seeking the Democratic... passenger lists When pro- In stories about party meet- viding a list of victims in a disas- ings, such as a report on the Re- ter, arrange names alphabetically publican National Convention, no according to last name, include specific reference to party affilia- street addresses if available, and tion is necessary unless an indi- use a paragraph for each name: vidual is not a member of the Jones, Joseph, 260 Town St., party in question. Sample, N.Y. SHORT-FORM PUNCTUATION: Williams, Susan, 780 Main St., Set short forms such as D-Minn. Example, N.J. off from a name by commas, as illustrated above. passenger mile One pas- Use the abbreviations listed in senger carried one mile, or its the entries for each state. (No ab- equivalent, such as two passen- 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 192

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gers carried one-half mile. fourth of a bushel. The metric equivalent is ap- passer-by, passers-by proximately 8.8 liters. To convert to liters, multiply Passover The weeklong Jew- by 8.8 (5 pecks x 8.8 = 44 liters). ish commemoration of the deliv- See liter. erance of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Occurs in pedal, peddle When riding March or April. a bicycle or similar vehicle, you pedal it. pasteurize When selling something, you may peddle it. pastor See religious titles and the entry for the individual’s peddler denomination. pell-mell patriarch Lowercase when describing someone of great age penance See sacraments. and dignity. Capitalize as a formal title be- peninsula Capitalize as part fore a name in some religious of a proper name: the Florida uses. See Eastern Orthodox Peninsula, the Upper Peninsula of churches; religious titles; and Michigan. Roman Catholic Church. penitentiary See the patrolman, patrolwoman prison, jail entry. Capitalize before a name only if the word is a formal title. In some Pennsylvania Abbrev.: Pa. police offi- cities, the formal title is Legally a commonwealth, not a cer. state. See titles. See state and state names. patrol, patrolled, pa- trolling Pennsylvania Dutch The individuals are of German de- payload scent. The word Dutch is a corruption of Deutsch, the German peacekeeping word for “German” peacemaker, peacemak- penny-wise See -wise. ing Also: pound-foolish. peace offering Pentecost The seventh Sun- day after Easter. peacetime Pentecostalism See reli- peacock It applies only to the gious movements. male. The female is a peahen. Both are peafowl. people’s Use this possessive form when the word occurs in the peck A unit of dry measure formal name of a nation: the Peo- equal to 8 dry quarts or one- ple’s Republic of China. 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 193

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Use this form also in such zero: The cost of living rose 0.6 phrases as the people’s desire for percent. freedom. Repeat percent with each individual figure: He said 10 percent people, persons Use person to 30 percent of the electorate may when speaking of an individual: not vote. One person waited for the bus. The word people is preferred to periods See the entry in the persons in all plural uses. For ex- Punctuation chapter. ample: Thousands of people attended the fair. What will people perk A shortened form of say? There were 17 people in the perquisite, often used by legisla- room. tors to describe fringe benefits. In Persons should be used only the state of New York, legislators when it is in a direct quote or also use the word lulu to describe part of a title as in Bureau of the benefits they receive in lieu of Missing Persons. pay. People also is a collective noun When either word is used, de- that takes a plural verb when fine it. used to refer to a single race or nation: The American people are permissible united. In this sense, the plural is peoples: The peoples of Africa Persian Gulf Use this long- speak many languages. established name for the body of water off the southern coast of Pepsico Inc. Formerly the Iran. Pepsi-Cola Co. Some Arab nations call it the Headquarters is in Purchase, Arabian Gulf. Use Arabian Gulf N.Y. only in direct quotations and explain in the text that the body of Pepsi, Pepsi-Cola Trade- water is more commonly known marks for a brand of cola soft as the Persian Gulf. drink. personifications Capitalize percent One word. It takes a them: Grim Reaper, John Barley- singular verb when standing corn, Mother Nature, Old Man alone or when a singular word Winter, Sol, etc. follows an of construction: The teacher said 60 percent was a fail- -persons Do not use coined ing grade. He said 50 percent of words such as chairperson or the membership was there. spokesperson in regular text. It takes a plural verb when a Instead, use chairman or plural word follows an of con- spokesman if referring to a man struction: He said 50 percent of or the office in general. Use chair- the members were there. woman or spokeswoman if referring to a woman. Or, if applicable, percentages Use figures: 1 use a neutral word such as leader percent, 2.5 percent (use deci- or representative. mals, not fractions), 10 percent. Use chairperson or similar For amounts less than 1 per- coinage only in direct quotations cent, precede the decimal with a or when it is the formal descrip- 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 194

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tion for an office. Photoshop Trademark for a brand of photo editing software. persons See the people, persons entry. Photostat A trademark for a type of photocopy. persuade See the convince, persuade entry. piano, pianos

Peter Principle It is: Em- pica A unit of measure in ployees are promoted until they printing, equal to a fraction less reach their level of incompetence. than one-sixth of an inch. From the book by Laurence J. A pica contains 12 points. Peter. picket, pickets, picketed, petty officer See military picket line Picket is both the titles. verb and the noun. Do not use picketer. PG, PG-13 The parental guidance ratings. See movie ratings. picnic, picnicked, picnick- ing, picnicker phase See the faze, phase entry. pico- A prefix denoting one- trillionth of a unit. Move the deci- Ph.D., Ph.D.s The preferred mal point 12 places to the left in form is to say a person holds a converting to the basic unit: doctorate and name the individ- 2,999,888,777,666.5 picoseconds ual’s area of specialty. equals 2.9998887776665 sec- See academic degrees and onds. doctor. pigeon phenomenon, phenomena pigeonhole (n. and v.)

Philadelphia The city in Pikes Peak No apostrophe. Pennsylvania stands alone in After Zebulon Montgomery Pike, a datelines. U.S. general and explorer. The 14,110-foot peak is in the Rockies Philippines In datelines, give of central Colorado. the name of a city or town followed by Philippines: pile up (v.) pileup (n., adj.) MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Specify the name of an individ- pill Do not capitalize in refer- ual island, if needed, in the text. ences to oral contraceptives. Use In stories: the Philippines or birth control pill on first reference the Philippine Islands as the con- if necessary for clarity. struction of a sentence dictates. The people are Filipinos. The pilot Not a formal title. Do language is Pilipino. not capitalize before a name. See titles. Phoenix The city in Arizona stands alone in datelines. pingpong A synonym for 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 195

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table tennis. See earth and heavenly bod- The trademark name is Ping- ies. Pong. planning Avoid the redun- pint (dry) Equal to 33.6 dant future planning. cubic inches, or one-half of a dry quart. plants In general, lowercase The metric equivalent is ap- the names of plants, but capital- proximately .55 of a liter. ize proper nouns or adjectives To convert to liters, multiply that occur in a name. by .55 (5 dry pints x .55 is 2.75 Some examples: tree, fir, white liters). fir, Douglas fir; Scotch pine; clover, See liter and quart (dry). white clover, white Dutch clover. If a botanical name is used, pint (liquid) Equal to 16 capitalize the first word; lower- fluid ounces, or two cups. case others: pine tree (Pinus), red The approximate metric equiv- cedar (Juniperus virginiana), blue alents are 470 milliliters or .47 of azalea (Callicarpa americana), a liter. Kentucky coffee tree (Gymno- To convert to liters, multiply cladus dioica). by .47 (4 pints x .47 is 1.88 liters). Plastic Wood A trademark See liter. for a brand of wood-filler compound. Pinyin The official Chinese spelling system. play titles See composition See Chinese names. titles. pipeline plead, pleaded, pleading Do not use the colloquial past Pittsburgh The city in Penn- tense form, pled. sylvania stands alone in datelines. Plexiglas Note the single s. A The spelling is Pittsburg (no h) trademark for plastic glass. for communities in California, Illi- nois, Kansas, New Hampshire, plow Not plough. Oklahoma and Texas. plurality See the majority, plains See Great Plains. plurality entry.

planets Capitalize the proper plurals Follow these guide- names of planets: Jupiter, Mars, lines in forming and using plural Mercury, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, words: Uranus, Venus. MOST WORDS: Add s: boys, Capitalize earth when used as girls, ships, villages. the proper name of our planet: WORDS ENDING IN CH, S, The astronauts returned to Earth. SH, SS, X and Z: Add es: church- Lowercase nouns and adjec- es, lenses, parishes, glasses, tives derived from the proper boxes, buzzes. (Monarchs is an names of planets and other heav- exception.) enly bodies: martian, jovian, WORDS ENDING IN IS: lunar, solar, venusian. Change is to es: oases, parenthe- 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 196

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ses, theses. take singular verbs: measles, WORDS ENDING IN Y: If y is mumps, news. preceded by a consonant or qu, Others take plural verbs: grits, change y to i and add es: armies, scissors. cities, navies, soliloquies. (See COMPOUND WORDS: Those PROPER NAMES below for an ex- written solid add s at the end: ception.) cupfuls, handfuls, tablespoonfuls. Otherwise add s: donkeys, For those that involve separate monkeys. words or words linked by a hy- WORDS ENDING IN O: If o is phen, make the most significant preceded by a consonant, most word plural: plurals require es: buffaloes, —Significant word first: adju- dominoes, echoes, heroes, pota- tants general, aides-de-camp, at- toes. But there are exceptions: pi- torneys general, courts-martial, anos. See individual entries in daughters-in-law, passers-by, this book for many of these ex- postmasters general, presidents- ceptions. elect, secretaries general, WORDS ENDINGS IN F: In sergeants major. general, change f to v and add es: —Significant word in the mid- leaves, selves. (Roof, roofs is an dle: assistant attorneys general, exception.) deputy chiefs of staff. LATIN ENDINGS: Latin-root —Significant word last: assis- words ending in us change us to tant attorneys, assistant corpora- i: alumnus, alumni. tion counsels, deputy sheriffs, Most ending in a change to ae: lieutenant colonels, major alumna, alumnae (formula, formu- generals. las is an exception). WORDS AS WORDS: Do not Most ending in um add s: use ’s: His speech had too many memorandums, referendums, sta- “ifs,” “ands” and “buts.” (Excep- diums. Among those that still use tion to Webster’s New World.) the Latin ending: addenda, curric- PROPER NAMES: Most ending ula, media. in es or s or z add es: Charleses, Use the plural that Webster’s Joneses, Gonzalezes. New World lists as most common Most ending in y add s even if for a particular sense of word. preceded by a consonant: the FORM CHANGE: man, men; Duffys, the Kennedys, the two child, children; foot, feet; mouse, Kansas Citys. Exceptions include mice; etc. Alleghenies and Rockies. Caution: When s is used with For others, add s: the Carters, any of these words it indicates the McCoys, the Mondales. possession and must be preceded FIGURES: Add s: The custom by an apostrophe: men’s, chil- began in the 1920s. The airline dren’s, etc. has two 727s. Temperatures will WORDS THE SAME IN SINGU- be in the low 20s. There were five LAR AND PLURAL: corps, chassis, size 7s. deer, moose, sheep, etc. (No apostrophes, an exception The sense in a particular sen- to Webster’s New World guideline tence is conveyed by the use of a under “apostrophe.”) singular or plural verb. SINGLE LETTERS: Use ’s: WORDS PLURAL IN FORM, Mind your p’s and q’s. He learned SINGULAR IN MEANING: Some the three R’s and brought home a 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 197

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report card with four A’s and two of poems. B’s. The Oakland A’s won the pen- Capitalize the first word in a nant. line of poetry unless the author MULTIPLE LETTERS: Add s: deliberately has used lowercase She knows her ABCs. I gave him for a special effect. Do not, how- five IOUs. Four VIPs were there. ever, capitalize the first word on PROBLEMS, DOUBTS: Sepa- indented lines that must be creat- rate entries in this book give plu- ed simply because the writer’s rals for troublesome words and line is too long for the available guidance on whether certain printing width. words should be used with singular or plural verbs and pronouns. poinsettia Note the ia. See also collective nouns and possessives. point Do not abbreviate. Cap- For questions not covered by italize as part of a proper name: this book, use the plural that Point Pleasant. Webster’s New World lists as most common for a particular point-blank sense of a word. Note also the guidelines that point (printing) As a unit the dictionary provides under its of measure in printing, a point “plural” entry. equals a fraction less than a seventy-second of an inch. A pica p.m., a.m. Lowercase, with contains 12 points. periods. Avoid the redundant 10 See pica. p.m. tonight. Polaroid A trademark for Po- pocket veto Occurs only laroid Land instant-picture cam- when Congress has adjourned. If eras and for transparent material Congress is in session, a bill that containing embedded crystals ca- remains on the president’s desk pable of polarizing light. for 10 days becomes law without his signature. If Congress ad- police department In com- journs, however, a bill that fails munities where this is the formal to get his signature within 10 name, capitalize police depart- days is vetoed. ment with or without the name of Many states have similar pro- the community: the Los Angeles cedures, but the precise require- Police Department, the Police De- ments vary. partment. If a police agency has some podium See the lectern, other formal name such as Divi- podium, pulpit, rostrum entry. sion of Police, use that name if it is the way the department is poetic license It is valid for known to the public. If the story poetry, not news or feature sto- uses police department as a ries. generic term for such an agency, See colloquialisms and spe- put police department in lower- cial contexts. case. If a police agency with an un- poetry See composition ti- usual formal name is known to tles for guidelines on the names the public as a police department, 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 198

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treat police department as the when they refer to political phi- name, capitalizing it with or with- losophy (see examples below). out the name of the community. Lowercase the name of a phi- Use the formal name only if there losophy in noun and adjective is a special reason in the story. forms unless it is the derivative of If the proper name cannot be a proper name: communism, com- determined for some reason, such munist; fascism, fascist. But: as the need to write about a po- Marxism, Marxist; Nazism, Nazi. lice agency from a distance, treat EXAMPLES: John Adams was police department as the proper a Federalist, but a man who sub- name, capitalizing it with or with- scribed to his philosophy today out the name of the community. would be described as a federal- Lowercase police department in ist. The liberal Republican senator plural uses: the Los Angeles and and his Conservative Party col- San Francisco police departments. league said they believe that Lowercase the department democracy and communism are whenever it stands alone. incompatible. The Communist said he is basically a socialist who has police titles See military ti- reservations about Marxism. tles and titles. See convention and party affiliation. policy-maker (n.) policy- making (n. and adj.) politicking

polio The preferred term for politics Usually it takes a poliomyelitis and infantile paraly- plural verb: My politics are my sis. own business. As a study or science, it takes Politburo Acceptable in all a singular verb: Politics is a de- references for the Political Bureau manding profession. of the Communist Party. polls and surveys Stories political divisions Use Ara- based on public opinion polls bic figures and capitalize the ac- must includethe basic informa- companying word when used with tion for an intelligent evaluation the figures: 1st Ward, 10th Ward, of the results. Such stories must 3rd Precinct, 22nd Precinct, the be carefully worded to avoid exag- ward, the precinct. gerating the meaning of the poll results. political parties and Information that should be in philosophies Capitalize both every story based on a poll in- the name of the party and the cludes the answers to these ques- word party if it is customarily tions: used as part of the organization’s 1. Who did the poll and who proper name: the Democratic paid for it? (The place to start is Party, the Republican Party. the polling firm, media outlet or Capitalize Communist, Conser- other organization that conducted vative, Democrat, Liberal, Republi- the poll. Be wary of polls paid for can, Socialist, etc., when they by candidates or interest groups. refer to a specific party or its The release of poll results is often members. Lowercase these words a campaign tactic or publicity 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 199

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ploy. — by telephone or some other Any reporting of such polls way? (Avoid polls in which com- must highlight the poll’s sponsor, puters conduct telephone inter- so that readers can be aware of views using a recorded voice. the potential for bias from such Among the problems of these sur- sponsorship.) veys are that they do not random- 2. How many people were in- ly select respondents within a terviewed? How were they select- household, as reliable polls do, ed? (Only a poll based on a scien- and they cannot exclude children tific, random sample of a popula- from polls in which adults or reg- tion — in which every member of istered voters are the population the population has a known prob- of interest.) ability of inclusion —can be used 5. When was the poll taken? as a reliable and accurate mea- (Opinion can change quickly, es- sure of that population’s opin- pecially in response to events.) ions. Polls based on submissions 6. What are the sampling error to Web sites or calls to 900-num- margins for the poll and for sub- bers may be good entertainment groups mentioned in the story? but have no validity. They should (The polling organization should be avoided because the opinions provide sampling error margins, come from people who select which are expressed as “plus or themselves to participate. If such minus X percentage points,” not unscientific pseudo-polls are re- “percent.” The margin varies in- ported for entertainment value, versely with sample size: the they must never be portrayed as fewer people interviewed, the larg- accurately reflecting public opin- er the sampling error. Although ion and their failings must be some pollsters state sampling highlighted.) error or even poll results to a 3. Who was interviewed? (A tenth of a percentage point, that valid poll reflects only the opin- implies a greater degree of preci- ions of the population that was sion than is possible from a sam- sampled. A poll of business exec- pling; sampling error margins utives can only represent the should be rounded to the nearest views of business executives, not half point and poll results to the of all adults. Surveys conducted nearest full point. If the opinions via the Internet — even if at- of a subgroup — women, for ex- tempted in a random manner, not ample — are important to the based on self-selection — face story, the sampling error for that special sampling difficulties that subgroup should be included. limit how the results may be gen- Subgroup error margins are al- eralized, even to the population of ways larger than the margin for Internet users. Many political the entire poll.) polls are based on interviews only 7. What questions were asked with registered voters, since regis- and in what order? (Small differ- tration is usually required for vot- ences in question wording can ing. Close to the election, polls cause big differences in may be based only on “likely vot- results.The exact question texts ers.” If “likely voters” are used as need not be in every poll story the base, ask the pollster how unless it is crucial or controver- that group was identified.) sial.) 4. How was the poll conducted When writing and editing poll 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 200

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stories, here are areas for close change their minds before they attention: cast their ballots. —Do not exaggerate poll results. In particular, with pre-elec- pom-pom, pompom Pom- tion polls, these are the rules for pom is sometimes used to de- deciding when to write that the scribe a rapid firing automatic poll finds one candidate is leading weapon. Define the word if it another: must be used. If the difference between the A pompom (also sometimes candidates is more than twice the spelled pompon) is a large ball of sampling error margin, then the crepe paper or fluffed cloth, often poll says one candidate is lead- waved by cheerleaders or atop a ing. hat. It is also a flower that ap- If the difference is less than pears on some varieties of the sampling error margin, the chrysanthemums. poll says that the race is close, that the candidates are “about pontiff Not a formal title. Al- even.” (Do not use the term “sta- ways lowercase. tistical dead heat,” which is inaccurate if there is any difference pooh-pooh between the candidates; if the poll finds the candidates are tied, pope Capitalize when used as say they’re tied.) a formal title before a name; low- If the difference is at least ercase in all other uses: Pope Paul equal to the sampling error but spoke to the crowd. At the close of no more than twice the sampling his address, the pope gave his error, then one candidate can be blessing. said to be “apparently leading” or See Roman Catholic Church “slightly ahead” in the race. and titles. —Comparisons with other polls are often newsworthy. Earli- Popsicle A trademark for a er poll results can show changes brand of flavored ice on a stick. in public opinion. Be careful comparing polls from different polling popular names See capital- organizations. Different poll tech- ization. niques can cause differing results. pore, pour The verb pore —Sampling error is not the means to gaze intently or steadily: only source of error in a poll, but She pored over her books. it is one that can be quantified. The verb pour means to flow in Question wording and order, in- a continuous stream: It poured terviewer skill and refusal to par- rain. He poured the coffee. ticipate by respondents randomly selected for a sample are among port, starboard Nautical for potential sources of error in sur- left and right (when facing the veys. bow, or forward). Port is left. Star- —No matter how good the poll, board is right. Change to left or no matter how wide the margin, right unless in direct quotes. the poll does not say one candidate will win an election. Polls Portuguese names The can be wrong and the voters can family names of both the father 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 201

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and mother usually are consid- only an apostrophe: mathematics’ ered part of a person’s full name. rules, measles’ effects. (But see In everyday use, customs some- INANIMATE OBJECTS below.) times vary with individuals and Apply the same principle when countries. a plural word occurs in the for- The normal sequence is given mal name of a singular entity: name, mother’s family name, fa- General Motors’ profits, the United ther’s family name: Maria Santos States’ wealth. Ferreira. NOUNS THE SAME IN SINGU- On second reference, use only LAR AND PLURAL: Treat them the father’s family name (Fer- the same as plurals, even if the reira), unless the individual meaning is singular: one corps’ lo- prefers or is widely known by a cation, the two deer’s tracks, the multiple last name (Ferreira Cas- lone moose’s antlers. tro). SINGULAR NOUNS NOT END- Some Portuguese use an e (for ING IN S: Add ’s: the church’s and) between the two names: needs, the girl’s toys, the horse’s Joao Canto e Castro. This would food, the ship’s route, the VIP’s not be split on second reference, seat. but would be Canto e Castro. Some style guides say that When a surname is preceded singular nouns ending in s by da, do, dos, or das, include it sounds such as ce, x, and z may in the second reference. Jorge da take either the apostrophe alone Costa, for example, would be da or ’s. See SPECIAL EXPRES- Costa on second reference. SIONS, but otherwise, for consis- A married woman adds her tency and ease in remembering a husband’s surname to the end of rule, always use ’s if the word hers. If Maria Santos Ferreira does not end in the letter s: married Joao Costa da Silva, her Butz’s policies, the fox’s den, the full name would be Maria Ferreira justice’s verdict, Marx’s theories, da Silva. the prince’s life, Xerox’s profits. Occasionally, a woman may SINGULAR COMMON NOUNS choose not to take her husband’s ENDING IN S: Add ’s unless the surname for personal reasons or next word begins with s: the host- because the mother’s family has ess’s invitation, the hostess’ seat; an aristocratic or famous sur- the witness’s answer, the witness’ name. Use both surnames if the story. individual’s choice is not known. SINGULAR PROPER NAMES ENDING IN S: Use only an apos- possessives Follow these trophe: Achilles’ heel, Agnes’ guidelines: book, Ceres’ rites, Descartes’ theo- PLURAL NOUNS NOT ENDING ries, Dickens’ novels, Euripides’ IN S: Add ’s: the alumni’s contri- dramas, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ butions, women’s rights. life, Jules’ seat, Kansas’ schools, PLURAL NOUNS ENDING IN S: Moses’ law, Socrates’ life, Ten- Add only an apostrophe: the nessee Williams’ plays, Xerxes’ churches’ needs, the girls’ toys, armies. the horses’ food, the ships’ wake, SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS: The states’ rights, the VIPs’ entrance. following exceptions to the gener- NOUNS PLURAL IN FORM, al rule for words not ending in s SINGULAR IN MEANING: Add apply to words that end in an s 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 202

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sound and are followed by a word ending in s when it is used pri- that begins with s: for appear- marily in a descriptive sense: citi- ance’ sake, for conscience’ sake, zens band radio, a Cincinnati for goodness’ sake. Use ’s other- Reds infielder, a teachers college, wise: the appearance’s cost, my a Teamsters request, a writers conscience’s voice. guide. PRONOUNS: Personal inter- Memory Aid: The apostrophe rogative and relative pronouns usually is not used if for or by have separate forms for the pos- rather than of would be appropri- sessive. None involve an apostro- ate in the longer form: a radio phe: mine, ours, your, yours, his, band for citizens, a college for hers, its, theirs, whose. teachers, a guide for writers, a re- Caution: If you are using an quest by the Teamsters. apostrophe with a pronoun, al- An ’s is required, however, ways double-check to be sure when a term involves a plural that the meaning calls for a con- word that does not end in s: a traction: you’re, it’s, there’s, children’s hospital, a people’s re- who’s. public, the Young Men’s Christian Follow the rules listed above in Association. forming the possessives of other DESCRIPTIVE NAMES: Some pronouns: another’s idea, others’ governmental, corporate and in- plans, someone’s guess. stitutional organizations with a COMPOUND WORDS: Apply- descriptive word in their names ing the rules above, add an apos- use an apostrophe; some do not. trophe or ’s to the word closest to Follow the user’s practice: Actors’ the object possessed: the major Equity, Diners Club, the Ladies’ general’s decision, the major gen- Home Journal, the National Gover- erals’ decisions, the attorney gen- nors’ Association. See separate eral’s request, the attorneys gen- entries for these and similar eral’s request. See the plurals names frequently in the news. entry for guidelines on forming QUASI POSSESSIVES: Follow the plurals of these words. the rules above in composing the Also: anyone else’s attitude, possessive form of words that John Adams Jr.’s father, Ben- occur in such phrases as a day’s jamin Franklin of Pennsylvania’s pay, two weeks’ vacation, three motion. Whenever practical, how- days’ work, your money’s worth. ever, recast the phrase to avoid Frequently, however, a hy- ambiguity: the motion by Ben- phenated form is clearer: a two- jamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. week vacation, a three-day job. JOINT POSSESSION, INDIVID- DOUBLE POSSESSIVE: Two UAL POSSESSION: Use a posses- conditions must apply for a dou- sive form after only the last word ble possessive — a phrase such if ownership is joint: Fred and as a friend of John’s — to occur: Sylvia’s apartment, Fred and 1. The word after of must refer to Sylvia’s stocks. an animate object, and 2. The Use a possessive form after word before of must involve only both words if the objects are indi- a portion of the animate object’s vidually owned: Fred’s and possessions. Sylvia’s books. Otherwise, do not use the pos- DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES: Do sessive form of the word after of: not add an apostrophe to a word The friends of John Adams 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 203

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mourned his death. (All the pound (monetary) The friends were involved.) He is a English pound sign is not used. friend of the college. (Not college’s, Convert the figures to dollars in because college is inanimate.) most cases. Use a figure and spell Memory Aid: This construction out pounds if the actual figure is occurs most often, and quite nat- relevant. urally, with the possessive forms of personal pronouns: He is a pound (weight) Equal to friend of mine. 16 ounces. The metric equivalent INANIMATE OBJECTS: There is approximately 454 grams, or is no blanket rule against creat- .45 kilograms. ing a possessive form for an inan- To convert to kilograms, multi- imate object, particularly if the ply the number of pounds by .45 object is treated in a personified (20 pounds x .45 equals 9 kilo- sense. See some of the earlier ex- grams). amples, and note these: death’s See gram and kilogram. call, the wind’s murmur. In general, however, avoid ex- pour See the pore, pour cessive personalization of inani- entry. mate objects, and give preference poverty level An income to an of construction when it fits level judged inadequate to provide the makeup of the sentence. For a family or individual with the es- example, the earlier references to sentials of life. The figure for the mathematics’ rules and measles’ United States is adjusted regular- effects would better be phrased: ly to reflect changes in the Con- the rules of mathematics, the ef- sumer Price Index. fects of measles. practitioner See Church of post- Follow Webster’s New Christ, Scientist. World. Hyphenate if not listed there. pre- The rules in prefixes Some words without a hyphen: apply. The following examples of postdate postnuptial exceptions to first-listed spellings postdoctoral postoperative in Webster’s New World are based postelection postscript postgraduate postwar on the general rule that a hyphen Some words that use a hy- is used if a prefix ends in a vowel phen: and the word that follows begins post-bellum post-mortem with the same vowel: pre-election pre-establish pre-eminent pre-exist post office It may be used pre-empt but it is no longer capitalized be- Otherwise, follow Webster’s cause the agency is now the U.S. New World, hyphenating if not Postal Service. listed there. Some examples: Use lowercase in referring to prearrange prehistoric an individual office: I went to the precondition preignition post office. precook prejudge predate premarital predecease prenatal potato, potatoes predispose pretax preflight pretest pothole preheat prewar 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 204

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Some hyphenated coinage, not Prime minister is the correct listed in the dictionary: title throughout the Common- pre-convention pre-dawn wealth, formerly the British Com- monwealth. See Commonwealth preacher A job description, for a list of members. not a formal religious title. Do not Prime minister is the best or capitalize. traditional translation from most See titles and religious titles. other languages. For consistency, use it throughout the rest of the precincts See political divi- world with these exceptions: sions. —Use chancellor in Austria and Germany. predominant, predomi- —Follow the practice of a na- nantly Use these primary tion if there is a specific prefer- spellings listed in Webster’s New ence that varies from this general World for the adjectival and ad- practice. verbial forms. Do not use the al- Premier is also the correct title ternates it records, predominate for the individuals who lead the and predominately. provincial governments in Cana- The verb form, however, is pre- da and Australia. dominate. See titles. prefixes See separate listings Presbyterian churches for commonly used prefixes. Presbyterian denominations typi- Generally do not hyphenate cally have four levels of authority when using a prefix with a word — individual congregations, pres- starting with a consonant. byteries, synods and a general as- Three rules are constant, al- sembly. though they yield some excep- Congregations are led by a tions to first-listed spellings in pastor, who provides guidance in Webster’s New World Dictionary: spiritual matters, and by a ses- —Except for cooperate and co- sion, composed of ruling elders ordinate, use a hyphen if the pre- chosen by the congregation to fix ends in a vowel and the word represent the members in matters that follows begins with the same of government and discipline. vowel. A presbytery is composed of all —Use a hyphen if the word the ministers and an equal num- that follows is capitalized. ber of ruling elders, including at —Use a hyphen to join dou- least one from each congregation, bled prefixes: sub-subparagraph. in a given district. Although the next two levels are technically premiere A first perfor- higher, the presbytery has the mance. authority to rule on many types of material and spiritual ques- premier, prime minister tions. These two titles often are used in- Presbyteries unite to form a terchangeably in translating to synod, whose members are elect- English the title of an individual ed by the presbyteries. A synod who is the first minister in a na- generally meets once a year to de- tional government that has a cide matters such as the creation council of ministers. of new presbyteries and to pass 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 205

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judgment on appeals and com- mean now. plaints that do not affect the doctrine or constitution of the presidency Always lower- church. case. A general assembly, composed of delegations of pastors and rul- president Capitalize presi- ing elders from each presbytery, dent only as a formal title before meets yearly to decide issues of one or more names: President doctrine and discipline within a Reagan, Presidents Ford and Presbyterian body. It also may Carter. create new synods, divide old Lowercase in all other uses: ones and correspond with general The president said today. He is assemblies of other Presbyterian running for president. Lincoln was bodies. president during the Civil War. The northern and southern See titles. branches of Presbyterianism FIRST NAMES: In most cases, merged in 1983 to become the the first name of a current or for- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its mer U.S. president is not neces- membership totals 3.5 million. sary on first reference. Use first Formerly, Presbyterianism in the names when necessary to avoid United States was concentrated confusion: President Andrew in two bodies. The principal body Johnson, President Lyndon John- in the North was the United Pres- son. First names also may be byterian Church in the United used for literary effect, or in fea- States of America. The Presbyter- ture or personality contexts. ian Church in the United States For presidents of other nations was the principal Southern body. and of organizations and institu- There are also several distinct- tions, capitalize president as a ly conservative Presbyterian de- formal title before a full name: nominations, the largest of them President Askar Akayev of Kyr- the Presbyterian Church in Amer- gyzstan (not: President Akayev on ica. Be careful to specify the de- first reference), President John nomination being written about. Smith of Acme Corp. Presbyterians believe in the On second reference, use only Trinity and the humanity and di- the last name. vinity of Christ. Baptism, which may be administered to children, presidential Lowercase un- and the Lord’s Supper are the less part of a proper name. only sacraments. All Presbyterian clergymen Presidential Medal of may be described as ministers. Freedom This is the nation’s Pastor applies if a minister leads highest civilian honor. It is given a congregation. by the president, on the recom- On first reference, use the Rev. mendation of the Distinguished before the name of a man or Civilian Service Board, for “excep- woman. On second reference, use tionally meritorious contribution only the last name. to the security of the United See religious titles. States or other significant public or private endeavors.” presently Use it to mean in a Until 1963 it was known as little while or shortly, but not to the Medal of Freedom. 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 206

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Presidents Day Not adopted balloting in a primary. by the federal government as the official name of the Washington’s prime meridian See merid- Birthday holiday. However, some ians. federal agencies, states and local governments use the term. prime minister See the premier, prime minister entry. presiding officer Always lowercase. prime rate The interest rate that commercial banks charge on press conference News loans to their borrowers with the conference is preferred. best credit ratings. Fluctuations in the prime rate press secretary Seldom a seldom have an immediate impact formal title. For consistency, al- on consumer loan rates. Over the ways use lowercase, even when long term, however, consistent in- used before an individual’s name. creases (or decreases) in the (The formal title for the person prime rate can lead to increases who serves a U.S. president in (or decreases) in the interest rates this capacity is assistant to the for mortgages and all types of president for press relations.) personal loans. See titles. Prince Edward Island One pretense, pretext A pretext of the three Maritime Provinces of is something that is put forward Canada. Do not abbreviate. to conceal a truth: He was dis- See datelines. charged for tardiness, but the reason given was only a pretext for prince, princess Capitalize general incompetence. when used as a royal title before A pretense is a false show, a a name; lowercase when used more overt act intended to con- alone: Prince Charles, the prince. ceal personal feelings: My profuse See nobility. compliments were all pretense. principal, principle Princi- preventive Not preventative. pal is a noun and adjective meaning someone or something first in priest A vocational descrip- rank, authority, importance or tion, not a formal title. Do not degree: She is the school principal. capitalize. He was the principal player in the See religious titles and the trade. Money is the principal prob- entries for the Roman Catholic lem. Church and Episcopal Church. Principle is a noun that means a fundamental truth, law, doc- prima-facie (adj.) trine or motivating force: They fought for the principle of self-de- primary Do not capitalize: termination. the New Hampshire primary, the Democratic primary, the primary. prior to Before is less stilted for most uses. Prior to is appropri- primary day Use lowercase ate, however, when a notion of re- for any of the days set aside for quirement is involved: The fee 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 207

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must be paid prior to the examina- On second reference, any of tion. the following may be used, all in lowercase: the state prison, the prisoner(s) of war POW(s) prison, the state penitentiary, the is acceptable on second reference. penitentiary. Hyphenate when used as a Use lowercase for all plural compound modifier: a prisoner-of- constructions: the Colorado and war trial. Kansas state penitentiaries. JAILS: Capitalize jail when prison, jail Do not use the linked with the name of the juris- two words interchangeably. diction: Los Angeles County Jail. DEFINITIONS: Prison is a Lowercase county jail, city jail and generic term that may be applied jail when they stand alone. to the maximum security institu- FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS: tions often known as peniten- Maximum security institutions tiaries and to the medium securi- are known as penitentiaries: the ty facilities often called correction- U.S. Penitentiary at Lewisburg or al institutions or reformatories. All Lewisburg Penitentiary on first such facilities confine people reference; the federal penitentiary serving sentences for felonies. or the penitentiary on second ref- A jail is a facility normally erence. used to confine people serving Medium security institutions sentences for misdemeanors, peo- include the word federal as part ple awaiting trial or sentencing on of their formal names: the Federal either felony or misdemeanor Correctional Institution at Dan- charges, and people confined for bury, Conn. On second reference: civil matters such as failure to the correctional institution, the fed- pay alimony and other types of eral prison, the prison. contempt of court. Most federal facilities used to See the felony, misdemeanor house people awaiting trial or entry. serving sentences of a year or less The guidelines for capitaliza- have the proper name Federal De- tion: tention Center. The term Metropol- PRISONS: Many states have itan Correctional Center is being given elaborate formal names to adopted for some new installa- their prisons. They should be tions. On second reference: the capitalized when used, but com- detention center, the correctional monly accepted substitutes center. should also be capitalized as if they were proper names. For ex- private See military titles. ample, use either Massachusetts Correctional Institution-Walpole or privilege, privileged Walpole State Prison for the maximum security institution in pro- Use a hyphen when coin- Massachusetts. ing words that denote support for Do not, however, construct a something. Some examples: substitute when the formal name pro-labor pro-business is commonly accepted: It is the pro-peace pro-war Colorado State Penitentiary, for No hyphen when pro is used in example, not Colorado State other senses: produce, profile, Prison. pronoun, etc. 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 208

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probation See the pardon, ee — see, tea z — zoom parole, probation entry. i — pin, middle zh — mirage oh — go, oval kh — guttural “k” oo — food, two Procter & Gamble Co. P&G or — for, torn is acceptable on second reference. ow — cow Headquarters is in Cincinnati. oy — boy u — foot, put profanity See the obsceni- uh — puff ur — burden, curl ties, profanities, vulgarities y, eye — ice, time entry. propeller professor Never abbreviate. Lowercase before a name. Do not proper nouns See capital- continue in second reference un- ization. less part of a quotation. See academic titles and prophecy (n.) prophesy (v.) titles. proportions Always use fig- profit-sharing (n. and adj.) ures: 2 parts powder to 6 parts The hyphen for the noun is an ex- water. ception to Webster’s New World. proposition Do not abbrevi- Prohibition Capitalize when ate. Capitalize when used with a referring to the period that began figure in describing a ballot ques- when the 18th Amendment to the tion: He is uncommitted on Propo- Constitution prohibited the man- sition 15. ufacture, sale or transportation of alcoholic liquors. prosecutor Capitalize before The amendment was declared a name when it is the formal title. ratified Jan. 29, 1919, and took In most cases, however, the for- effect Jan. 16, 1920. It was re- mal title is a term such as attor- pealed by the 21st Amendment, ney general, state’s attorney or which took effect Dec. 5, 1933, U.S. attorney. If so, use the formal the day it was declared ratified. title on first reference. Lowercase prosecutor if used pronouncers When neces- before a name on a subsequent sary to use a pronouncer, put it in reference, generally to help the parentheses immediately follow- reader distinguish between prose- ing the word or name. The sylla- cutor and defense attorney with- ble to be stressed should be in out having to look back to the caps with an apostrophe: Ayatol- start of the story. lah Khomeini (koh-MAY’-nee). See titles. Here are the basic sounds represented by AP phonetic symbols: prostate gland Not pros- Vowels Consonants trate. a — apple, bat g — got, beg ah — father, hot j — gem, job Protestant Episcopal ar — far, harm k — cap, keep aw — law, long ch — chair Church See Episcopal Church. ay — ace, fate s — see e — bed sh — shut Protestant, Protes- ehr — merry y — yes tantism Capitalize these words 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 209

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when they refer either to denomi- Public Broadcasting Ser- nations formed as a result of the vice It is not a network, but an break from the Roman Catholic association of public television Church in the 16th century or to stations organized to buy and dis- the members of these denomina- tribute programs selected by a tions. vote of the members. Church groups covered by the PBS is acceptable on first ref- term include Anglican, Baptist, erence only within contexts such Congregational, Methodist, as a television column. Other- Lutheran, Presbyterian and wise, do not use PBS until second Quaker denominations. See sepa- reference. rate entries for each. Protestant is not generally ap- public schools Use figures plied to Christian Scientists, Je- and capitalize public school when hovah’s Witnesses or Mormons. used with a figure: Public School Do not use Protestant to de- 3, Public School 10. scribe a member of an Eastern If a school has a commemora- Orthodox church. Use a phrase tive name: Benjamin Franklin such as Orthodox Christian in- School. stead. See religious movements. publisher Capitalize when used as a formal title before an protester Not protestor. individual’s name: Publisher Isa- iah Thomas of the Massachusetts prove, proved, proving Spy. Use proven only as an adjective: a See titles. proven remedy. Puerto Rico Do not abbrevi- provinces Names of ate. See datelines. provinces are set off from community names by commas, just Pulitzer Prizes These yearly as the names of U.S. states are awards for outstanding work in set off from city names: They journalism and the arts were en- went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on dowed by the late Joseph their vacation. Pulitzer, publisher of the old New Do not capitalize province: York World, and first given in They visited the province of Nova 1917. They are awarded by the Scotia. The earthquake struck trustees of Columbia University Shensi province. on recommendation of an adviso- See datelines. ry board. Capitalize Pulitzer Prize, but proviso, provisos lowercase the categories: Pulitzer Prize for public service, Pulitzer provost marshal The plur- Prize for fiction, etc. al: provost marshals. Also: She is a Pulitzer Prize winner. He is a Pulitzer Prize-win- PTA See parent-teacher asso- ning author. ciation. pull back (v.) pullback (n.) PT boat It stands for patrol torpedo boat. pull out (v.) pullout (n.) 199-220_P.qrk 2/18/03 12:25 PM Page 210

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pulpit See the lectern, podium, pulpit, rostrum entry.

punctuation Think of it as a courtesy to your readers, designed to help them understand a story. Inevitably, a mandate of this scope involves gray areas. For this reason, the punctuation entries in this book refer to guidelines rather than rules. Guide- lines should not be treated casu- ally, however. See Punctuation chapter for separate entries under: apostrophe; brackets; colon; comma; dash; ellipsis; exclamation point; hyphen; parentheses; periods; question mark; quotation marks; and semicolon.

pupil, student Use pupil for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Student or pupil is acceptable for grades nine through 12. Use student for college and beyond.

Purim The Jewish Feast of Lots, commemorating Esther’s deliverance of the Jews in Persia from a massacre plotted by Haman. Occurs in February or March.

push-button (n., adj.)

push up (v.) push-up (n., adj.)

put out (v.) putout (n.)

pygmy Capitalize only when referring specifically to any of several races of unusually small African or Asian peoples.

Pyrex A trademark for a brand of oven glassware. 221-223_Q.qrk 2/18/03 12:34 PM Page 211 Q

Q-and-A format See ques- Brought to court for opposing tion mark in Punctuation chap- the established church, Fox tan- ter. gled with a judge who derided him as a “quaker” in reference to Qantas Airways Headquar- his agitation over religious matters is in Sydney, Australia. ters. The basic unit of Quaker orga- QE2 Acceptable on second ref- nization is the weekly meeting, erence for the ocean liner Queen which corresponds to the congre- Elizabeth 2. gation in other churches. (But use a Roman numeral for Various yearly meetings form the monarch: Queen Elizabeth II.) larger associations that assemble at intervals of a year or more. The Q-tips A trademark for a largest is the Friends United brand of cotton swabs. Meeting. Its 15 yearly meeting members represent about half the Quaalude A trade name for a Friends in the world. drug containing methaqualone. Others include the Evangelical Not synonymous with illegal Friends Alliance and the Friends drugs containing methaqualone. General Conference. Members of the conference include some year- Quakers This informal name ly meetings that also are affiliated may be used in all references to with the Friends United Meeting. members of the Religious Society Overall, Friends count about of Friends, but always include the 120,000 members in the United full name in a story dealing pri- States and Canada and a total of marily with Quaker activities. 200,000 worldwide. The denomination originated Fox taught that the Inner with George Fox, an Englishman Light emancipates a person from who objected to Anglican empha- adherence to any creed, ecclesias- sis on ceremony. In the 1640s, he tical authority or ritual forms. said he heard a voice that opened There is no recognized ranking the way for him to develop a per- of clergy over lay people. Howev- sonal relationship with Christ, er, there are meeting officers, described as the Inner Light, a called elders or ministers. Many term based on the Gospel de- Quaker ministers, particularly in scription of Christ as the “true the Midwest and West, use the light.” Rev. before their names and de- 221-223_Q.qrk 2/18/03 12:34 PM Page 212

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scribe themselves as pastors. second references that use the Capitalize elder, minister or queen’s given name: Queen Eliza- pastor when used as a formal title beth. before a name. Use the Rev. be- Lowercase queen when it fore a name on first reference if it stands alone. is a minister’s practice. On sec- Capitalize in plural uses: ond reference, use only the last Queens Elizabeth and Victoria. name. See nobility and titles. See religious titles. queen mother A widowed quakes See earthquakes. queen who is mother of the reign- ing monarch. See nobility. quart (dry) Equal in volume to 67.2 cubic inches. The metric question mark See entry in equivalent is approximately 1.1 Punctuation chapter. liters. To convert to liters, multiply questionnaire by 1.1 (5 dry quarts x 1.1 is 5.5 liters). quick-witted See liter. quotation marks See entry quart (liquid) Equal in vol- in Punctuation chapter. ume to 57.75 cubic inches. Also equal to 32 fluid ounces. quotations in the news The approximate metric equiv- Never alter quotations even to alents are 950 milliliters or .95 of correct minor grammatical errors a liter. or word usage. Casual minor To convert to liters, multiply tongue slips may be removed by by .95 (4 quarts x .95 is 3.8 using ellipses but even that liters). should be done with extreme cau- See liter. tion. If there is a question about a quote, either don’t use it or ask quasar Acceptable in all ref- the speaker to clarify. erences for a quasi-stellar astro- If a person is unavailable for nomical object, often a radio comment, detail attempts to source. Most astronomers consid- reach that person. (Smith was out er quasars the most distant ob- of the country on business; Jones jects observable in the heavens. did not return phone messages left at the office.) Quebec Use Quebec City Do not routinely use abnormal without the name of the province spellings such as gonna in at- in datelines. tempts to convey regional dialects Do not abbreviate any refer- or mispronunciations. Such ence to the province of Quebec, spellings are appropriate when Canada’s largest in area and sec- relevant or help to convey a de- ond largest in population. sired touch in a feature. See datelines. Follow basic writing style and use abbreviations where appro- queen Capitalize only when priate, as in No. 1 or St. used before the name of royalty: FULL vs. PARTIAL QUOTES: Queen Elizabeth II. Continue in In general, avoid fragmentary 221-223_Q.qrk 2/18/03 12:34 PM Page 213

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quotes. If a speaker’s words are clear and concise, favor the full quote. If cumbersome language can be paraphrased fairly, use an indirect construction, reserving quotation marks for sensitive or controversial passages that must be identified specifically as coming from the speaker. CONTEXT: Remember that you can misquote someone by giving a startling remark without its modifying passage or quali- fiers. The manner of delivery sometimes is part of the context. Reporting a smile or a deprecato- ry gesture may be as important as conveying the words themselves. OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE: See the obscenities, profanities, vulgarities entry. PUNCTUATION: See the quotation marks entry in the Punc- tuation chapter.

Quran The preferred spelling for the Muslim holy book. Use the spelling Koran only if preferred by a specific organization or in a specific title or name. 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 214 R R The restricted rating. See story. movie ratings. See the obscenities, profanities, vulgarities entry and the rabbi See Jewish congrega- nationalities and races entry. tions. racket Not racquet, for the Rabbinical Assembly See light bat used in tennis and bad- Jewish congregations. minton. Rabbinical Council of rack, wrack The noun rack America See Jewish congrega- applies to various types of frame- tions. work; the verb rack means to arrange on a rack, to torture, raccoon trouble or torment: He was placed on the rack. She racked her race Identification by race is brain. pertinent: The noun wrack means ruin —In biographical and an- or destruction, and generally is nouncement stories, particularly confined to the phrase wrack and when they involve a feat or ap- ruin. pointment that has not routinely The verb wrack has substan- been associated with members of tially the same meaning as the a particular race. verb rack, the latter being pre- —When it provides the reader ferred. with a substantial insight into conflicting emotions known or radar A lowercase acronym likely to be involved in a demon- for radio detection and ranging. stration or similar event. In some stories that involve a radical In general, avoid this conflict, it is equally important to description in favor of a more pre- specify that an issue cuts across cise definition of an individual’s racial lines. If, for example, a political views. demonstration by supporters of When used, it suggests that an busing to achieve racial balance individual believes change must in schools includes a substantial be made by tearing up the roots number of whites, that fact or foundation of the present should be noted. order. Do not use racially derogatory Although radical often is ap- terms unless they are part of a plied to individuals who hold quotation that is essential to the strong socialist or communist 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 215

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views, it also is applied at times All living things, including hu- to individuals who believe an ex- mans, may be raised. isting form of government must be replaced by a more authoritar- RAM See Internet section. ian or militaristic one. See the leftist, ultra-leftist Ramadan The Muslim holy and rightist, ultra-rightist en- month, a period of daily fasting tries. from sunrise to sunset, ending with the Islamic holiday of Eid al- radio Capitalize and use be- Fitr. fore a name to indicate an official voice of the government: Radio ranges The form: $12 million Moscow. to $14 million. Not: $12 to $14 Lowercase and place after the million. name when indicating only that the information was obtained rank and file (n.) The adjec- from broadcasts in a city. Havana tive form: rank-and-file. radio, for example, is the form used in referring to reports that rarely It means seldom. are broadcast on various stations Rarely ever is redundant, but in the Cuban capital. rarely if ever often is the appropriate phrase. radio station The call letters alone are frequently ade- ratios Use figures and hy- quate, but when this phrase is phens: the ratio was 2-to-1, a ratio needed, use lowercase: radio sta- of 2-to-1, a 2-1 ratio. As illustrat- tion WHEC. ed, the word to should be omitted See call letters. when the numbers precede the word ratio. railroads Capitalize when Always use the word ratio or a part of a name: the Illinois Central phrase such as a 2-1 majority to Gulf Railroad. avoid confusion with actual fig- Railroad companies vary the ures. spellings of their names, using Railroad, Rail Road, Railway, etc. ravage, ravish To ravage is Consult the Official Railway to wreak great destruction or dev- Guide-Freight Service and the Of- astation: Union troops ravaged At- ficial Railway Guide-Passenger lanta. Service for official spellings. To ravish is to abduct, rape or Use the railroad for all lines in carry away with emotion: Soldiers second references. ravished the women. Use railroads in lowercase for Although both words connote all plurals: the Penn Central and an element of violence, they are Santa Fe railroads. not interchangeable. Buildings See Amtrak and Conrail. and towns cannot be ravished.

rainstorm See weather rayon Not a trademark. terms. re- The rules in prefixes raised, reared Only humans apply. The following examples of may be reared. exceptions to first-listed spellings 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 216

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in Webster’s New World are based recision The preferred on the general rule that a hyphen spelling is rescission. is used if a prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins reconnaissance with the same vowel: re-elect re-enlist Reconstruction The process re-election re-enter of reorganizing the Southern re-emerge re-entry re-employ re-equip states after the Civil War. re-enact re-establish re-engage re-examine record Avoid the redundant For many other words, the new record. sense is the governing factor: recover (regain) re-cover (cover again) rector See religious titles. reform (improve) re-form (form again) resign (quit) re-sign (sign again) recur, recurred, recurring Otherwise, follow Webster’s Not reoccur. New World. Use a hyphen for words not listed there unless the Red Capitalize when used as hyphen would distort the sense. a political, geographic or military term: the Red army. reader See Church of Christ, Scientist. Red China See China. Realtor The term real estate red-haired, redhead, red- agent is preferred. Use Realtor headed All are acceptable for a only if there is a reason to indi- person with red hair. cate that the individual is a mem- Redhead also is used colloqui- ber of the National Association of ally to describe a type of North Realtors. American diving duck. See service marks. red-handed (adj. and adv.) reared See raised, reared entry. red-hot

rebut, refute Rebut means redneck From the character- to argue to the contrary: He re- istic sunburned neck acquired in butted his opponent’s statement. the fields by farm laborers. It Refute connotes success in ar- refers to poor, white rural resi- gument and almost always im- dents of the South and often is a plies an editorial judgment. In- derogatory term. stead, use deny, dispute, rebut or respond to. re-elect, re-election

recipes Always use figures. refer See the allude, refer See fractions. entry. Do not use abbreviations. Spell out teaspoon, tablespoon, referable etc. See the food entry for guide- reference works Capitalize lines on when to capitalize the their proper names. names of foods. Do not use quotation marks 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 217

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around the names of books that as a release embargo), the story are primarily catalogs of reference should contain a statement to material. In addition to catalogs, that effect. this category includes almanacs, See Filing Practices section for directories, dictionaries, encyclo- the format. pedias, gazetteers, handbooks TIME SET BY SOURCE FOR and similar publications. WIRE MOVEMENT: If a source EXAMPLES: Congressional Di- provides material on condition rectory, Webster’s New World Dic- that it not be transmitted in any tionary, the AP Stylebook. But: form to members or subscribers “The Careful Writer” and “Modern until a specific time (sometimes American Usage.” known as a wire embargo or wire See the bibliography for the movement embargo), the material principal reference works used in should be held until that time. preparing this book. Consult New York if any problems arise. referendum, referen- “MORNING” OR “EVENING” dums NEWSPAPER RELEASE SPECI- FIED BY SOURCE: If a source reformatory See the prison, does not specify a particular hour jail entry. but says material is for release in morning papers or afternoon pa- Reform Judaism See Jew- pers, consider the release time for ish congregations. print and broadcast to be 6:30 p.m. the day before publication or refute See the rebut, refute 6:30 a.m. Eastern time the day of entry. publication, respectively. See Filing Practices section for regime See the government, format. junta, regime entry. AP ADVANCES: AP stories sent in advance for use on a spe- regions See the directions cific date are considered released and regions entry. for publication and broadcast at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time the night reign, rein The leather strap before that date. for controlling a horse is a rein, See the Filing Practices sec- hence figuratively: seize the reins, tion for the format for stories sent give free rein to, put a checkrein in advance. on. Reign is the period a ruler is religious affiliations Capi- on the throne: The king began his talize the names and the related reign. terms applied to members of the orders: He is a member of the So- release times Follow these ciety of Jesus. He is a Jesuit. guidelines: TIME SET BY SOURCE FOR religious movements The PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST terms that follow have been OF A STORY: If a source provides grouped under a single entry be- material on condition that it not cause they are interrelated and be published or broadcast until a frequently cross denominational specific time (sometimes known lines. 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 218

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evangelical Historically, evan- fundamentalist has to a large ex- gelical was used as an adjective tent taken on pejorative connota- describing dedication to convey- tions except when applied to ing the message of Christ. Today groups that stress strict, literal it also is used as a noun, refer- interpretations of Scripture and ring to a category of doctrinally separation from other Christians. conservative Christians. They em- In general, do not use funda- phasize the need for a definite, mentalist unless a group applies adult commitment or conversion the word to itself. to faith in Christ and the duty of all believers to persuade others to liberal In general, avoid this accept Christ. word as a descriptive classifica- Evangelicals make up some tion in religion. It has objection- conservative denominations and able implications to many believ- are numerous in broader denomi- ers. nations. Evangelicals stress both Acceptable alternate descrip- doctrinal absolutes and vigorous tions include activist, more flexi- efforts to win others to belief. ble and broadview. The National Association of Moderate is appropriate when Evangelicals is an interdenomina- used by the contending parties, tional, cooperative body of rela- as is the case in the conflict be- tively small, conservative Protes- tween the moderate or more flexi- tant denominations. It has a total ble wing of the Lutheran Church- of about 2.5 million members and Missouri Synod and conserva- maintains headquarters in tives, who argue for literal inter- Wheaton, Ill. pretations of biblical passages others consider symbolic. evangelism The word refers to activity directed outside the Do not use the term Bible-be- church fold to influence others to lieving to distinguish one faction commit themselves to faith in from another, because all Chris- Christ, to his work of serving oth- tians believe the Bible. The differ- ers and to infuse his principles ences are over interpretations. into society’s conduct. Styles of evangelism vary from neo-Pentecostal, charismatic direct preaching appeals at large These terms apply to a movement public meetings to practical deeds that has developed within main- of carrying the name of Christ, in- line Protestant and Roman directly conveying the same call Catholic denominations since the to allegiance to him. mid-20th century. It is distin- The word evangelism is de- guished by its emotional expres- rived from the Greek evangelion, siveness, spontaneity in worship, which means the gospel or good speaking or praying in “unknown news of Christ’s saving action in tongues” and healing. Partici- behalf of humanity. pants often characterize themselves as “spirit-filled” Christians. fundamentalist The word Unlike the earlier Pentecostal gained usage in an early 20th movement, which led to separate century fundamentalist-mod- denominations, this movement ernist controversy within Protes- has swelled within major church- tantism. In recent years, however, es. 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 219

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Pentecostalism A movement Apply the principle also to that arose in the early 20th cen- events in the life of his mother: tury and separated from historic He cited the doctrines of the Im- Protestant denominations. It is maculate Conception and the As- distinguished by the belief in tan- sumption. But: She referred to the gible manifestations of the Holy assumption of Mary into heaven. Spirit, often in demonstrative, RITES: Capitalize proper emotional ways such as speaking names for rites that commemo- in “unknown tongues” and heal- rate the Last Supper or signify a ing. belief in Christ’s presence: the Pentecostal denominations in- Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, clude the Assemblies of God, the Holy Eucharist. Pentecostal Holiness Church, the Lowercase the names of other United Pentecostal Church Inc. sacraments. See the sacraments and the International Church of entry. the Foursquare Gospel founded Capitalize Benediction and the by Aimee Semple McPherson. Mass. But: a high Mass, a low Mass, a requiem Mass. religious references The HOLY DAYS: Capitalize the basic guidelines: names of holy days. See the holi- DEITIES: Capitalize the proper days and holy days entry and names of monotheistic deities: separate entries for major Christ- God, Allah, the Father, the Son, ian and Jewish feasts. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the OTHER WORDS: Lowercase Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, etc. heaven, hell, devil, angel, cherub, Lowercase pronouns referring an apostle, a priest, etc. to the deity: he, him, his, thee, Capitalize Hades and Satan. thou, who, whose, thy, etc. For additional details, see Lowercase gods in referring to Bible, entries for frequently used the deities of polytheistic reli- religious terms, the entries for gions. major denominations, religious Capitalize the proper names of movements and religious titles. pagan and mythological gods and goddesses: Neptune, Thor, Venus, Religious Society of etc. Friends See Quakers. Lowercase such words as god- awful, goddamn, godlike, godli- religious titles The first ref- ness, godsend. erence to a clergyman or clergy- LIFE OF CHRIST: Capitalize woman normally should include a the names of major events in the capitalized title before the individ- life of Jesus Christ in references ual’s name. that do not use his name: The In many cases, the Rev. is the doctrines of the Last Supper, the designation that applies before a Crucifixion, the Resurrection and name on first reference. Use the the Ascension are central to Chris- Rev. Dr. only if the individual has tian belief. an earned doctoral degree (doctor But use lowercase when the of divinity degrees frequently are words are used with his name: honorary) and reference to the de- The ascension of Jesus into heav- gree is relevant. en took place 40 days after his On second reference to mem- resurrection from the dead. bers of the clergy, use only a last 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 220

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name: the Rev. Billy Graham on name: Sister Agnes Rita in all ref- first reference, Graham on sec- erences if the nun uses only a re- ond. If known only by a religious ligious name; Sister Clare Regina name, repeat the title: Pope Paul Torpy on first reference if she VI or Pope Paul on first reference, uses a surname, Sister Torpy on Pope Paul, the pope (not Paul) or second reference. the pontiff on second; Metropoli- OFFICEHOLDERS: The pre- tan Ireney on first reference, Met- ferred first-reference form for ropolitan Ireney or the metropoli- those who hold church office but tan on second. are not ordained clergy in the Detailed guidance on specific usual sense is to use a construc- titles and descriptive words such tion that sets the title apart from as priest and minister is provided the name by commas. Capitalize in the entries for major denomi- the formal title of an office, how- nations. In general, however: ever, if it is used directly before CARDINALS, ARCHBISHOPS, an individual’s name. BISHOPS: The preferred form for first reference is to use Cardinal, reluctant, reticent Reluc- Archbishop or Bishop before the tant means unwilling to act: He is individual’s name: Cardinal Timo- reluctant to enter the primary. thy Manning, archbishop of Los Reticent means unwilling to Angeles. On second reference: speak: The candidate’s husband Manning or the cardinal. is reticent. Substitute the Most Rev. if applicable and appropriate in the Reorganized Church of context: He spoke to the Most Rev. Jesus Christ of Latter Day Anthony Bevilacqua, archbishop of Saints Not properly described as Philadelphia. On second refer- a Mormon church. See the expla- ence: Bevilacqua or the archbish- nation under Church of Jesus op. Christ of Latter-day Saints. Entries for individual denominations tell when the Most Rev., representative, Rep. See the Very Rev., etc., are applicable. legislative titles and party affil- MINISTERS AND PRIESTS: iation. Use the Rev. before a name on first reference. republic Capitalize republic Substitute Monsignor before when used as part of a nation’s the name of a Roman Catholic full, formal name: the Republic of priest who has received this Argentina. honor. See datelines. Do not routinely use curate, father, pastor and similar words Republican Governors before an individual’s name. If Association No apostrophe. they appear before a name in a quotation, capitalize them. Republican National RABBIS: Use Rabbi before a Committee On second refer- name on first reference. On sec- ence: the national committee, the ond reference, use only the last committee. name. Similarly: Republican State NUNS: Always use Sister, or Committee, Republican County Mother if applicable, before a Committee, Republican City Com- 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 221

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mittee, the state committee, the Reuters The British news county committee, the city commit- agency, part of the public compa- tee, the committee. ny Reuters Group PLC, is named for Baron Paul Julius von Reuter, republican, Republican the founder. Party GOP may be used on sec- Based in London, the official ond reference. name is Reuters Ltd., but it is re- See the political parties and ferred to as Reuters. philosophies entry. Rev. When this description is reputation See the charac- used before an individual’s name, ter, reputation entry. precede it with the word “the” because, unlike the case with Mr. rescission Not recision. and Mrs., the abbreviation Rev. does not stand for a noun. Reserve Capitalize when re- If an individual has a secular ferring to U.S. armed forces, as in title such as Rep., use whichever Army Reserve. Lowercase in refer- is appropriate to the context. ence to members of these backup See religious titles. forces: reserves, or reservists. Reserve Officers’ Train- revolution Capitalize when ing Corps The s’ is military part of a name for a specific his- practice. ROTC is acceptable in all torical event: the American Revo- references. lution, the Bolshevik Revolution, When the service is specified, the French Revolution. use Army ROTC, Navy ROTC or The Revolution, capitalized, Air Force ROTC, not AROTC, also may be used as a shorthand NROTC or AFROTC. reference to the American Revolu- tion. Also: the Revolutionary War. resident See the citizen, res- Lowercase in other uses: a rev- ident, subject, national, native olution, the revolution, the Ameri- entry. can and French revolutions. resistible revolutions per minute The abbreviation rpm is accept- restaurateur No n. Not able on first reference in special- restauranteur. ized contexts such as an auto column. Otherwise do not use it restrictive clauses See the until second reference. essential clauses, nonessential clauses entry. revolver See pistol and weapons. restrictive phrases See the essential phrases, nonessential Rh factor Also: Rh negative, phrases entry. Rh positive. Retail Clerks Internation- Rhode Island Abbrev.: R.I. al Union See United Food and Smallest of the 50 states in total Commercial Workers Interna- land area: 1,049 square miles. tional Union. See state names. 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 222

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Richter scale See earth- tract that would require the af- quakes. fected workers to be union members. RICO An acronym for Racke- Federal labor laws generally teer Influenced and Corrupt Orga- permit such contracts. There is nizations Act. Acceptable on sec- no federal right-to-work law, but ond reference, but anti-racketeer- Section 14B of the Taft-Hartley ing or anti-corruption law is pre- Act allows states to pass such ferred. laws if they wish. Many states have done so. riffraff The repeal of Section 14B would have the effect of voiding rifle See weapons. all right-to-work laws. By itself, the repeal would not require rifle, riffle To rifle is to plun- workers to be union members, der or steal. but in states that now have right- To riffle is to leaf rapidly to-work laws, the repeal would through a book or pile of papers. open the way to contracts requiring union membership. right hand (n.) right- See closed shop for defini- handed (adj.) right-hander tions of various agreements that (n.) require union membership.

rightist, ultra-rightist In right wing (n.) But: right- general, avoid these terms in wing (adj.), right-winger (n.). favor of more precise descriptions of an individual’s political philos- Ringling Bros. and Bar- ophy. num & Bailey Circus Note the As popularly used today, par- and, &. ticularly abroad, rightist often ap- Headquarters is in Washing- plies to someone who is conserva- ton. tive or opposed to socialism. It also often indicates an individual Rio Grande Not Rio Grande who supports an authoritarian River. (Rio means river.) government that is militantly anti-communist or anti-socialist. rip off (v.) rip-off (n., adj.) Ultra-rightist suggests an individual who subscribes to rigid in- river Capitalize as part of a terpretations of a conservative proper name: the Mississippi doctrine or to forms of fascism River. that stress authoritarian, often Lowercase in other uses: the militaristic, views. river, the Mississippi and Missouri See radical and the leftist, rivers. ultra-leftist entry. road Do not abbreviate. See right of way, rights of addresses. way Roaring ’20s See decades. right-to-work (adj.) A right- to-work law prohibits a company robbery See the burglary, and a union from signing a con- larceny, robbery, theft entry. 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 223

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rock ’n’ roll bers, appointed by the pope, handle both administrative and judi- Rocky Mountains Or sim- cial functions. ply: the Rockies. The pope also chooses members of the College of Cardinals, roll call (n.) roll-call (adj.) who serve as his principal counselors. When a new pope must be Rollerblade A trademark for chosen, they meet in a conclave a brand of in-line skates. to select a new pope by majority vote. In practice, cardinals are Rolls-Royce Note the hyphen bishops, but there is no require- in this trademark for a make of ment that a cardinal be a bishop. automobile. In the United States, the church’s principal organizational Rolodex A trademark for a units are archdioceses and dioce- brand of rotary card file. ses. They are headed, respectively, by archbishops and bishops, roly-poly who have final responsibility for many activities within their juris- ROM See Internet section. dictions and report directly to Rome. Roman Catholic Church The church counts more than The church teaches that its bish- 1 billion members worldwide. In ops have been established as the the United States it has more successors of the apostles than 62 million members, making through generations of cere- it the largest single body of Chris- monies in which authority was tians in the nation. passed down by a laying-on of Roman Catholics believe in the hands. Trinity — that there is one God Responsibility for teaching the who exists as three divine per- faithful and administering the sons, the Father, the Son and the church rests with the bishops. Holy Spirit. They believe that the However, the church holds that Son became man as Jesus Christ. the pope has final authority over In addition to the Holy Eu- their actions because he is the charist, there are six other sacra- bishop of Rome, the office that it ments — baptism, confirmation, teaches was held by the apostle penance (often called the sacra- Peter at his death. ment of reconciliation), matrimo- Although the pope is empow- ny, holy orders, and the sacra- ered to speak infallibly on faith ment of the sick (formerly ex- and morals, he does so only in treme unction). formal pronouncements that The clergy below pope are, in specifically state he is speaking descending order, cardinal, arch- from the chair (ex cathedra) of St. bishop, bishop, monsignor, priest Peter. This rarely used preroga- and deacon. In religious orders, tive was most recently invoked in some men who are not priests 1950, when Pope Pius XII de- have the title brother. clared that Mary was assumed Capitalize pope when used as bodily into heaven. a title before a name: Pope Paul The Curia serves as a form of VI, Pope Paul. Lowercase in all governmental cabinet. Its mem- other uses. See the titles entry. 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 224

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The first-references forms for legislative acts (Title IX) and pro other titles follow. Use only last football Super Bowls. names on second reference. Use Arabic numerals in all Cardinals: Cardinal Timothy other cases. See Arabic numerals Manning. The usage Timothy Car- and numerals. dinal Manning, a practice trace- In Roman numerals, the capi- able to the nobility’s custom of tal letter I equals 1, V equals 5, X identifications such as William, equals 10, L equals 50, C equals Duke of Norfolk, is still used in 100, D equals 500 and M equals formal documents but otherwise 1,000. Do not use M to mean mil- is considered archaic. lion, as some newspapers occa- Archbishops: Archbishop sionally do in headlines. Joseph L. Bernardin, or the Most Other numbers are formed Rev. Joseph L. Bernardin, arch- from these by adding or subtract- bishop of Cincinnati. ing as follows: Bishops: Bishop Bernard J. —The value of a letter follow- Flanagan the Most Rev. , or ing another of the same or greater Bernard J. Flanagan, bishop of value is added: III equals 3. Worcester. —The value of a letter preced- Monsignors: Monsignor Joseph E. Vogt. Do not use the abbrevia- ing one of greater value is sub- tion Msgr. Do not use the Rt. Rev. tracted: IV equals 4. or the Very Rev. — this distinction between types of monsignors Rome The city in Italy stands no longer is made. alone in datelines. Priests: the Rev. John J. Paret. See religious titles and room numbers Use figures sister. and capitalize room when used with a figure: Room 2, Room 211. Romania Not Rumania. rooms Capitalize the names Romanian Orthodox of specially designated rooms: Church The Romanian Orthodox Blue Room, Lincoln Room, Oval Of- Church in America is an au- fice, Persian Room. tonomous archdiocese of the Ro- manian Orthodox Church. The Roquefort cheese, Romanian Orthodox Episcopate Roquefort dressing A certifi- of America is an autonomous cation mark for a type of blue archdiocese within the Orthodox cheese cured in Roquefort, Church in America. France. See Eastern Orthodox It is not a trademark. churches. rosary It is recited or said, Roman numerals They use never read. Always lowercase. letters (I, X, etc.) to express numbers. Rosh Hashana The Jewish Use Roman numerals for wars new year. Occurs in September or and to establish personal se- October. quence for people and animals: World War I, Native Dancer II, rostrum See the lectern, King George V. Also for certain podium, pulpit, rostrum entry. 224-235_R.qrk 2/18/03 1:11 PM Page 225

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ROTC See Reserve Officers’ netic equivalent in English, use Training Corps. the equivalent in translating the name: Alexander Solzhenitsyn round up (v.) roundup (n.) rather than Aleksandr, the spelling that would result from a route numbers Do not ab- transliteration of the Russian let- breviate route. Use figures and ter into the English alphabet. capitalize route when used with a When a first name has no figure: U.S. Route 70, state Route close phonetic equivalent in Eng- 1A. lish, express it with an English See highway designations. spelling that approximates the sound in Russian: Nikita, for ex- Royal Dutch-Shell Group ample. of Companies This holding For last names, use the Eng- company, based in London and lish spelling that most closely ap- The Hague, owns substantial por- proximates the pronunciation in tions of the stock in numerous Russian. corporations that specialize in pe- If an individual has a prefer- troleum and related products. ence for an English spelling that Most have Shell in their names. is different from the one that Among them is Shell Oil Co., a would result by applying these U.S. corporation, with headquar- guidelines, follow the individual’s ters in Houston. preference. Women’s last names have fem- royal titles See nobility. inine endings. But use them only if the woman is not married or if R.S.V.P. The abbreviation for she is known under that name the French repondez s’il vous (the ballerina Maya Plissetskaya). plait, it means please reply. Otherwise, use the masculine form: Raisa Gorbachev, not Gor- Rt. Rev. See the entry for an bacheva. individual denomination. Russian names never end in off, except for common mis- rubber stamp (n.) rubber- transliterations such as Rach- stamp (v. and adj.) maninoff. Instead, the transliterations should end in ov: Romanov. rubella Also known as Ger- man measles. Russian Orthodox Church See Eastern Orthodox churches. runner-up, runners-up Russian Revolution Also: running mate the Bolshevik Revolution. rush hour (n.) rush-hour (adj.)

Russia See Commonwealth of Independent States entry.

Russian names When a first name in Russian has a close pho- 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 226 S Sabbath Capitalize in reli- saint Abbreviate as St. in the gious references; lowercase to names of saints, cities and other mean a period of rest. places: St. Jude; St. Paul, Minn.; St. John’s, Newfoundland; St. Sabena Belgian World Lawrence Seaway. Airlines A Sabena airliner is ac- But see the entries for Saint ceptable in any reference. John and Sault Ste. Marie. Headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium. Saint John The spelling for the city in New Brunswick. saboteur To distinguish it from St. John’s, Newfoundland. sacraments Capitalize the proper names used for a sacra- salable mental rite that commemorates the life of Jesus Christ or signifies SALT See Strategic Arms Re- a belief in his presence: the Lord’s duction Treaty (START) Supper, Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist. Salt Lake City Stands alone Lowercase the names of other in datelines. sacraments: baptism, confirma- salvo, salvos tion, penance (now often called the sacrament of reconciliation), SAM, SAMs Acceptable on matrimony, holy orders, and the second reference for surface-to- sacrament of anointing the sick air-missile(s). (formerly extreme unction). See entries for the major reli- San‘a It’s NOT an apostrophe gious denominations and reli- (’) in the Yemen capital’s name. gious references. It’s a reverse apostrophe (‘), or a single opening quotation mark. sacrilegious San Antonio The city in Saddam Use Saddam in sec- Texas stands alone in datelines. ond reference to Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. sandbag (n.) The verbs: sandbagged, sandbagging. And: Safeway Inc. Formerly Safe- sandbagger. way Stores. Headquarters is in Pleasanton, Calif. San Diego The city in Cali- 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 227

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fornia stands alone in datelines. —transponder The equipment on a satellite that receives from sandstorm See weather the ground and sends to the terms. ground. A satellite usually has a number of transponders. sandwich —geosynchronous A satellite orbit in which the satellite ap- San Francisco The city in pears to always be in the same California stands alone in date- place in reference to the Earth. lines. Most communications satellites are in geosynchronous orbits. sanitarium, sanitariums Also geostationary.

San Marino Use alone in satellites See spacecraft datelines on stories from the Re- designations. public of San Marino. Saturday See days of the Santa Claus week. Sardinia Use instead of Italy Saturday night special in datelines on stories from com- See weapons. munities on this island. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. Saskatchewan A province of Saudi Aramco is acceptable on Canada north of Montana and second reference. (Formerly the North Dakota. Do not abbreviate. Arabian American Oil Co.) See datelines. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., SAT Use only the initials in re- Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario ferring to the previously designat- The abbreviation is Ste. instead of ed Scholastic Aptitude Test or the St. because the full name is Sault Scholastic Assessment Test. Sainte Marie. Satan But lowercase devil savings and loan associa- and satanic. tions They are not banks. Use the association on second refer- satellite communications ence. The following are some generally used technical terms dealing with savior Use this spelling for all satellite communications. senses, rather than the alternate —uplink The transmission form, saviour. from the ground to the satellite. —downlink The transmission Scandinavian Airlines from the satellite to the ground. System SAS is acceptable on — footprint The area on the second reference. ground in which a transmission Headquarters is in Stockholm, from a particular satellite can be Sweden. received. —earth station Sending or re- scene numbers Capitalize ceiving equipment on the ground scene when used with a figure: for a satellite. Scene 2; Act 2, Scene 4. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 228

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But: the second scene, the Scripture, Scriptures Capi- third scene. talize when referring to the religious writings in the Bible. scheme Do not use as a syn- See Bible. onym for a plan or a project. scuba Lowercased acronym school Capitalize when part for self-contained underwater of a proper name: Public School 3, breathing apparatus. Madison Elementary School, Do- herty Junior High School, Crocker sculptor Use for both men High School. and women. scissors Takes plural verbs scurrilous and pronouns: The scissors are on the table. Leave them there. Sea Islands A chain of islands off the coasts of South Car- scotch barley, scotch olina, Georgia and Florida. broth, scotch salmon, Islands within the boundaries scotch sour of South Carolina include Parris Island, Port Royal Island, and St. Scotch tape A trademark for Helena Island. a brand of transparent tape. Those within Georgia include Cumberland Island (largest in the Scotch whisky A type of chain), St. Simons Island and St. whiskey distilled in Scotland from Catherines Island (no apostro- malted barley. The malt is dried phes), and Sea Island. over a peat fire. Amelia Island is within the Capitalize Scotch and use the boundaries of Florida. spelling whisky only when the Several communities have two words are used together. names taken from the island Lowercase scotch standing name — Port Royal is a town on alone: Give me some scotch. Port Royal Island, Sea Island is a Use the spelling whiskey for resort on Sea Island, and St. Si- generic references to the bever- mons Island is a village on St. Si- age, which may be distilled from mons Island. any of several grains. In datelines: The verb to scotch means to PORT ROYAL, S.C. (AP) — stamp out, put an end to. ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) —

Scotland Use Scotland after seaman See military titles. the names of Scottish communities in datelines. Sears, Roebuck and Co. See datelines and United Headquarters is in Hoffman Es- Kingdom. tates, Ill.

Scot, Scots, Scottish A na- seasons Lowercase spring, tive of Scotland is a Scot. The summer, fall, winter and deriva- people are the Scots, not the tives such as springtime unless Scotch. part of a formal name: Dartmouth Somebody or something is Winter Carnival, Winter Olympics, Scottish. Summer Olympics. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 229

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Seattle The city in the state rate or organizational title. Do not of Washington stands alone in abbreviate. datelines. See titles.

second guess (n.) The verb secretary-general With a form: second-guess. Also: second- hyphen. Capitalize as a formal guesser. title before a name: Secretary- General Dag Hammarskjold. second hand (n.) second- See titles. hand (adj. and adv.) Secondhand Rose had a watch with a second secretary of state Capital- hand that she bought second- ize as a formal title before a hand. name. See titles. second-rate (adj.) All uses: A second-rate play. The play is secretary-treasurer With a second-rate. hyphen. Capitalize as a formal title before a name. second reference When See titles. used in this book, the term applies to all subsequent references Secret Service A federal to an organization or individual agency administered by the De- within a story. partment of Homeland Security. Acceptable abbreviations and The Secret Service Uniformed acronyms for organizations fre- Division, which protects the presi- quently in the news are listed dent’s residence and offices and under the organization’s full the embassies in Washington, for- name. A few prominent acronyms merly was known as the Execu- acceptable on first reference also tive Protective Service. are listed alphabetically according to the letters of the acronym. section Capitalize when used The listing of an acceptable with a figure to identify part of a term for second reference does law or bill: Section 14B of the Taft- not mean that it always must be Hartley Act. used after the first reference. Often a generic word such as the Securities and Exchange agency, the commission or the Commission SEC is acceptable company is more appropriate and on second reference. less jarring to the reader. At other The related legislation is the times, the full name may need to Securities Exchange Act (no and). be repeated for clarity. For additional guidelines that Security Council (U.N.) Se- apply to organizations, see the curity Council may be used on abbreviations and acronyms first reference in stories under a entry and capitalization. United Nations dateline. Use U.N. For additional guidelines that Security Council in other first ref- apply to individuals, see courtesy erences. titles and titles. Retain capitalization of Securi- ty Council in all references. secretary Capitalize before a Lowercase council whenever it name only if it is an official corpo- stands alone. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 230

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Seeing Eye dog A trade- send off (v.) send-off (n.) mark for a guide dog trained by Seeing Eye Inc. of Morristown, senior See the junior, senior N.J. entry.

seesaw senior citizen Use the term sparingly. See elderly. self- Always hyphenate: self-assured self-government sentences Capitalize the first self-defense word of every sentence, including quoted statements and direct sell out (v.) sellout (n.) questions: Patrick Henry said, “I know not semi- The rules in prefixes what course others may take, but apply, but in general, no hyphen. as for me, give me liberty or give Some examples: semifinal semiofficial me death.” semi-invalid semitropical Capitalize the first word of a quoted statement if it constitutes semiannual Twice a year, a a sentence, even if it was part of a synonym for biannual. larger sentence in the original: Do not confuse it with Patrick Henry said, “Give me liber- biennial, which means every two ty or give me death.” years. In direct questions, even without quotation marks: The story semicolon See entry in answers the question, Where does Punctuation chapter. true happiness really lie? Use a single space between semitrailer Or tractor-trailer sentences. (but not semi-tractor trailer). See ellipsis in the Punctua- tion chapter and poetry. senate Capitalize all specific references to governmental leg- September See months. islative bodies, regardless of whether the name of the nation is sergeant See military titles. used: the U.S. Senate, the Senate, the Virginia Senate, the state Sen- serial numbers Use figures ate, the Senate. and capital letters in solid form Lowercase plural uses: the Vir- (no hyphens or spaces unless the ginia and North Carolina senates. source indicates they are an inte- See governmental bodies. gral part of the code): A1234567. The same principles apply to foreign bodies. See foreign leg- serviceable islative bodies. Lowercase references to non- service clubs See the frater- governmental bodies: the student nal organizations and service senate at Yale. clubs entry.

senatorial Always lowercase. service mark A brand, symbol, word, etc. used by a supplier senator, Sen. See legisla- of services and protected by law tive titles and party affiliation. to prevent a competitor from 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 231

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using it: Realtor, for a member of When the prediction did not the National Association of Real- come true, the Millerites split into tors, for example. smaller groups. One, influenced When a service mark is used, by visions described by Ellen Har- capitalize it. mon, later Mrs. James White, is The preferred form, however, the precursor of the Seventh-day is to use a generic term unless Adventist practice today. the service mark is essential to The church has four con- the story. stituent levels: 1. Local churches. See brand names and trade- 2. Local conferences of churches mark. for a state or part of a state. 3. Union conferences of a number of sesquicentennial A 150- local conferences. 4. The General year period. Conference. The General Conference in set up (v.) setup (n. and Session, which meets every five adj.) years, and the General Confer- ence Executive Committee are the 7-Eleven Trademark for highest administrative authori- stores operated and licensed by ties. Southland Corp. Headquarters in The headquarters in Silver Dallas. Spring, Md., lists membership at 862,000 for the United States and Seven Seas Arabian Sea, At- more than 12 million worldwide. lantic Ocean, Bay of Bengal, The description adventist is Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, based on the belief that a second Red Sea, South China Sea. coming of Christ is near. Seventh- day derives from the contention Seven Sisters The colleges that the Bible requires observing are: Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount the seventh day of the week as Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar the Sabbath. and Wellesley. Baptism, by immersion, is re- Also an outdated nickname for served for those old enough to the world’s largest privately oper- understand its meaning. Baptism ated oil companies. They were: and the Lord’s Supper are the British Petroleum, Exxon, Gulf, only sacraments. Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Texaco, The head of the General Con- and Chevron, formerly Standard ference holds the formal title of Oil Co. of California. Chevron has president. The formal titles for since taken over Gulf and merged ministers are pastor or elder. with Texaco. Exxon and Mobil Capitalize them when used imme- have merged. diately before a name on first reference. On second reference, use Seventh-day Adventist only the last name. Church The denomination is The designation the Rev. is not traceable to the preaching of used. William Miller of New Hampton, See religious titles. N.Y., a Baptist layman who said his study of the Book of Daniel 7UP Trademark for a brand of showed that the end of the world soft drink. Also 7 UP, or Seven- would come in the mid-1840s. Up. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 232

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Seven Wonders of the that do not emphasize determina- World The Egyptian pyramids, tion: We shall hold a meeting. We the hanging gardens of Babylon, will hold a meeting. the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, For second- and third-person the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, constructions, use will unless de- the Colossus of Rhodes, the stat- termination is stressed: You will ue of Zeus by Phidias at Olympia like it. She will not be pleased. and the Pharos or lighthouse at See the should, would entry Alexandria. and subjunctive mood.

sewage, sewerage Sewage shape up (v.) shape-up (n. is waste matter. and adj.) Sewerage is the drainage system. Shariah Islamic law.

sex changes Use the pro- Shavuot The Jewish Feast of noun preferred by the individuals Weeks, commemorating the re- who have acquired the physical ceiving of the Ten Command- characteristics of the opposite sex ments. Occurs in May or June. or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with she Do not use this pronoun their sex at birth. in references to ships or nations. If that preference is not ex- Use it instead. pressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals Sheet Metal Workers In- live publicly. ternational Association The shortened form Sheet Metal Work- sexism See the man, ers union is acceptable in all ref- mankind and women entries. erences. Headquarters is in Washing- shah Capitalize when used as ton. a title before a name: Shah Mo- hammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran. Sheetrock A trademark for a The Shah of Iran commonly is brand of gypsum wallboard. known only by this title, which is, in effect, an alternate name. Cap- sheik Use this spelling unless italize Shah of Iran in references the individual named personally to the holder of the title; lower- prefers sheikh. case subsequent references as the shah. shell See weapons. The practice is based on the guidelines in the nobility entry. Shell Oil Co. This U.S. company with headquarters in Hous- shake up (v.) shake-up (n. ton, is part of the Royal Dutch- and adj.) Shell Group of Companies. The group owns more than half of the shall, will Use shall to ex- stock in Shell Oil. press determination: We shall overcome. You and he shall stay. sheriff Capitalize when used Either shall or will may be as a formal title before a name. used in first-person constructions See titles. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 233

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ships See the boats, ships shut-in entry. shut off (v.) shut-off (n.) shirt sleeve, shirt sleeves (n.) shirt-sleeve (adj.) shut out (v.) shutout (n.) shoeshine, shoestring (sic) Do not use (sic) unless it is in the matter being quoted. To shopworn show that an error, peculiar usage or spelling is in the origi- shortchange nal, use a note to editors at the top of the story, below the sum- short-lived (adj.) A short- mary line but ahead of a byline. lived plan. The plan was short- — — — lived. Eds. note: [ Eds: The spelling cabob is in the original copy. ] short ton Equal to 2,000 or pounds. See ton. Eds. note: [ Eds: The spelling Jorga is correct. ] shot See weapons. Sicily Use instead of Italy in shotgun See weapons. datelines on stories from communities on this island. should, would Use should to express an obligation: We side by side, side-by-side should help the needy. They walked side by side. The Use would to express a cus- stories received side-by-side dis- tomary action: In the summer we play. would spend hours by the seashore. Sierra Nevada, the Not Use would also in constructing Sierra Nevada mountains or Sier- a conditional past tense, but be ra Nevada mountain range. (Sierra careful: means mountain range.) Wrong: If Soderholm would not have had an injured foot, Thomp- sightseeing, sightseer son would not have been in the lineup. sign-up (n. and adj.) Use two Right: If Soderholm had not words (no hyphen) in verb form. had an injured foot, Thompson would not have been in the lineup. Simoniz A trademark for a See subjunctive mood. brand of auto wax. showcase, showroom Sinai Not the Sinai. But: the Sinai Desert, the Sinai Peninsula. show off (v.) showoff (n.) Singapore Stands alone in shrubs See plants. datelines.

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sir See nobility. in Seattle; either Skid Road or Skid Row for other areas. sister Capitalize in all references before the names of nuns. skillful If no surname is given, the name is the same in all refer- ski, skis, skier, skied, ski- ences: Sister Agnes Rita. ing Also: ski jump, ski jumping. If a surname is used in first reference, drop the given name on slang In general, avoid slang, second reference: Sister Clair the highly informal language that Regina Torpy on first reference, is outside of conventional or stan- Sister Torpy in subsequent refer- dard usage. ences. See colloquialisms; dialect; Use Mother the same way and word selection. when referring to a woman who heads a group of nuns. slash This diagonal line, also See religious titles. known as the virgule, may not be transmitted correctly in some sister-in-law, sisters-in- computer systems. Substitute a law hyphen whenever possible.

sit down (v.) sit-down (n. slaying See the homicide, and adj.) murder, manslaughter entry. sit in (v.) sit-in (n. and adj.) sledgehammer

sizable sleet See weather terms. sizes Use figures: a size 9 sleight of hand dress, size 40 long, 10 1/2B shoes, a 34 1/2 sleeve. slowdown (n.) Two words in verb form. skeptic See the cynic, skeptic entry. slumlord Skid Road, Skid Row The slush fund term originated as Skid Road in the Seattle area, where dirt roads small-arms fire were used to skid logs to the mill. Over the years, Skid Road became small-business man a synonym for the area where log- gers gathered, usually down smash up (v.) smashup (n. among the rooming houses and and adj.) saloons. In time, the term spread to Smithfield Ham A trade- other cities as a description for mark for a ham dry-cured, sections, such as the Bowery in smoked and aged in Smithfield, New York, that are havens for Va. derelicts. In the process, row replaced road in many references. Smithsonian Institution Use Skid Road for this section Not Smithsonian Institute. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 235

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smoke bomb, smoke organization by the name of the screen city: On first reference, the Philadelphia Society for the Pre- smokejumper One word, vention of Cruelty to Animals; on lowercase, for the firefighter who second, the Philadelphia SPCA or gets to fires by aircraft and para- SPCA as appropriate in the con- chute. text.

Smokey Or Smokey Bear. Society of Friends See Not Smokey the Bear. Quakers. But: A smoky room. Society of Professional smolder Not smoulder. Journalists (no longer the Soci- ety of Professional Journalists, sneaked Preferred as past Sigma Delta Chi). On second ref- tense of sneak. Do not use the erence: SPJ. colloquial snuck. soft-spoken snowdrift, snowfall, snowflake, snowman, software titles Capitalize snowplow, snowshoe, but do not use quotation marks snowstorm, snowsuit around such titles as WordPerfect so called (adv.) so-called or Windows, but use quotation (adj.) marks for computer games: “Where in the World is Carmen socialist, socialism See the Sandiego?” political parties and philosophies entry. solicitor See lawyer.

Social Security Capitalize Solid South Those Southern all references to the U.S. system. states traditionally regarded as The number groups are hy- supporters of the Democratic phenated: 123-45-6789 Party. Lowercase generic uses such as: Is there a social security pro- soliloquy, soliloquies gram in Sweden? song titles See composition social titles See courtesy ti- titles. tles. son-in-law, sons-in-law Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Animals SOS The distress signal. SPCA is acceptable on second ref- S.O.S (no final period) is a erence. trademark for a brand of soap The American Society for the pad. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is limited to the five boroughs of sound barrier The speed of New York City. sound no longer a true barrier be- The autonomous chapters in cause aircraft have exceeded it. other cities ordinarily precede the See Mach number. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 236

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South As defined by the U.S. wealth of Independent States. Census Bureau, the 16-state region is broken into three divi- Space Age It began with the sions. launching of Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, The four East South Central 1957. states are Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. space agency See National The eight South Atlantic states Aeronautics and Space Admin- are Delaware, Florida, Georgia, istration. Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Vir- space centers See John F. ginia. Kennedy Space Center and Lyn- The four West South Central don B. Johnson Space Center. states are Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. spacecraft designations There is no official U.S. Cen- Use Arabic figures and capitalize sus Bureau definition of South- the name: Gemini 7, Apollo 11, Pi- east. oneer 10. See North Central region; Northeast region; and West for spaceship the bureau’s other regional breakdowns. space shuttle Lowercase space shuttle, but capitalize a South America See West- proper name. ern Hemisphere. The space shuttle is a reusable winged aircraft capable of carry- South Carolina Abbrev.: ing people and cargo into Earth S.C. See state names. orbit. It is designed to take off vertically with the aid of booster South Dakota Abbrev.: S.D. rockets. After an orbital mission, See state names. re-entry begins with the firing of engines that send the craft back Southeast Asia The nations into Earth’s atmosphere. The of the Indochinese Peninsula and final leg of the return trip is a the islands southeast of it: Cam- powerless glide to a landing strip. bodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, spacewalk the Philippines, Singapore, Thai- land and Vietnam. Spanish-American War See Asian subcontinent and Far East. Spanish names The family names of both the father and Southeast Asia Treaty Or- mother usually are considered ganization SEATO is acceptable part of a person’s full name. In on second reference. everyday use, customs sometimes vary with individuals and coun- south, southern, south- tries. east, southwest See the direc- The normal sequence is given tions and regions entry. name, father’s family name, mother’s family name: Jose Lopez Soviet Union See Common- Portillo. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 237

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On second reference, use only species Same in singular and the father’s family name (Lopez), plural. Use singular or plural unless the individual prefers or is verbs and pronouns depending widely known by a multiple last on the sense: The species has name (Lopez Portillo). been unable to maintain itself. Some individuals use a y (for Both species are extinct. and) between the two surnames See genus, species. to ensure that both names are used together (including second speeches Capitalize and use references): Jose Lopez y Portillo. quotation marks for their formal A married woman frequently titles, as described in composi- uses her father’s name, followed tion titles. by the particle de (for of) and her husband’s name. A woman speechmaker, speech- named Irma Perez who married a making man named Anibal Gutierrez would be known as Irma Perez de speed of sound See Mach Gutierrez. number.

speaker Capitalize as a for- speeds Use figures. The car mal title before a name. General- slowed to 7 miles per hour, winds of 5 to 10 miles per hour winds of ly, it is a formal title only for the , 7 to 9 knots, 10-knot wind. speaker of a legislative body: Avoid extensively hyphenated Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill. constructions such as 5-mile-per- See titles. hour winds.

special contexts When this speed up (v.) speedup (n. term is used in this book, it and adj.) means that the material described may be used in a regular spelling The basic rule when column devoted to a specialized in doubt is to consult this book subject or when a particular liter- followed by, if necessary, a dictio- ary effect is suitable. nary under conditions described Special literary effects general- in the dictionary entry. ly are suitable only in feature Memory Aid: Noah Webster de- copy, but even there they should veloped the following rule of be used with care. Most feature thumb for the frequently vexing material should follow the same question of whether to double a style norms that apply to regular final consonant in forming the news copy. present participle and past tense of a verb: special forces Do not use —If the stress in pronuncia- interchangeably with special oper- tion is on the first syllable, do not ations forces. Capitalize when re- double the consonant: combat, ferring specifically to the U.S. combating, combated; cancel, can- Army Special Forces, also known celing, canceled. as Green Berets. Others, such as —If the stress in pronuncia- Navy SEALs or Army Rangers, tion is on the second syllable, should be called special opera- double the consonant unless con- tions forces. fusion would result: incur, in- 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 238

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curred, incurring. An exception, to Place the adverb where there avoid confusion with buss, is bus, can be no confusion, even if a bused, busing. compound verb must be split: British spellings, when they Those who often lie are found out. differ from American, are accept- Or if that was not the sense: able only in particular cases such Those who lie are often found out. as formal or composition titles: Jane’s Defence Weekly. Sri Lanka Formerly Ceylon. Use Sri Lanka in datelines and spill, spilled, spilling Not other references to the nation. spilt in the past tense. The people may be called either Sri Lankans or Ceylonese. split infinitive See verbs. Before the nation was called Ceylon, it was Serendip, whence spokesman, spokes- comes the word serendipity. woman But not spokesperson. Use a representative if you do not SRO Acceptable on second ref- know the sex of the individual. erence for standing room only.

sport utility vehicle No S.S. Kresge Co. Now known plural s in sport; no hyphen. as Kmart. Headquarters is in SUV is acceptable on second Troy, Mich. reference. SST Acceptable in all refer- spouse Use when some of the ences for a supersonic transport. people involved may be men. For example: physicians and their stadium, stadiums Capi- spouses, not physicians and their talize only when part of a proper wives. name: Yankee Stadium.

spring See seasons. Stalin, Josef Not Joseph. springtime stall Use care when using stall in this sense. When an auto- sputnik Usually lowercase, mobile stalls, the engine stops. but capitalize when followed by a This may not be true when an figure as part of a proper name: airplane stalls; it pitches forward Sputnik 1. or sideways because of a lack of It is Russian for satellite. air speed.

squall See weather terms. stamp, stomp Both are acceptable, but stamp is preferred. square Do not abbreviate. Capitalize when part of a proper stanch, staunch Stanch is a name: Washington Square. verb: He stanched the flow of blood. squinting modifier A mis- Staunch is an adjective: She is placed adverb that can be inter- a staunch supporter of equality. preted as modifying either of two words: Those who lie often are Standard & Poor’s Regis- found out. ter of Corporations The 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 239

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source for determining the formal ple geographic reference: Tobacco name of a business. See compa- is grown in the state of Kentucky. ny names. Do not capitalize state when The register is published by used simply as an adjective to Standard & Poor’s Corp. of New specify a level of jurisdiction: York. state Rep. William Smith, the state Transportation Department, state standard-bearer funds. Apply the same principle to standard time Capitalize phrases such as the city of Chica- Eastern Standard Time, Pacific go, the town of Auburn, etc. Standard Time, etc., but lower- See also state names. case standard time when standing alone. statehouse Capitalize all ref- See time zones. erences to a specific statehouse, with or without the name of the stand in (v.) stand-in (n. state: The Vermont Statehouse is and adj.) in Montpelier. The governor will visit the Statehouse today. standing room only SRO Lowercase plural uses: the is acceptable on second reference. Massachusetts and Rhode Island statehouses. stand off (v.) standoff (n. and adj.) state names Follow these guidelines: stand out (v.) standout (n. STANDING ALONE: Spell out and adj.) the names of the 50 U.S. states when they stand alone in textual starboard Nautical for right, material. Any state name may be when facing the bow, or forward. condensed, however, to fit typo- See port, starboard entry. graphical requirements for tabular material. “The Star-Spangled Ban- EIGHT NOT ABBREVIATED: ner” But lowercase the national The names of eight states are anthem. never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, startup One word (n. and Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. adj.) to describe a new business Memory Aid: Spell out the venture. (An exception to Web- names of the two states that are ster’s preference.) not part of the contiguous United States and of the continental state Lowercase in all state of states that are five letters or constructions: the state of Maine, fewer. the states of Maine and Vermont. ABBREVIATIONS REQUIRED: Four states — Kentucky, Use the state abbreviations listed Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and at the end of this section: Virginia — are legally common- —In conjunction with the wealths rather than states. The name of a city, town, village or distinction is necessary only in military base in most datelines. formal uses: The commonwealth See datelines for examples and of Kentucky filed a suit. For sim- exceptions for large cities. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 240

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—In conjunction with the Use state of Washington or name of a city, county, town, vil- Washington state when necessary lage or military base in text. See to distinguish the state from the examples in Punctuation section District of Columbia. (Washington below. See datelines for guide- State is the name of a university lines on when a city name may in the state of Washington.) stand alone in the body of a story. —In short-form listings of State of the Union Capital- party affiliation: D-Ala., R-Mont. ize all references to the presi- See party affiliation entry for de- dent’s annual address. tails. Lowercase other uses: “The Following are the state abbre- state of the union is confused,” the viations, which also appear in the editor said. entries for each state (ZIP code abbreviations in parentheses): state police Capitalize with Ala. (AL) Md. (MD) N.D. (ND) a state name if part of the formal Ariz. (AZ) Mass. (MA) Okla. (OK) description for a police agency: Ark. (AR) Mich. (MI) Ore. (OR) Calif. (CA) Minn. (MN) Pa. (PA) the New York State Police, the Vir- Colo. (CO) Miss. (MS) R.I. (RI) ginia State Police. Conn. (CT) Mo. (MO) S.C. (SC) In most cases, state police Del. (DE) Mont. (MT) S.D. (SD) standing alone is a shorthand ref- Fla. (FL) Neb. (NE) Tenn. (TN) erence for state policemen rather Ga. (GA) Nev. (NV) Vt. (VT) than a reference to the agency. Ill. (IL) N.H. (NH) Va. (VA) Ind. (IN) N.J. (NJ) Wash. (WA) For consistency and to avoid hair- Kan. (KS) N.M. (NM) W.Va. (WV) line distinctions about whether Ky. (KY) N.Y. (NY) Wis. (WI) the reference is to the agency or La. (LA) N.C. (NC) Wyo. (WY) the officers, lowercase the words (These are the ZIP code abbre- state police whenever they are not viations for the eight states that preceded by a state name. are not abbreviated in datelines See highway patrol. or text: AK (Alaska), HI (Hawaii), ID (Idaho), IA (Iowa), ME (Maine), states’ rights OH (Ohio), TX (Texas), UT (Utah). Use the two-letter Postal Ser- statewide vice abbreviations only with full addresses, including ZIP code. stationary, stationery To PUNCTUATION: Place one stand still is to be stationary. comma between the city and the Writing paper is stationery. state name, and another comma after the state name, unless end- station wagon ing a sentence or indicating a dateline: He was traveling from statute mile It equals 5,280 Nashville, Tenn., to Austin, Texas, feet, or approximately 1.6 kilome- en route to his home in Albu- ters. querque, N.M. She said Cook To convert to approximate County, Ill., was Mayor Daley’s nautical miles, multiply the num- stronghold. ber of statute miles by .869. MISCELLANEOUS: Use New See kilometer; knot; mile; York state when necessary to dis- and nautical mile. tinguish the state from New York City. staunch See the stanch, 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 241

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staunch entry. proper name: Bering Strait, Strait of Gibraltar. steady-state theory See But: the Bosporus and the Dar- big-bang theory. danelles. Neither is followed by Strait. stealth When used in connection with military aircraft, straitjacket Not straight- ships and vehicles it means the jacket. equipment is masked from various types of electronic detection. Strategic Arms Reduc- Stealth equipment can range tion Treaty START is acceptable from radar wave absorbing paint on first reference to the treaty as to electronic jamming devices. long as it is made immediately Like the cruise missile, always clear which is being referred to. lowercase, no quotation marks. Use the strategic arms treaty or the treaties in some references stepbrother, stepfather to avoid alphabet soup. Also: stepsister, stepmother. There are two treaties, START I (1991) and START II (1993). steppingstone Do not confuse with the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty of stifling 1979, known as SALT. St. John’s The city in the Strategic Defense Initia- Canadian province of Newfound- land. tive This is the official name of Not to be confused with Saint the research and development John, New Brunswick. work on defense against a nuclear attack. SDI is the acronym St. Louis The city in Missouri and is acceptable on second refer- stands alone in datelines. ence. “Star Wars” has become synonymous with both and was stockmen’s advisory See derived from the movie series. If weather terms. used, it must always be within quotation marks. stool pigeon street Abbreviate only with a stopgap numbered address. See addresses. storm See weather terms. strikebreaker storyteller strong-arm (v., adj.) straight-laced, strait- laced Use straight-laced for strong-willed someone strict or severe in behavior or moral views. student See the pupil, stu- Reserve strait-laced for the no- dent entry. tion of confinement, as in a corset. stylebook One word when referring to the APStylebook and strait Capitalize as part of a to stylebooks generically. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 242

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Styrofoam A trademark for submachine gun See a brand of plastic foam. Use the weapons. term plastic foam unless referring specifically to the trademark subpoena, subpoenaed, product. subpoenaing

sub- The rules in prefixes Sucaryl A trademark for a apply, but in general, no hyphen. brand of noncaloric sweetener. Some examples: subbasement submachine gun successor subcommittee suborbital subculture subtotal subdivision subzero suffixes See separate listing for commonly used suffixes. subcommittee Lowercase Follow Webster’s New World when used with the name of a Dictionary for words not in this legislative body’s full committee: book. a Ways and Means subcommittee. If a word combination is not Capitalize when a subcommit- listed in Webster’s New World, tee has a proper name of its own: use two words for the verb form; the Senate Permanent Subcommit- hyphenate any noun or adjective tee on Investigations. forms.

subject See the citizen, resi- suit, suite You may have a dent, subject, national, native suit of clothes, a suit of cards, or entry. be faced with a lawsuit. There are suites of music, subjunctive mood Use the rooms and furniture. subjunctive mood of a verb for contrary-to-fact conditions, and Sukkot The Jewish Feast of expressions of doubts, wishes or Tabernacles, celebrating the fall regrets: harvest and commemorating the If I were a rich man, I wouldn’t desert wandering of the Jews dur- have to work hard. ing the Exodus. Occurs in Sep- I doubt that more money would tember or October. be the answer. I wish it were possible to take summer See seasons. back my words. Sentences that express a con- summertime tingency or hypothesis may use either the subjunctive or the in- sun Lowercase. See heavenly dicative mood depending on the bodies. context. In general, use the subjunctive if there is little likelihood sunbathe The verb forms: that a contingency might come sunbathed, sunbathing. Also: sun- true: bather. If I were to marry a millionaire, I wouldn’t have to worry about Sun Belt Generally those money. states in the South and West, If the bill passes as expected, it ranging from Florida and Georgia will provide an immediate tax cut. through the Gulf states into Cali- See the should, would entry. fornia. 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 243

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Sunday See days of the States, not of the Supreme Court: week. Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The proper title for the eight super Avoid the slang tenden- other members of the court is as- cy to use it in place of excellent, sociate justice. When used as a wonderful, etc. formal title before a name, it should be shortened to justice super- The rules in prefixes unless there are special circum- apply, but in general, no hyphen. stances: Justice Sandra Day Some frequently used words: O’Connor, Associate Justice San- superagency superhighway supercarrier superpower dra Day O’Connor. supercharge supertanker See judge. As with all prefixes, however, use a hyphen if the word that fol- supreme courts of the lows is capitalized: super-Republi- states Capitalize with the state can. name (the New Jersey Supreme Court) and without the state Super Bowl name when the context makes it unnecessary: the state Supreme superconducting super Court, the Supreme Court. collider If a court with this name is not a state’s highest tribunal, the fact superintendent Do not ab- should be noted. In New York, for breviate. Capitalize when used as example, the Supreme Court is a a formal title before a name. trial court. Appeals are directed See titles. to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The state’s high- superior court See court est court is the Court of Appeals. names. supersede surface-to-air missile(s) SAM(s) may be used on second supersonic See Mach num- reference. Avoid the redundant ber. SAM missiles.

supersonic transport SST suspensive hyphenation is acceptable in all references. The form: The 5- and 6-year-olds attend morning classes. supra- The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. SWAT Acronym for Special Some examples: Weapons and Tactics. supragovernmental supranational swastika Supreme Court of the United States Capitalize U.S. sweat pants, sweat shirt, Supreme Court and also the sweat suit Supreme Court when the context makes the U.S. designation un- Swissair Headquarters is in necessary. Zurich, Switzerland. The chief justice is properly the chief justice of the United syllabus, syllabuses 236-254_S.qrk 3/4/03 1:01 PM Page 244

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synagogue Capitalize only when part of a formal name. Synagogue Council of America See Jewish congregations.

synod A council of churches or church officials. See the entry for the denomination in question. 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 245 T Tabasco A trademark for a and adj.) brand of hot pepper sauce. take up (v.) takeup (n. and tablecloth adj.) tablespoon, tablespoon- Taliban The Arabic for reli- fuls Equal to three teaspoons or gious students takes a plural one-half a fluid ounce. verb. The singular is Talib. The metric equivalent is approximately 15 milliliters. Talmud The collection of writ- See liter and recipes. ings that constitute the Jewish civil and religious law. table tennis See pingpong. Tammany, Tammany Hall, tabular matter Exceptions Tammany Society may be made to the normal rules for abbreviations, as necessary to tanks Use Arabic figures, sep- make material fit. But make any arated from letters by a hyphen: abbreviations as clear as possi- M-60. Plural: M-60s. ble. tape recording The noun. tailspin But hyphenate the verb form: tape-record. tail wind Tass Acceptable on first refer- Taiwan Use Taiwan, not For- ence for the Russian govern- mosa, in references to the Nation- ment’s news agency that is offi- alist government in Taiwan and to cially ITAR-Tass. ITAR is an the island itself. acronym for Information Tele- See China. graph Agency of Russia. Copy from other parts of the former So- take-home pay viet Union should carry the logo of the local agency plus Tass. take off (v.) takeoff (n. and adj.) tattletale

take out (v.) takeout (n. teachers college No apos- and adj.) trophe.

take over (v.) takeover (n. team See collective nouns. 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 246

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teammate phone companies have agreed upon for domestic and interna- teamster Capitalize teamster tional communications. For inter- only if the intended meaning is national numbers, use the paren- that the individual is a member of theses around the country code the International Brotherhood of and the city code (where re- Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware- quired): (44-20) 7353-1515. Use housemen and Helpers of Ameri- hyphens, not periods. ca. The form for toll-free numbers: (800) 111-1000. Teamsters union Accept- If extension numbers are able in all references to the Inter- given: ext. 2, ext. 364, ext. 4071. national Brotherhood of Team- Use a comma to separate the sters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen main number for the extension. and Helpers of America. See the entry under that teleprompter It has become name. a generic term, no longer a trademark, for a type of television tear gas Two words. See also cuing device. Chemical Mace. Teletype A trademark for a teaspoon Equal to one-sixth brand of teleprinters and tele- of a fluid ounce, or one-third of a typewriters. tablespoon. The metric equivalent is ap- television program titles proximately 5 milliliters. Follow the guidelines in composi- See liter. tion titles. Put quotation marks around teaspoonful, teaspoon- show only if it is part of the for- fuls Not teaspoonsful. See mal name. The word show may recipes . be dropped when it would be cumbersome, such as in a set of Technicolor A trademark for a process of making color motion listings. pictures. In text or listing, treat programs named after the star in teen, teenager (n.) any of the following ways: “The teenage (adj.) No hyphen is a Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Mary change in AP style. Do not use Tyler Moore” or the Mary Tyler teen-aged. Moore show. But be consistent in a story or set of listings. Teflon A trademark for a type Use quotation marks also for of nonstick coating. the title of an episode: “Chuckles Bites the Dust,” an episode of “The telecast (n.) televise (v.) Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

telephone numbers Use television station The call figures. The forms: (212) 621- letters alone are frequently ade- 1500, 621-1500, MU2-1500. The quate, but when this phrase is parentheses around the area code needed, use lowercase: television are based on a format that tele- station WTEV. 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 247

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telex, Telex (n.) A communi- Tennessee Abbrev.: Tenn. cations system. Use lowercase See state names. when not referring to a specific company. Use uppercase only Tennessee Valley Author- when referring to the company. ity TVA is acceptable on second Never used as a verb. reference. Headquarters is in Knoxville, telltale Tenn.

temblor See earthquakes. tera- A prefix denoting 1 trillion units of a measure. Move the temperature-humidity decimal point 12 places to the index See weather terms. right, adding zeros if necessary, to convert to the basic unit: 5.5 temperatures Use figures teratons = 5,500,000,000,000 for all except zero. Use a word, tons. not a minus sign, to indicate temperatures below zero. terrace Do not abbreviate. Right: The day’s low was See addresses. minus 10. Right: The day’s low was 10 Texaco See ChevronTexaco. below zero. Wrong: The day’s low was -10. Texas Do not abbreviate. Sec- Right: The temperature rose to ond in total land area. zero by noon. See state names. Right: The day’s high was expected to be 9 or 10. texts, transcripts Follow Also: 5-degree temperatures, normal style guidelines for capi- temperatures fell 5 degrees, tem- talization, spelling and abbrevia- peratures in the 30s (no apostro- tions in handling a text or tran- phe). script. Temperatures get higher or Use quotation marks only for lower, but they don’t get warmer words or phrases that were quot- or cooler. ed in the text or by the person Wrong: Temperatures are ex- who spoke. pected to warm up in the area Fri- Identify a change in speakers day. by starting a paragraph with the Right: Temperatures are ex- new speaker’s name and a colon. pected to rise in the area Friday. Use normal second-reference See Fahrenheit; Celsius; and forms if the speaker has been weather terms. identified earlier; provide a full name and identification if the in- Ten Commandments Do dividual is being mentioned for not abbreviate or use figures. the first time. Use Q: for question and A: for tenderhearted answer at the start of paragraphs when these notations are ade- tenfold quate to identify a change in speakers. Ten Most Wanted Fugi- See ellipsis in the Punctua- tives The FBI’s official list. tion chapter for guidelines on 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 248

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condensing texts and transcripts. meaning of a sentence, and without commas: I remember the day Thai A native or the language that we met. Use which for of Thailand. nonessential clauses, where the Siam and Siamese are histori- pronoun is less necessary, and cal only. use commas: The team, which fin- Use siamese for the cat. ished last a year ago, is in first place. Thanksgiving, Thanksgiv- (Tip: If you can drop the clause ing Day The fourth Thursday in and not lose the meaning of the November. sentence, use which; otherwise, use that. A which clause is sur- that (conjunction) Use the rounded by commas; no commas conjunction that to introduce a are used with that clauses.) dependent clause if the sentence See the essential clauses, sounds or looks awkward without nonessential clauses entry for it. There are no hard-and-fast guidelines on using that and rules, but in general: which to introduce phrases and —That usually may be omitted clauses. when a dependent clause immediately follows a form of the verb theater Use this spelling un- to say: The president said he had less the proper name is Theatre: signed the bill. Shubert Theatre. —That should be used when a time element intervenes between theft See the burglary, larce- the verb and the dependent ny, robbery, theft entry. clause: The president said Mon- day that he had signed the bill. their, there, they’re Their —That usually is necessary is a possessive pronoun: They after some verbs. They include: went to their house. advocate, assert, contend, There is an adverb indicating declare, estimate, make clear, direction: We went there for din- point out, propose and state. ner. —That is required before sub- There also is used with the ordinate clauses beginning with force of a pronoun for impersonal conjunctions such as after, al- constructions in which the real though, because, before, in addi- subject follows the verb: There is tion to, until and while: Haldeman no food on the table. said that after he learned of They’re is a contraction for Nixon’s intention to resign, he they are. sought pardons for all connected with Watergate. theretofore Use until then. When in doubt, include that. Omission can hurt. Inclusion Thermo-Fax A trademark for never does. a brand of photocopy machine.

that, which (pronouns) thermos Formerly a trade- Use that and which in referring to mark, now a generic term for any inanimate objects and to animals vacuum bottle, although one without a name. Use that for es- manufacturer still uses the word sential clauses, important to the as a brand name. 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 249

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Lowercase thermos when it is tomorrow, yesterday entries. used to mean any vacuum bottle; Use Monday, Tuesday, etc., for use Thermos when referring to days of the week within seven the specific brand. days before or after the current date. Third World The economi- Use the month and a figure for cally developing nations of Africa, dates beyond this range. See Asia and Latin America. months for forms and punctua- Do not confuse with non- tion. aligned, which is a political term. Avoid such redundancies as See nonaligned. last Tuesday or next Tuesday. The past, present or future tense three-D 3-D is preferred. used for the verb usually provides adequate indication of which 3M Trademark and official Tuesday is meant: He said he fin- name of the company formerly ished the job Tuesday. She will re- known as Minnesota Mining & turn on Tuesday. Manufacturing. Its products are Avoid awkward placements of known under the names 3M and the time element, particularly Scotch. Headquarters is in Maple- those that suggest the day of the wood, Minn. week is the object of a transitive verb: The police jailed Tuesday. three R’s They are: reading, Potential remedies include the ’riting and ’rithmetic. use of the word on (see the on entry), rephrasing the sentence, threesome or placing the time element in a different sentence. throwaway (n. and adj.) time of day The exact time thunderstorm See weather of day that an event has hap- terms. pened or will happen is not nec- Thursday See days of the essary in most stories. Follow week. these guidelines to determine when it should be included and tidbit in what form: SPECIFY THE TIME: tie in (v.) tie-in (n. and adj.) —Whenever it gives the reader a better picture of the scene: Did tie, tied, tying the earthquake occur when people were likely to be home asleep tie up (v.) tie-up (n. and or at work? A clock reading for adj.) the time in the datelined community is acceptable although pre- till Or until. But not ’til. dawn hours or rush hour often is more graphic. time element Use today, —Whenever the time is critical this morning, this afternoon, to the story: When will the rocket tonight, etc., as appropriate in be launched? When will a major stories for afternoon editions. Use political address be broadcast? the day of the week elsewhere. What is the deadline for meeting See the today, tonight and the a demand? 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 250

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DECIDING ON CLOCK TIME: times Use figures except for When giving a clock reading, use noon and midnight. Use a colon to the time in the datelined commu- separate hours from minutes: 11 nity. a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. If the story is undated, use the Avoid such redundancies as clock time in force where the 10 a.m. this morning, 10 p.m event happened or will take place. tonight or 10 p.m. Monday night. The only exception is a nation- Use 10 a.m. today, 10 p.m. today wide story or tabular listing that or 10 p.m. Monday, etc., as re- involves television or radio pro- quired by the norms in time ele- grams. Always use Eastern time, ment. followed by EDT or EST, and The construction 4 o’clock is specify whether the program will acceptable, but time listings with be broadcast simultaneously na- a.m. or p.m. are preferred. tionwide or whether times will See midnight, noon and time vary because of separate trans- zones. missions for different time zones. If practical, specify those times in time sequences Spell out: a separate paragraph. 50 hours, 23 minutes, 14 seconds. ZONE ABBREVIATIONS: Use When using the abbreviated form, EST, CDT, PST, etc., after a clock as in sports statistics or similar time only if: agate use, or subsequent refer- —The story involves travel or ences, the form is: 2:30:21.65 other activities, such as the clos- (hours, minutes, seconds, tenths, ing hour for polling places or the hundredths). time of a televised speech, likely to affect people or developments Time Warner Inc. See AOL in more than one time zone. Time Warner Inc. —The item involves television or radio programs. (See above.) time zones Capitalize the —The item is undated. full name of the time in force —The item is an advisory to within a particular zone: Eastern editors. Standard Time, Eastern Daylight CONVERT TO EASTERN Time, Central Standard Time, etc. TIME? Do not convert clock times Lowercase all but the region in from other time zones in the con- short forms: the Eastern time tinental United States to Eastern zone, Eastern time, Mountain time. If there is high interest in time, etc. the precise time, add CDT, PST, See time of day for guidelines etc., to the local reading to help on when to use clock time in a readers determine their equiva- story. lent local time. Spell out time zone in refer- If the time is critical in a story ences not accompanied by a clock from outside the continental reading: Chicago is in the Central United States, provide a conver- time zone. sion to Eastern time using this The abbreviations EST, CDT, form: etc., are acceptable on first refer- The kidnappers set a 9 a.m. (3 ence for zones used within the a.m. EDT) deadline. continental United States, Cana- See time zones for additional da and Mexico only if the abbrevi- guidance on forms. ation is linked with a clock read- 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 251

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ing: noon EST, 9 a.m. PST. (Do not professional activity or academic set off the abbreviations with activity: President George W. commas.) Bush, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Dr. Spell out all references to time Marcus Welby, Pvt. Gomer Pyle. zones not used within the con- Other titles serve primarily as tiguous United States: When it is occupational descriptions: astro- noon EDT, it is 1 p.m. Atlantic naut John Glenn, movie star John Standard Time and 8 a.m. Alaska Wayne, peanut farmer Jimmy Standard Time. Carter. One exception to the spelled- A final determination on out form: Greenwich Mean Time whether a title is formal or occu- may be abbreviated as GMT on pational depends on the practice second reference if used with a of the governmental or private or- clock reading. ganization that confers it. If there is doubt about the status of a title tiptop and the practice of the organization cannot be determined, use a titleholder construction that sets the name or the title off with commas. titles In general, confine capi- ABBREVIATED TITLES: The talization to formal titles used di- following formal titles are capital- rectly before an individual’s ized and abbreviated as shown name. when used before a name outside The basic guidelines: quotations: Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., LOWERCASE: Lowercase and Rep., Sen. and certain military spell out titles when they are not ranks listed in the military titles used with an individual’s name: entry. Spell out all except Dr., Mr., The president issued a statement. Mrs., Ms., when they are used in The pope gave his blessing. quotations. Lowercase and spell out titles All other formal titles are in constructions that set them off spelled out in all uses. from a name by commas: The vice ROYAL TITLES: Capitalize president, Nelson Rockefeller, de- king, queen, etc., when used di- clined to run again. Paul VI, the rectly before a name. See individ- current pope, does not plan to re- ual entries and nobility. tire. TITLES OF NOBILITY: Capital- COURTESY TITLES: See the ize a full title when it serves as courtesy titles entry for guide- the alternate name for an individ- lines on when to use Miss, Mr., ual. See nobility. Mrs., Ms. or no titles. PAST AND FUTURE TITLES: A The forms Mr., Mrs., Miss and formal title that an individual for- Ms. apply both in regular text and merly held, is about to hold or in quotations. holds temporarily is capitalized if FORMAL TITLES: Capitalize used before the person’s name. formal titles when they are used But do not capitalize the qualify- immediately before one or more ing word: former President Ford, names: Pope Paul, President deposed King Constantine, Attor- Washington, Vice Presidents John ney General-designate Griffin B. Jones and William Smith. Bell, acting Mayor Peter Barry. A formal title generally is one LONG TITLES: Separate a long that denotes a scope of authority, title from a name by a construc- 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 254

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tion that requires a comma: Tokyo Stands alone in date- Charles Robinson, undersecretary lines. for economic affairs, spoke. Or: The undersecretary for economic tollhouse, tollhouse affairs, Charles Robinson, spoke. cookies UNIQUE TITLES: If a title applies only to one person in an or- Tommy gun Alternative ganization, insert the word the in name for Thompson submachine a construction that uses commas: gun, from John T. Thompson, its John Jones, the deputy vice presi- co-inventor. dent, spoke. See weapons. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE: Many commonly used titles and tomorrow Use only in direct occupational descriptions are list- quotations and in phrases that do ed separately in this book, togeth- not refer to a specific day: The er with guidelines on whether world of tomorrow will need addi- and/or when they are capitalized. tional energy resources. In these entries, the phrases be- Use the day of the week in other cases. fore a name or immediately before a name are used to specify that ton There are three different capitalization applies only when a types: title is not set off from a name by A short ton is equal to 2,000 commas. pounds. See academic titles; composi- A long ton, also known as a tion titles; legislative titles; British ton, is equal to 2,240 military titles; and religious ti- pounds. tles. A metric ton is equal to 1,000 kilograms, or approximately TNT Acceptable in all refer- 2,204.62 pounds. ences for trinitrotoluene. CONVERSION EQUATIONS: Short to long: Multiply by .89 tobacco, tobaccos (5 short tons x .89 = 4.45 long tons). Tobago See the Trinidad and Short to metric: Multiply by .9 Tobago entry. (5 short tons x .9 = 4.5 metric tons). today, tonight Use in direct Long to short: Multiply by 1.12 quotations, in stories intended for (5 long tons x 1.12 = 5.6 short publication in afternoon newspa- tons). pers on the day in question, and Long to metric: Multiply by in phrases that do not refer to a 1.02 (5 long tons x 1.02 = 5.1 specific day: Customs today are metric tons). different from those of a century Metric to short: Multiply by ago. 1.1 (5 metric tons x 1.1 = 5.5 Use the day of the week in sto- short tons). ries intended for publication in Metric to long: Multiply by .98 morning newspapers and in sto- (5 metric tons x .98 = 4.9 long ries filed for use in either publish- tons). ing cycle. See metric system. See tonight. See kiloton for units used to 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 255

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measure the power of nuclear ex- trademark A trademark is a plosions. brand, symbol, word, etc., used See oil for formulas to convert by a manufacturer or dealer and the tonnage of oil shipments to protected by law to prevent a gallons. competitor from using it: Astro- Turf, for a type of artificial grass, tonight All that’s necessary for example. is 8 tonight, or 8 p.m. today. Avoid In general, use a generic the redundant 8 p.m. tonight. equivalent unless the trademark name is essential to the story. tornado See weather terms. When a trademark is used, capitalize it. Toronto The city in Canada Many trademarks are listed stands alone in datelines. separately in this book, together with generic equivalents. Tory, Tories An exception to For questions about trade- the normal practice when forming marks not listed in this book, the the plural of a proper name end- International Trademark Associa- ing in y. tion, located in New York, is a The words are acceptable on helpful source of information. On the Net: second reference to the Conserva- www.inta.org/tmcklst1.htm tive Party in Britain and its mem- See brand names and service bers. marks.

total, totaled, totaling trade off (v.) trade-off (n. The phrase a total of often is re- and adj.) dundant. It may be used, however, to traffic, trafficked, traf- avoid a figure at the start of a ficking sentence: A total of 650 people were killed in holiday traffic acci- trampoline Formerly a dents. trademark, now a generic term.

touch-tone A generic term trans- The rules in prefixes for a push-button telephone dial- apply, but in general, no hyphen. ing service. Some examples: transcontinental transsexual transmigrate transship toward Not towards. transoceanic trans-Siberian Also: trans-Atlantic and trans- town Apply the capitalization Pacific. These are exceptions to principles in city. Webster’s New World in keeping with the general rule that a hy- town council Apply the cap- phen is needed when a prefix pre- italization principles in city coun- cedes a capitalized word. cil. transcripts See the texts, Toys “R” Us transcripts entry. trade in (v.) trade-in (n. transfer, transferred, and adj.) transferring 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 256

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Transjordan Earlier name land nation, use a community for Jordan. name followed by either Trinidad or Tobago — but not both — de- Transportation Commu- pending on where the community nications International is located. Union Formerly the Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Trojan horse, Trojan War Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees. TCU is troop, troops, troupe A acceptable on second reference. troop is a group of people or ani- Headquarters is in Rockville, mals. Troops means several such Md. groups, particularly groups of soldiers. transsexuals See sex Use troupe only for ensembles changes. of actors, dancers, singers, etc.

Trans World Airlines A tropical depression See TWA airliner is acceptable in any weather terms. reference. Formed in 1930 from the merger of Western Air Ex- Truman, Harry S. With a pe- press and Transcontinental Air riod after the initial. Truman once Transport, TWA was acquired by said there was no need for the pe- American Airlines in 2001. riod because the S did not stand Headquarters is in St. Louis. for a name. Asked in the early 1960s about his preference, he travelogue Not travelog. replied, “It makes no difference to me.” travel, traveled, travel- AP style has called for the pe- ing, traveler riod since that time.

treasurer Capitalize when trustee A person to whom used as a formal title immediately another’s property or the man- before a name. See titles. agement of another’s property is Caution: The secretary of the entrusted. U.S. Department of the Treasury Do not capitalize if used before is not the same person as the a name. U.S. treasurer. trusty A prison inmate grant- trees See plants. ed special privileges as a trustworthy person. tribes See the nationalities Do not capitalize if used before and races entry. a name.

trigger-happy try out (v.) tryout (n.)

TriMotor The proper name of tsar Use czar. a three-engine airplane once made by Ford Motor Co. T-shirt

Trinidad and Tobago In tuberculosis TB is accept- datelines on stories from this is- able on second reference. 255-267_T.qrk 3/5/03 6:42 AM Page 257

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Tuesday See days of the week.

tune up (v.) tuneup (n. and adj.)

turboprop See aircraft terms.

turnpike Capitalize as part of a proper name: the Pennsylva- nia Turnpike. Lowercase turnpike when it stands alone. See highway designations.

TV Acceptable as an adjective or in such constructions as cable TV. But do not normally use as a noun unless part of a quotation.

Twelve Apostles The disciples of Jesus. An exception to the normal practice of using figures for 10 and above.

two-by-four Spell out the noun, which refers to any length of building lumber two inches thick by four inches wide. 20th Century Fox, Twen- tieth Century Fund, Twenti- eth Century Limited Follow an organization’s practice. See company names.

typhoons Capitalize typhoon when it is part of the name that weather forecasters assign to a storm: Typhoon Tilda. But use it and its — not she, her or hers — in pronoun references. And do not use the presence of a woman’s name as an excuse to attribute sexist images of women’s behavior to a typhoon. See weather terms. 268-274_U.qrk 2/18/03 2:11 PM Page 258

U In Burmese names U isU an ultrahigh frequency UHF honorific prefix. It means some- is acceptable in all references. thing like Mr., and is used for adult males only. It should not be U.N. Used as an adjective, but used. For example, U Nu is only not as a noun, for United Na- Nu in all references. Women re- tions. tain their given names after mar- See United Nations. riage. No courtesy titles apply. un- The rules in prefixes U-boat A German submarine. apply, but in general, no hyphen. Anything referring to a submarine Some examples: should be submarine unless di- un-American unnecessary rectly referring to a German ves- unarmed unshaven sel of World War I or II vintage. Uncle Sam UFO, UFOs Acceptable in all references for unidentified flying Uncle Tom A term of con- object(s). tempt applied to a black person, taken from the main character in UHF Acceptable in all refer- Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel ences for ultrahigh frequency. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It describes the practice of kowtowing to Ukrainian Catholic whites to curry favor. Church See Eastern Rite Do not apply it to an individ- churches. ual. It carries potentially libelous connotations of having sold one’s ukulele convictions for money, prestige or political influence. Ulster Historically, one of the four Irish provinces, covering under- The rules in prefixes nine counties. Six of the counties apply, but in general, no hyphen. became Northern Ireland, three Some examples: became part of the Republic of underdog undersheriff Ireland. Avoid use as a synonym underground undersold for Northern Ireland. See United Kingdom. undersecretary One word. See titles. ultra- The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. under way Two words in vir- Some examples: tually all uses: The project is ultramodern ultrasonic under way. The naval maneuvers ultranationalism ultraviolet are under way. 268-274_U.qrk 2/18/03 2:11 PM Page 259

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One word only when used as uninterested See the disin- an adjective before a noun in a terested, uninterested entry. nautical sense: an underway flotilla. union Capitalize when used as a proper name of the Northern unemployment rate In the states during the Civil War: The United States, this estimate of the Union defeated the Confederacy. number of unemployed residents seeking work is compiled monthly union names The formal by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, names of unions may be con- an agency of the Labor Depart- densed to conventionally accepted ment. short forms that capitalize char- Each month the bureau se- acteristic words from the full lects a nationwide cross section of name followed by union in lower- the population and conducts in- case. terviews to determine the size of Follow union practice in the the U.S. work force. The work use of the word worker in short- force is defined as the number of ened forms. Among major unions, people with jobs and the number all except the United Steelworkers looking for jobs. use two words: United Auto Work- The unemployment rate is ex- ers, United Mine Workers, etc. When worker is used generi- pressed as a percentage figure. cally, make autoworkers and The essential calculation involves steelworkers one word in keeping dividing the total work force into with widespread practice; use two the number of people looking for words for other job descriptions: jobs, followed by adjustments to bakery workers, mine workers. reflect variable factors such as See the local of a union entry seasonal trends. and the individual entries for these unions frequently in the UNESCO Acceptable on first news: reference for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultur- Amalgamated Transit Union al Organization, but a subsequent American Federation of Gov- reference should give the full ernment Employees name. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industri- UNICEF Acceptable in all ref- al Organizations erences for the United Nations American Federation of Mu- Children’s Fund. The words Inter- sicians national and Emergency, original- American Federation of ly part of the name, have been State, County and Municipal dropped. Employees American Federation of unidentified flying ob- Teachers ject(s) UFO and UFOs are ac- American Federation of Tele- ceptable in all references. vision and Radio Artists American Postal Workers Uniform Code of Military Union Justice The laws covering mem- Bakery, Confectionery, To- bers of the U.S. armed forces. bacco Workers and Grain 268-274_U.qrk 2/18/03 2:11 PM Page 260

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Millers International Union America Bricklayers, Masons and Plas- United Steelworkers of terers’ International Union of America America Brotherhood of Maintenance union shop See closed of Way Employes shop. Communications Workers of America unique It means one of a Hotel and Restaurant Em- kind. Do not describe something ployees and Bartenders Interna- as rather unique or most unique. tional Union International Association of United Airlines A sub- Machinists and Aerospace sidiary of UAL Corp. Workers Headquarters is in Chicago. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers United Arab Emirates Do International Brotherhood of not abbreviate, even in datelines. Painters and Allied Trades of Use U.A.E. (with periods) if the United States and Canada quoted matter requires the abbre- International Brotherhood of viation. Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware- housemen and Helpers of United Automobile, America Aerospace and Agriculture International Longshore and Implement Workers of Warehouse Union America The shortened forms International Longshore- United Auto Workers and United men’s Association Auto Workers union are accept- Laborers’ International able in all references. Union of North America UAW and Auto Workers are ac- National Association of Let- ceptable on second reference. ter Carriers Use autoworker or autowork- Newspaper Guild, The ers (one word, lowercase) in Paper, Allied-Industrial, generic references to workers in Chemical and Energy Workers the auto industry. International Union Headquarters is in Detroit. Sheet Metal Workers Inter- national Association United Brotherhood of Transportation Communica- Carpenters and Joiners of tions International Union America The shortened form Union of Needletrades, In- Carpenters union is acceptable in dustrial and Textile Employees all references. United Automobile, Aero- Headquarters is in Washing- space and Agricultural Imple- ton. ment Workers of America United Brotherhood of Car- United Church of Christ penters and Joiners of America The Evangelical and Reformed United Electrical, Radio and Church merged with the Congre- Machine Workers of America gational Christian Churches in United Food and Commercial 1957 to form the United Church Workers International Union of Christ. It has some 1.4 million United Mine Workers of members. 268-274_U.qrk 2/18/03 2:11 PM Page 261

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The word church is correctly Great Britain (or Britain) con- applied only to an individual local sists of England, Scotland and church. Each such church is re- Wales. sponsible for the doctrine, min- Ireland is independent of the istry and ritual of its congrega- United Kingdom. tion. See datelines and Ireland. A small body of churches that did not enter the United Church United Methodist Church of Christ is known as the National See Methodist churches. Association of Congregational Churches. United Mine Workers of Churches in the association America The shortened forms have more than 100,000 mem- United Mine Workers and United bers. Mine Workers union are accept- Jesus is regarded as man’s able in all references. savior, but no subscription to a UMW and Mine Workers are set creed is required for member- acceptable on second reference. ship. Use mine workers or miners, Members of the clergy are lowercase, in generic references known as ministers. Pastor ap- to workers in the industry. plies if a minister leads a congre- Headquarters is in Washing- gation. ton. On first reference, use the Rev. before the name of a man or United Nations Spell out woman. On second reference, use when used as a noun. Use U.N. only the last name. (no space) only as an adjective. See religious titles. The periods in U.N., for consistency with U.S., are an exception United Electrical, Radio to the first listing in Webster’s and Machine Workers of New World Dictionary. America The shortened form In datelines:UNITED NATIONS Electrical Workers union is accept- (AP) — able in all references. Use U.N. General Assembly, Headquarters is in New York. U.N. Secretariat and U.N. Security Council in first references not United Food and Com- under a United Nations mercial Workers Interna- dateline.General Assembly, the tional Union Formed by the Secretariat and Security Council merger of the Retail Clerks Inter- are acceptable in all references national Union and the Amalga- under a United Nations dateline mated Meat Cutters and Butcher and on second reference under Workmen of North America. other datelines. The shortened form Food and Lowercase the assembly and Commercial Workers union is ac- the council when they stand ceptable in all references. alone. Headquarters is in Washing- See UNESCO and UNICEF. ton. United Presbyterian United Kingdom It consists Church in the United States of Great Britain and Northern Ire- of America It no longer exists. land. See Presbyterian churches entry. 268-274_U.qrk 2/18/03 2:11 PM Page 262

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United Press Internation- in all references. al A privately owned news agency Capitalize Steelworkers in ref- formed in 1958 as a merger of erences to the union or its mem- United Press and International bers. News Service. Headquarters is in Pittsburgh. Use the full name on first reference. UPI is acceptable on sec- United Synagogue of ond reference. America Not synagogues. See The address is 1400 Eye St., Jewish congregations. Washington, DC 20005. The telephone number is (202) 898-8000. -up Follow Webster‚s New World Dictionary. Hyphenate if United Rubber, Cork, not listed there. Linoleum and Plastic Work- Some frequently used words ers of America The shortened (all are nouns, some also are forms United Rubber Workers and used as adjectives): breakup makeup United Rubber Workers union are call-up mix-up acceptable in all references. change-up mock-up Capitalize Rubber Workers in checkup pileup references to the union or its cleanup push-up members. close-up roundup Use rubber workers, lowercase, cover-up runners-up crackup setup in generic references to workers follow-up shake-up in the rubber industry. frame-up shape-up Headquarters is in Akron, grown-up smashup Ohio. holdup speedup letup tie-up United Service Organiza- lineup walk-up windup USO tions is acceptable on sec- Use two words when any of ond reference. these occurs as a verb. See suffixes. United States Spell out when used as a noun. Use U.S. up- The rules in prefixes (no space) only as an adjective. apply, but in general, no hyphen. Some examples: For organization with names upend upstate beginning with the words Unit- upgrade uptown ed States, see entries alphabetized under U.S. UPI Acceptable on second references for United Press Interna- United States Conference tional. of Catholic Bishops Formerly the National Conference of uppercase One word (n., v., Catholic Bishops, it is the nation- adj.) when referring to the use of al organization of Roman Catholic capital letters, in keeping with bishops. printers’ practice.

United Steelworkers of upside down (adv.) up- America The shortened forms side-down (adj.) The car turned United Steelworkers and United upside down. The book is upside- Steelworkers union are acceptable down. 268-274_U.qrk 2/18/03 2:11 PM Page 263

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upstate Always lowercase: Carolina, South Carolina, Vir- upstate New York. ginia, West Virginia. Based in Richmond, Va. upward Not upwards. 5th Circuit: Louisiana, Missis- sippi, Texas. Based in New Or- U.S. Used as an adjective, but leans. not as a noun, for United States. 6th Circuit: Kentucky, Michi- gan, Ohio, Tennessee. Based in U.S. Air Force See air force; Cincinnati. military academies; and mili- 7th Circuit: Illinois, Indiana, tary titles. Wisconsin. Based in Chicago. 8th Circuit: Arkansas, Iowa, US Airways Formerly USAir. Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Headquarters is in Arlington, Va. North Dakota, South Dakota. Based in St. Louis. U.S. Army See army; mili- 9th Circuit: Alaska, Arizona, tary academies; and military ti- California, Hawaii, Idaho, Mon- tles. tana, Nevada, Oregon, Washing- ton, Guam. Based in San Fran- U.S. Coast Guard See coast cisco. guard; military academies; and 10th Circuit: Colorado, military titles. Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming. Based in Denver. U.S. Conference of May- 11th Circuit: Alabama, Florida ors The members are the mayors and Georgia. Based in Atlanta. of cities with 30,000 or more resi- The courts do not always sit in dents. See National League of the cities where they are based. Cities. Sessions may be held in other Use the conference or the may- major cities within each region. ors’ conference on second refer- REFERENCE FORMS: A ence. phrase such as a federal appeals There is no organization with court is acceptable on first refer- the name National Mayors’ Con- ence. ference. On first reference to the full name, use U.S. Court of Appeals U.S. Court of Appeals The or a full name: 8th U.S. Circuit court is divided into 13 circuits Court of Appeals or the U.S. Court as follows: of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. District of Columbia Circuit. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Federal Circuit. without a circuit number is a 1st Circuit: Maine, Massachu- misnomer and should not be setts, New Hampshire, Rhode Is- used. land, Puerto Rico. Based in In shortened and subsequent Boston. references: the Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit: Connecticut, New the 2nd Circuit, the appeals court, York, Vermont. Based in New the appellate court(s), the circuit York. court(s), the court. 3rd Circuit: Delaware, New Do not create nonexistent enti- Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virgin Is- ties such as the San Francisco lands. Based in Philadelphia. Court of Appeals. Make it the U.S. 4th Circuit: Maryland, North Court of Appeals in San Francisco. 268-274_U.qrk 2/18/03 2:11 PM Page 264

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JURISTS: The formal title for Use U.S. Information Agency the jurists on the court is judge: on first reference. Lowercase the U.S. Circuit Judge Homer Thorn- communication agency or the berry is preferred to U.S. Appeals agency in second references. Judge Homer Thornberry, but either is acceptable. U.S. Marshals Service No See judge. apostrophe. U.S. Court of Appeals for U.S. Military Academy See the Federal Circuit Commonly military academies. known as the CAFC, it replaced U.S. Court of Claims and U.S. U.S. Navy See navy; military Court of Customs and Patent Ap- academies; and military titles. peals. It handles suits against the federal government and appeals U.S. Postal Service Use involving customs, patents and U.S. Postal Service or the Postal copyright. It is based in Washing- Service on first reference. Retain ton. capitalization of Postal Service in subsequent references to the U.S. Court of Military Ap- agency. peals This court, not part of the Lowercase the service when it judicial branch as such, is a civil- stands alone. Lowercase post of- ian body established by Congress fice in generic references to the to hear appeals from actions of agency and to an individual of- the Defense Department. It is fice: I went to the post office. based in Washington. U.S. Postal Service Direc- U.S. Customs Court This tory of Post Offices The refer- court, based in New York City, ence for U.S. place names not handles disputes over customs covered in this book. duties that arise at any U.S. port of entry. USS For United States Ship, Steamer or Steamship, preceding U.S. District Courts There the name of a vessel: the USS are 94. In shortened and subse- Iowa. quent references: the District In datelines: Court, the District Courts, the ABOARD USS IOWA (AP) — court. Judge is the formal title for U.S. Supreme Court See District Court jurists: U.S. District Supreme Court of the United Judge Frank Johnson. See judge. States.

user friendly Avoid. For ex- U.S. Tax Court This court ample: The system is easy to use, handles appeals in tax cases. not the system is user friendly. Utah Do not abbreviate. See usher Use for both men and state names. women. U-turn (n. and adj.) U.S. Information Agency Formerly the U.S. Communica- tion Agency. 275-278_V.qrk 2/17/03 10:31 AM Page 265 V v. See verbs. V-8 The engine.

vacuum Velcro Trademark for a nylon material that can be pressed to- Valium A trademark for a gether or pulled apart for easy brand of tranquilizer and muscle fastening and unfastening. Use a relaxant. It also may be called di- generic term such as fabric fas- azepam. tener.

valley Capitalize as part of a Venator Group Formerly full name: the Mississippi Valley. F.W. Woolworth Co. (The name Lowercase in plural uses: the means sportsman in Latin.) Missouri and Mississippi valleys. vendor Vandyke beard, Vandyke collar venereal disease VD is acceptable on second reference. Varig Brazilian Airlines Headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. verbal See the oral, verbal, written entry. Vaseline A trademark for a brand of petroleum jelly. verbs The abbreviation v. is used in this book to identify the Vatican City Stands alone in spelling of the verb forms of datelines. words frequently misspelled. SPLIT FORMS: In general, v-chip avoid awkward constructions that split infinitive forms of a verb (to VCR Acceptable in second ref- leave, to help, etc.) or compound erence to videocassette recorder. forms (had left, are found out, etc.) VDT Abbreviation for video Awkward: She was ordered to display terminal. Spell out. immediately leave on an assign- ment. V-E Day May 8, 1945, the day Preferred: She was ordered to the surrender of Germany was leave immediately on an assign- announced, officially ending the ment. European phase of World War II. Awkward: There stood the wagon that we had early last au- vegetables See food. tumn left by the barn. 275-278_V.qrk 2/17/03 10:31 AM Page 266

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Preferred: There stood the is acceptable in all references. wagon that we had left by the barn early last autumn. Very Rev. See Episcopal Occasionally, however, a split Church; religious titles; and is not awkward and is necessary Roman Catholic Church. to convey the meaning: He wanted to really help his Veterans Affairs Formerly mother. Veterans Administration, it be- Those who lie are often found came Cabinet level in March 1989 out. with the full title Department of How has your health been? Veterans Affairs. VA (no periods) The budget was tentatively ap- is still used on second reference. proved. Veterans Day Formerly Vermont Abbrev.: Vt. See Armistice Day, Nov. 11, the an- state names. niversary of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. vernacular The native lan- The federal legal holiday, ob- guage of a country or place. A served on the fourth Monday in vernacular term that has October during the mid-1970s, achieved widespread recognition reverted to Nov. 11 in 1978. may be used without explanation if appropriate in the context. Veterans of Foreign Wars Terms not widely known VFW is acceptable on second ref- should be explained when used. erence. In general, they are appropriate Headquarters in Kansas City, only when illustrating vernacular Mo. speech. See colloquialisms and di- veto, vetoes (n.) The verb alect. forms: vetoed, vetoing.

verses See poetry for guide- VHF Acceptable in all refer- lines on how to handle verses of ences for very high frequency. poetry typographically. vice- Use two words: vice ad- versus Spell it out in ordi- miral, vice chairman, vice chancel- nary speech and writing: The pro- lor, vice consul, vice president, posal to revamp Medicare versus vice principal, vice regent, vice sec- proposals to reform Medicare and retary. Medicaid at the same time ... In Several are exceptions to Web- short expressions, however, the ster’s New World. The two-word abbreviation vs. is permitted: The rule has been adopted for consis- issue of guns vs. butter has long tency in handling the similar been with us. terms. For court cases, use v: Mar- bury v. Madison. vice president Capitalize or lowercase following the same vertical takeoff aircraft rules that apply to president. See See the V-STOL and VTOL entries. president and titles. Do not drop the first name on very high frequency VHF first reference. 275-278_V.qrk 2/17/03 10:31 AM Page 267

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vice versa Virgin Islands Use with a community name in datelines on Victrola A trademark for a stories from the U.S. Virgin Is- brand of record player. lands. Do not abbreviate. Identify an individual island in videocassette recorder the text if relevant. See datelines and British Vir- videodisc gin Islands.

videotape (n. and v.) viscount, viscountess See nobility. videotex, teletext Not videotext. Videotex is the generic vitamins Lowercase vitamin, term for two-way interactive data use a capital letter and/or a fig- systems that transmit text and ure for the type: vitamin A, vita- sometimes graphics via telephone min B-12. lines or cable. User can specify desired information and commu- V-J Day The day of victory for nicate with host computer or the Allied forces over Japan in other users through terminal key- World War II. board. It is calculated both as Aug. Teletext is a one-way system 15, 1945, the day the fighting that transmits text material or with Japan ended, and as Sept. graphics via a TV or FM broadcast signal or cable TV system. 2, 1945, the day Japan officially The user can select material de- surrendered. sired but cannot communicate V-neck (n. and adj.) with other users. vienna bread, vienna cof- Voice of America VOA is fee, vienna sausages See acceptable on second reference. food. volatile Something that Viet Cong evaporates rapidly. It may or may not be explosive. Vietnam Not Viet Nam. Volkswagen of America Vietnam War Inc. The name of the U.S. subsidiary of the German company vie, vied, vying named Volkswagen A.G. U.S. headquarters is in village Apply the capitaliza- Auburn Hills, Mich. tion principles in city. volley, volleys VIP, VIPs Acceptable in all references for very important per- Volunteers in Service to son(s). America VISTA is acceptable in second reference. Virginia Abbrev.: Va. Legally a commonwealth, not a state. von See foreign particles See state and state names. entry. 275-278_V.qrk 2/17/03 10:31 AM Page 268

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voodoo vote-getter

vote tabulations Always use figures for the totals. Spell out below 10 in other phrases related to voting: by a five-vote majority, with three ab- stentions, four votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority. For results that involve fewer than 1,000 votes on each side, use these forms: The House voted 230-205, a 230-205 vote. To make totals that involve more than 1,000 votes on a side easier to read, separate the figures with the word to to avoid hyphenated adjectival constructions. See election returns for examples.

V-STOL Acceptable on second reference for an aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff or landing.

VTOL Acceptable on second reference for an aircraft capable of vertical takeoff or landing.

vulgarities See the obscenities, profanities, vulgarities entry. 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 269 W Wac, WAC Wac is no longer Wal-Mart used by the military but is an acceptable term in a reference to a war Capitalize when used as woman who served in what used part of the name for a specific to be the Women’s Army Corps. conflict: the Civil War, the Cold WAC is acceptable on second War, the Korean War, the Vietnam reference to the corps. War, the War of 1812, World War II, Gulf War, Persian Gulf War, Waf, WAF Waf no longer is etc. used by the military but is acceptable in a reference to a warden Capitalize as a for- woman who served in the Air mal title before a name. See Force. titles. WAF is acceptable on second reference to Women in the Air wards Use figures. See politi- Force, an unofficial organizational cal divisions. distinction formerly made by the warhead Air Force but never authorized by Congress. war horse, warhorse Two words for a horse used in battle. (male) (fe- waiter waitress One word for a veteran of male) many battles: He is a political warhorse. Wales Use Wales after the names of Welsh communities in warlike datelines. See datelines and United warlord Kingdom. warrant officer See mili- walk up (v.) walk-up (n. tary titles. and adj.) wartime Wall Street When the reference is to the entire complex of fi- washed-up (adj.) nancial institutions in the area rather than the actual street it- Washington Abbreviate the self, the Street is an acceptable state as Wash. short form. Never abbreviate when refer- See capitalization. ring to the U.S. capital. 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 270

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Use state of Washington or and ammunition: Washington state and Washing- ton, D.C., or District of Columbia anti-aircraft A cannon that when the context requires dis- fires explosive shells. It is de- tinction between the state and signed for defense against air at- the federal district. tack. The form: a 105 mm anti-air- See state and state names. craft gun. Washington’s Birthday artillery A carriage-mounted Capitalize birthday in references cannon. to the holiday. The date he was born is com- assault-style weapon Any puted as Feb. 22. The federal semiautomatic pistol, rifle or legal holiday is the third Monday shotgun originally designed for in February. military or police use with a large Some states and some organi- ammunition capacity. Also, zations refer to it as Presidents firearms that feature two or more Day but the formal name has not accessories such as a detachable changed. magazine, folding or telescopic stock, silencer, pistol grip, bayo- wastebasket net mount or a device to suppress the flash emitted while shooting waterspout See weather in the dark. terms. automatic An autoloading ac- watt A unit of power, mostly tion that will fire a succession of associated with electricity. Elec- cartridges while the trigger is de- trical energy is measured in watt- pressed or until the ammunition hours (or kilowatt-hours or supply is exhausted. The form: a megawatt-hours). Do not use .22-caliber automatic. “megawatts per hour.” Abbrev.: W, kW, MW. buckshot See shot below.

Wave, WAVES Wave no bullet The projectile fired by a longer is used by the military but rifle, pistol or machine gun. To- is acceptable in a reference to a gether with metal casing, primer woman who served in the Navy. and propellant, it forms a car- WAVES is acceptable on sec- tridge. ond reference to the Women Ac- cepted for Volunteer Emergency caliber A measurement of the Service, an organizational distinc- diameter of the inside of a gun tion made for women during barrel except for most shotguns. World War II but subsequently Measurement is in either millime- discontinued. ters or decimal fractions of an inch. The word caliber is not used weak-kneed when giving the metric measurement. The forms: a 9 mm pistol, a weapons Gun is an accept- .22-caliber rifle. able term for any firearm. Note the following definitions and cannon A weapon, usually forms in dealing with weapons supported on some type of car- 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 271

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riage, that fires explosive projec- combinations of a letter and fig- tiles. The form: a 105 mm cannon. ure(s) designate rifles used by the military. The forms: an M-1 rifle, carbine A short, lightweight an M-16 rifle. rifle, usually having a barrel length of less than 20 inches. The machine gun An automatic form: an M-3 carbine. gun that fires as long as the trigger is depressed. The form: a .50- cartridge See bullet above. caliber Browning machine gun.

clip A metal container for car- magazine The chamber on a tridges, inserted in certain types rifle or pistol from which car- of firearms. tridges are fed.

Colt Named for Samuel Colt, it Magnum A trademark for a designates a make of weapon or type of high-powered cartridge ammunition developed for Colt with a larger case and a larger handguns. The forms: a Colt .45- powder charge than other car- caliber revolver, .45 Long Colt am- tridges of approximately the same munition. caliber. The form: a .357-caliber Magnum, a .44-caliber Magnum. gauge This word describes the size of a shotgun. Gauge is ex- mortar Device used to launch pressed in terms of the number a mortar shell; it is the shell, not per pound of round lead balls the mortar, that is fired. with a diameter equal to the size of the barrel. The bigger the num- musket A heavy, large-caliber ber, the smaller the shotgun. shoulder firearm fired by means Some common shotgun of a matchlock, a wheel lock, a gauges: Gauge Interior Diameter flintlock or a percussion lock. Its 10 .775 inches ammunition is a musket ball. 12 .729 inches 16 .662 inches pistol A small firearm or 20 .615 inches handgun, it can be a single shot, 28 .550 inches a semiautomatic or a revolver. Its .410 .410 inches size is measured in calibers. The The .410 actually is a caliber, form: a .45-caliber pistol. but commonly is called a gauge. The forms: a 12-gauge shot- revolver A handgun. Its car- gun, a .410-gauge shotgun. tridges are held in chambers in a cylinder that revolves. The form: howitzer A cannon shorter a .45-caliber revolver. than a gun of the same caliber employed to fire projectiles at rel- rifle A firearm designed or atively high angles at a target, made to be fired from the shoul- such as opposing forces behind a der and having a rifled bore. It ridge. The form: a 105 mm how- uses bullets or cartridges for am- itzer. munition. Its size is measured in calibers. The form: a .22-caliber M-1, M-16 These and similar rifle. 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 272

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Saturday night special The cyclone A storm with strong popular name for the type of winds rotating about a moving cheap pistol used for impulsive center of low atmospheric pres- crimes. sure. The word sometimes is used in shell The word applies to mili- the United States to mean torna- tary or naval ammunition and to do and in the Indian Ocean area shotgun ammunition. to mean hurricane.

shot Small lead or steel pellets degree-day A unit of mea- fired by shotguns. A shotgun surement describing how much shell usually contains 1 to 2 the temperature differs from a ounces of shot. Do not use shot standard average for one day. It is interchangeably with buckshot, usually used to gauge the amount which refers only to the largest of heating or cooling needed for a shot sizes. building. If the standard average temperature for a day is 65 de- shotgun A small-arms gun grees, then a temperature of 10 with a smooth bore, sometimes below zero for 24 hours yields 75 double-barreled. Its ammunition degree-days. is shot. Its size is measured in dust storm Visibility of one- gauges. The form: a 12-gauge half mile or less due to dust, wind shotgun . speeds of 30 mph or more.

submachine gun A light- flash flood A sudden, violent weight automatic gun firing flood. It typically occurs after a handgun ammunition. heavy rain or the melting of a heavy snow. weather-beaten flash flood warning Warns weather bureau See Na- that flash flooding is imminent or tional Weather Service. in progress. Those in the affected area should take necessary pre- weatherman The preferred cautions immediately. term is weather forecaster. flash flood watch Alerts the weather terms The follow- public that flash flooding is possi- ing are based on definitions used ble. Those in the affected area are by the National Weather Service. urged to be ready to take addi- All temperatures are Fahrenheit. tional precautions if a flash flood warning is issued or if flooding is blizzard Wind speeds of 35 observed. mph or more and considerable falling and/or blowing of snow flood Stories about floods with visibility near zero. usually tell how high the water is and where it is expected to crest. coastal waters The waters Such a story should also, for within about 20 miles of the comparison, list flood stage and coast, including bays, harbors how high the water is above, or and sounds. below, flood stage. 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 273

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Wrong: The river is expected to b. A fall accumulating to 6 crest at 39 feet. inches or more in depth in 24 Right: The river is expected to hours. crest at 39 feet, 12 feet above flood stage. high wind Normally indicates that sustained winds of 39 mph freeze Describes conditions or greater are expected to persist when the temperature at or near for one hour or longer. the surface is expected to be below 32 degrees during the hurricane categories Hurri- growing season. Adjectives such canes are ranked 1 to 5 according as severe or hard are used if a to what is known as the Saffir- cold spell exceeding two days is Simpson scale of strength: expected. Category 1 — Hurricane has A freeze may or may not be ac- central barometric pressure of companied by the formation of 28.94 inches or more and winds frost. However, use of the term of 74 to 95 mph, is accompanied freeze usually is restricted for oc- by a 4-5 foot storm surge and casions when wind or other con- causes minimal damage. ditions prevent frost. Category 2 — Pressure 28.50 to 28.93 inches, winds from 96 to freezing drizzle, freezing 110 mph, storm surge 6-8 feet, rain Synonyms for ice storm. damage moderate. Category 3 — Pressure 27.91 frost Describes the formation to 28.49 inches, winds from 111 of very small ice crystals, which to 130 mph, storm surge 9-12 might develop under conditions feet, damage extensive. similar to dew except for the min- Category 4 — Pressure 27.17 imum temperatures involved. to 27.90 inches, winds from 131 Phrases such as frost in low to 155 mph, storm surge 13-18 places or scattered light frost are feet, damage extreme. used when appropriate. The term Category 5 — Pressure less frost seldom appears in state fore- than 27.17 inches, winds greater casts unless rather heavy frost is than 155 mph, storm surge high- expected over an extensive area. er than 18 feet, damage cata- strophic. funnel cloud A violent, rotat- Only three Category 5 storms ing column of air that does not have hit the United States since touch the ground, usually a pen- record-keeping began: the 1935 dant from a cumulonimbus Labor Day hurricane that hit the cloud. Florida Keys and killed 600 people; Hurricane Camille, which gale Sustained winds within devastated the Mississippi coast the range of 39 to 54 mph (34 to in 1969, killing 256 and leaving 47 knots). $1.4 billion damage, and Hurri- cane Andrew, which hit South heavy snow It generally Florida in 1992, killing 43 and means: causing $30.5 billion in damage. a. A fall accumulating to 4 inches or more in depth in 12 hurricane eye The relatively hours, or calm area in the center of the 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 274

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storm. In this area winds are light ice storm warning Reserved and the sky often is covered only for occasions when significant, partly by clouds. and possibly damaging, accumu- lations of ice are expected. hurricane or typhoon A warm-core tropical cyclone in ice storm, freezing drizzle, which the minimum sustained freezing rain Describes the freez- surface wind is 74 mph or more. ing of drizzle or rain on objects as Hurricanes are spawned east it strikes them. Freezing drizzle of the international date line. Ty- and freezing rain are synonyms phoons develop west of the line. for ice storm. They are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean. National Hurricane Center When a hurricane or typhoon The National Weather Service’s loses strength (wind speed), usu- National Hurricane Center in ally after landfall, it is reduced to Miami has overall responsibility tropical storm status. for tracking and providing information about tropical depres- hurricane season The portion sions, tropical storms and hurri- of the year that has a relatively canes in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf high incidence of hurricanes. In of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf eastern Pacific Ocean. of Mexico, this is from June The service’s Central Pacific through November. In the eastern Hurricane Center in Honolulu is Pacific, it is May 15 through Nov. responsible for hurricane infor- 30. In the central Pacific, it is mation in the Pacific Ocean area June 1 through Nov. 30. north of the equator from 140 degrees west longitude to 180 de- hurricane tide Same as storm grees. tide. nearshore waters The waters hurricane warning Warns extended to five miles from shore. that one or both of these dangerous effects of a hurricane are ex- nor’easter The term used by pected in specified areas in 24 the National Weather Service for hours or less: storms that either exit or move a. Sustained winds of 74 mph north along the East Coast, pro- (64 knots) or higher, and/or ducing winds blowing from the b. Dangerously high water or a northeast. combination of dangerously high water and exceptionally high offshore waters The waters waves, even though winds expect- extending to about 250 miles ed may be less than hurricane from shore. force. sandstorm Visibility of one- hurricane watch An an- half mile or less due to sand nouncement for specific areas blown by winds of 30 mph or that a hurricane or incipient hur- more. ricane conditions may pose a threat to coastal and inland com- severe blizzard Wind speeds munities. of 45 mph or more, great density 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 275

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of falling and/or blowing snow temperature is in the mid-30s or with visibility frequently near zero lower, the wind speed criterion is and a temperature of 10 degrees lowered to about 15 mph. or lower. storm tide Directional wave(s) severe thunderstorm De- caused by a severe atmospheric scribes either of the following: disturbance. a. Winds — Thunderstorm-related surface winds sustained or temperature-humidity index gusts 50 knots or greater. The temperature-humidity index b. Hail — Surface hail three- indicates the combined effect of quarters of an inch in diameter or heat and air moisture on human larger. The word hail in a watch comfort. A reading of 70 or below implies hail at the surface and indicates no discomfort. A read- aloft unless qualifying phrases ing of 75 would indicate discom- such as hail aloft are used. fort in half the population and all would feel uncomfortable with a sleet (one form of ice pellet) reading of 79. The National Describes generally solid grains of Weather Service issues the THI ice formed by the freezing of rain- between June 15 and Sept. 15. drops or the refreezing of largely melted snowflakes. Sleet, like tidal wave A term often used small hail, usually bounces when incorrectly for seismic sea wave. hitting a hard surface. These waves are caused by underwater earthquakes, landslides sleet (heavy) Heavy sleet is a or volcanoes and are sometimes fairly rare event in which the referred to as great sea waves. ground is covered to a depth of Scientists call them tsunamis, a significance to motorists and oth- term that is not widely used and ers. should be explained if used.

snow avalanche bulletin tornado A violent rotating col- Snow avalanche bulletins are is- umn of air forming a pendant sued by the U.S. Forest Service usually from a cumulonimbus for avalanche-prone areas in the cloud, and touching the ground. western United States. It usually starts as a funnel cloud and is accompanied by a loud squall A sudden increase of roaring noise. On a local scale, it wind speed by at least 16 knots is the most destructive of all at- and rising to 25 knots or more mospheric phenomena. and lasting for at least one minute. tornado warning Warns the public of an existing tornado or stockmen’s advisory Alerts one suspected to be in existence. the public that livestock may require protection because of cer- tornado watch Alerts the tain combinations of cold, wet public to the possibility of a tor- and windy weather, specifically nado. cold rain and/or snow with temperatures 45 degrees or lower and traveler’s advisory Alerts the winds of 25 mph or higher. If the public that difficult traveling or 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 276

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hazardous road conditions are ex- wind chill index Also known pected to be widespread. as the wind chill factor. No hyphen. tropical depression A tropical The wind chill is a calculation cyclone in which the maximum that describes the combined ef- sustained surface wind is 38 mph fect of the wind and cold temper- (33 knots) or less. atures on exposed skin. The wind chill index would be minus 22, for tropical storm A warm-core example, if the temperature was tropical cyclone in which the 15 degrees and the wind was maximum sustained surface winds range from 39 to 73 mph blowing at 25 mph — in other (34 to 63 knots) inclusive. words, a temperature of 22 below zero with no wind. typhoon See hurricane or ty- The higher the wind at a given phoon in this listing. temperature, the lower the wind chill reading, although wind waterspout A tornado over speeds above 40 mph have little water. additional cooling effect.

Heat Index Table Relative Humidity (Percentage) 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 Air Apparent Temperature Temp 110 - 123 130 137 143 150 105 - 113 118 123 129 135 142 149 100 - 104 107 110 115 120 126 132 138 144 95 - 96 98 101 104 107 110 114 119 124 130 136 90 - 90 91 93 95 96 98 100 102 106 109 113 117 122 85 - 84 8586878889909193959799102105108 80 - 78 7979808181828385868687888991 75 - 73 7374747575767677777878797980 70 - 67 6768686969707070707171717172 Wind Chill Factor Table Air Temperature 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 Wind Apparent Temperature mph 5- 33 27 21 16 12 7 0 -5 -10 -15 -21 -26 -31 -36 -42 10- 22 16 10 3 -3 -9 -15 -22 -27 -34 -40 -46 -52 -58 -64 15- 16 9 2 -5 -11 -18 -25 -31 -38 -45 -51 -58 -65 -72 -78 20- 12 4 -3 -10 -17 -24 -31 -39 -46 -53 -60 -67 -74 -81 -88 25- 8 1 -7 -15 -22 -29 -36 -44 -51 -59 -66 -74 -81 -88 -96 30- 6 -2 -10 -18 -25 -33 -41 -49 -56 -64 -71 -79 -86 -93 -101 35- 4 -4 -12 -20 -27 -35 -43 -52 -58 -67 -74 -82 -89 -97 -105 40- 3 -5 -13 -21 -29 -37 -45 -53 -60 -69 -76 -84 -92 -100 -107 45- 2 -6 -14 -22 -30 -38 -46 -54 -62 -70 -78 -85 -93 -102 -109 Winds of more than 45 mph add little to the chilling. 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 277

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wind shear It is caused when weird, weirdo a mass of cooled air rushes down- ward out of a thunderstorm in Welcome Wagon A trade- what is called a microburst, hits mark of Welcome Wagon Interna- the ground and rushes outward tional Inc. in all directions. Wind shear itself is described as a sudden shift in well Hyphenate as part of a wind direction and speed. A plane compound modifier: She is a well- flying through a microburst at dressed woman. low altitude, as on final approach See hyphen in the Punctua- or takeoff, would at first experi- tion chapter for guidelines on ence a strong headwind and in- compound modifiers. creased lift, followed by a strong tail wind and sharply decreased well-being lift. well-to-do winter storm warning Noti- fies the public that severe winter well-wishers weather conditions are almost certain to occur. West As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, the 13-state re- winter storm watch Alerts gion is broken into two divisions. the public to the possibility of se- The eight Mountain division vere winter weather conditions. states are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New weather vane Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The five Pacific division states Web See Internet; World are Alaska, California, Hawaii, Wide Web. Oregon and Washington. See North Central region; Webster’s New World Northeast region; and South for College Dictionary See dictio- the bureau’s other three regional naries. breakdowns. Webster’s Third New In- Western Capitalize for the ternational Dictionary See film or book genre, but lowercase dictionaries. the style of music better known as country. Wednesday See days of the week. Western Hemisphere The continents of North and South weekend America, and the islands near them. weeklong One word as an It frequently is subdivided as adjective; an exception to Web- follows: ster’s. Carribean The islands from weights Use figures: The the tip of Florida to the continent baby weighed 9 pounds, 7 of South America, plus French ounces. She had a 9-pound, 7- Guiana, Guyana and Suriname ounce boy. on the northeastern coast of 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 278

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South America. States and the northern shore of Major island elements are South America, separating the Cuba, Hispaniola (the island Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic shared by the Dominican Repub- Ocean and including the Ba- lic and Haiti), Jamaica, Puerto hamas, the Greater Antilles, and Rico, and the West Indies islands. the Lesser Antilles. Major island elements are the Central America The narrow nations of Barbados, Grenada, strip of land between Mexico and and Trinidad and Tobago, plus Colombia. Located there are Be- smaller islands dependent in vari- lize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, ous degrees on: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua —Britain: British Virgin Is- and Panama. lands, Anguilla, and the West In- dies Associated States, including Latin America The area of the Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Americas south of the United Vincent and St. Christopher- States where Romance languages Nevis. (those derived from Latin) are —France: Guadeloupe (com- dominant. It applies to most of posed of islands known as Basse- the region south of the United Terre and Grande-Terre, plus five States except areas with a British other islands) and Martinique. heritage: the Bahamas, Barbados, —Netherlands: Netherlands Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Ja- Antilles, composed of Aruba, maica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eu- various islands in the West In- statius and the southern portion dies. Suriname, the former Dutch of St. Martin Island (the northern Guiana, is an additional excep- half is held by France and is part tion. of Guadeloupe). —United States: U.S. Virgin Is- North America Canada, Mexi- lands, principally St. Croix, St. co, the United States and the John and St. Thomas. Danish territory of Greenland. When the term is used in more West Indies See Western than its continental sense, it also Hemisphere. may include the islands of the Caribbean. West Point Acceptable on second reference to the U.S. Mili- South America Argentina, Bo- tary Academy. livia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, See military academies. Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, In datelines: Uruguay, Venezuela, and in a WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — purely continental sense, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname. West Virginia Abbrev.: Politically and psychologically, W.Va. (no space between W. and however, the latter three regard Va.). See state names. themselves as part of the Caribbean. west, western See the directions and regions entry. West Indies An island chain extending in an eastward arc be- wheat It is measured in tween the southeastern United bushels domestically, in metric 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 279

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tons for international trade. wholesale price index A There are 36.7 bushels of measurement of the changes in wheat in a metric ton. the average prices that businesses pay for a selected group of in- wheelchair See disabled, dustrial commodities, farm prod- handicapped, impaired entry. ucts, processed foods and feed for animals. wheeler-dealer Capitalize when referring to the U.S. index, issued monthly by whereabouts Takes a sin- the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an gular verb: agency of the Labor Department. His whereabouts is a mystery. whole-wheat wherever who, whom Who is the pro- which See the essential noun used for references to clauses, nonessential clauses human beings and to animals entry; the that, which entry; and with a name. It is grammatically the who, whom entry. the subject (never the object) of a sentence, clause or phrase: The whip Capitalize when used as woman who rented the room left a formal title before a name. See the window open. Who is there? legislative titles and titles. Whom is used when someone is the object of a verb or preposi- whiskey, whiskeys Use the tion: The woman to whom the spelling whisky only in conjunc- room was rented left the window tion with Scotch. open. Whom do you wish to see? See the Scotch whisky entry. See the essential clauses, nonessential clauses entry for white-collar (adj.) guidelines on how to punctuate clauses introduced by who, White House Do not person- whom, that and which. ify it with phrases such as the White House said. Instead, use a whom See who, whom phrase such as a White House of- entry. ficial said. -wide No hyphen. Some ex- white paper Two words, amples: lowercase, when used to refer to a citywide nationwide special report. continentwide statewide countrywide worldwide whitewash (n. and v. and industrywide adj.) wide- Usually hyphenated. Some examples: who’s, whose Who’s is a wide-angle wide-eyed contraction for who is, not a pos- wide-awake wide-open sessive: Who’s there? wide-brimmed Whose is the possessive: I do Exception: widespread. not know whose coat it is. widow, widower In obitu- wholehearted aries: A man is survived by his 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 280

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wife, or leaves his wife. A woman state names. is survived by her husband, or leaves her husband. -wise No hyphen when it Guard against the redundant means in the direction of or with widow of the late. Use wife of the regard to. Some examples: late or widow of. clockwise otherwise lengthwise slantwise widths See dimensions. Avoid contrived combinations such as moneywise, religionwise. wigwag The word penny-wise is spelled with a hyphen because it wildlife is a compound adjective in which wise means smart, not an appli- Wilkes-Barre, Pa. cation of the suffix -wise. The same for street-wise in the street- will See the shall, will entry wise youth (an exception to Web- and subjunctive mood. ster’s). Wilson’s disease After Woman’s Christian Tem- Samuel A. Wilson, an English perance Union Not women’s. neurologist. A disease character- WCTU is acceptable on second ized by abnormal accumulation of reference. copper in the brain, liver and other organs. women Women should receive the same treatment as men Windbreaker A trademark in all areas of coverage. Physical for a brand of wind-resistant descriptions, sexist references, sports jacket. demeaning stereotypes and con- descending phrases should not be wind chill index See used. weather terms. To cite some examples, this means that: window dressing The —Copy should not assume noun. But as a verb: window- maleness when both sexes are in- dress . volved, as in Jackson told news- wind-swept men or in the taxpayer ... he when it easily can be said Jackson told wind up (v.) windup (n. reporters or taxpayers ... they. and adj.) —Copy should not express surprise that an attractive woman wingspan can be professionally accom- plished, as in: Mary Smith doesn’t winter See seasons. look the part, but she’s an authority on ... wintertime —Copy should not gratuitous- ly mention family relationships wiretap, wiretapper The when there is no relevance to the verb forms: wiretap, wiretapped, subject, as in: Golda Meir, a wiretapping. doughty grandmother, told the Egyptians today ... Wisconsin Abbrev.: Wis. See —Use the same standards for 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 281

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men and women in deciding below the normal standards for whether to include specific men- literate writing. tion of personal appearance or This Stylebook lists many marital and family situation. words with cautionary notes In other words, treatment of about how they should be used. the sexes should be evenhanded The entries in Webster’s New and free of assumptions and World Dictionary provide caution- stereotypes. This does not mean ary notes, comparisons and that valid and acceptable words usage guidelines to help a writer such as mankind or humanity choose the correct word for a par- cannot be used. They are proper. ticular context. See courtesy titles; divorcee; Any word listed in Webster’s the man, mankind entry; and - New World may be used for the persons. definitions given unless this Stylebook restricts its use to only Women’s Army Corps See some definitions recorded by the the Wac, WAC entry. dictionary or specifies that the word be confined to certain con- Woolworth’s See Venator texts. Group. If the dictionary cautions that a particular usage is objected to word-of-mouth (n. and by some linguists or is not ac- adj.) cepted widely, be wary of the usage unless there is a reason in word processing (adj.) Do the context. not hyphenate. The dictionary provides guidance on many idiomatic expres- words as words The mean- sions under the principal word in ing of this phrase, which appears the expression. The definition and occasionally in this book and spelling of under way, for exam- similar manuals that deal with ple, are found in the way entry. words, is best illustrated by an If it is necessary to use an ar- example: In this sentence, woman chaic word or an archaic sense of appears solely as a word rather a word, explain the meaning. than as the means of represent- Additional guidance on the ac- ing the concept normally associ- ceptability of a word is provided ated with the word. in this book under: When italics are available, a Americanism jargon colloquialisms special contexts word used as a word should be dialect vernacular italicized. foreign words Italics are not available to See also the obscenities, pro- highlight this type of word use on fanities, vulgarities entry. the news wires. When a news story must use a word as a word, workday place quotation marks around it. See plurals. workers’ compensation word selection In general, work force any word with a meaning that universally is understood is ac- working class (n.) work- ceptable unless it is offensive or ing-class (adj.) 279-292_W.qrk 2/18/03 2:20 PM Page 282

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workout worthwhile

workweek would See the should, would entry. World Bank Acceptable in all references for International wrack See the rack, wrack Bank for Reconstruction and De- entry. velopment. write in (v.) write-in (n. World Council of Church- and adj.) es This is the main international, interdenominational cooperative wrongdoing body of Anglican, Eastern Ortho- dox, Protestant and old or nation- Wyoming Abbrev.: Wyo. See al Catholic churches. state names. The Roman Catholic church is not a member but cooperates with the council in various programs. Headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.

World Court This was an alternate name for the Permanent Court of International Justice set up by the League of Nations. See the entry for the Interna- tional Court of Justice, which has replaced it. World Health Organiza- tion WHO is acceptable on second reference. Headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.

World Series Or the Series on second reference. A rare exception to the general principles under capitalization. World War I, World War II worldwide

World Wide Web See Inter- net entry. worn-out worship, worshipped, worshipper 293-294_XYZ.qrk 2/18/03 2:24 PM Page 283 XYZ

Xerox A trademark for a a figure is not used to start a sen- brand of photocopy machine. tence: 1976 was a very good year. Never a verb. Use a generic term, See A.D.; B.C.; centuries; his- such as photocopy. torical periods and events; and months. X-ray (n., v. and adj.) Use for both the photographic process yellow journalism The use and the radiation particles them- of cheaply sensational methods to selves. attract or influence readers. The term comes from the “Yellow Kid,” yam Botanically, yams and a comic strip in the New York sweet potatoes are not related, al- World in 1895. though several varieties of moist- fleshed sweet potatoes are popu- Yellow Pages Capitalize in larly called yams in some parts of describing the business telephone the United States. directory.

yard Equal to 3 feet. yesterday Use only in direct The metric equivalent is ap- quotations and in phrases that do proximately 0.91 meter. not refer to a specific day: Yester- To convert to meters, multiply day we were young. by 0.91 (5 yards x 0.91 = 4.55 Use the day of the week in meters). other cases. See foot; meter; and distances. yesteryear

year-end (adj.) Yom Kippur The Jewish Day of Atonement. Occurs in Septem- yearlong ber or October.

years Use figures, without Young Men’s Christian commas: 1975. Use commas only Association YMCA is accept- with a month and day: Dec. 18, able in all references. 1994, was a special day. Use an s Headquarters is in Chicago. without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries: the Young Women’s Christ- 1890s, the 1800s. ian Association YWCA is ac- Years are the lone exception to ceptable in all references. the general rule in numerals that Headquarters is in New York. 293-294_XYZ.qrk 2/18/03 2:24 PM Page 284

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youth Applicable to boys and girls from age 13 until 18th birthday. Use man or woman for individuals 18 and older.

yo-yo Formerly a trademark, now a generic term.

Yukon A territorial section of Canada. Do not abbreviate. Use in datelines after the names of communities in the territory. See Canada. yule, yuletide

zero-base budgeting A process that requires an agency, department or division to justify budget requests as if its programs were starting from scratch, or from a base of zero. In theory this assures a review of all programs at budget time. zero, zeros zigzag

Zionism The effort of the Jews to regain and retain their biblical homeland. It is based on the promise of God in the Book of Genesis that Israel would forever belong to Abraham and his de- scendants as a nation. The term is named for Mount Zion, the site of the ancient temple in Jerusalem. The Bible also frequently uses Zion in a general sense to denote the place where God is especially present with his people.

ZIP code Use all-caps ZIP for Zoning Improvement Plan, but always lowercase the word code. Run the five digits together without a comma, and do not put a comma between the state name and the ZIP code: New York, NY 10020. SPORTS GUIDELINES SPORTS SPORTS AND STYLE AND GUIDELINES 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 285 AM 3/3/03 10:24 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 286

286 — SPORTS GUIDELINES SPORTS GUIDELINES AND STYLE In 1983, all sports entries were moved into one section, making the use of the information more convenient. Perhaps it is also an indication of how the coverage of sports continues to grow and how important it is to the overall news report. Sports is entertainment. It is big business. It is news that extends beyond games, winners and losers. It is also statistics — agate. Writing about sports requires a broad understanding of law and economics and psychology and sociology and mores. As the appetite grows, so too does the need for writing with style and consistency. The constant is the need to write with clarity and accuracy. Good sports writing depends on the same writing and reporting tools as any other story. A stylebook, a sports section of a stylebook, is an aid in reaching that goal.

A note on BC filing of sports items: The 24-hour BC cycle requires the following procedures to differentiate between (a) AMs games stories (and the optionals that move as leads to them), and (b) game stories designed as new wrapups for PMs: “AMs” stories should be “BC-Reds-Padres” for the game story and “BC-Reds-Padres, 1st Ld-Writethru,” etc., for optionals. Game “PMs” stories should use the word “Folo” in digest lines and the slug (“BC-Reds-Padres Folo”). When a story carries “Folo” in its slug, it is, by definition, for PMs use. Therefore, it doesn’t need “Eds: PMs.” “Folo” is used on PMs versions of game stories only. On events like major golf and tennis tournaments, when there’s a story for PMs papers that will develop with morning action, do it as follows:

Slug: [ BC-GLF—US Open, Bjt ] Headline: [ Mickelson holds slim lead after first round ] Eds. note: [ Eds: PMs. Changes byline. Will be updated with early action in second round, about 8:30 a.m. EDT. ] Byline: [ By TIM DAHLBERG ] Bytitle: [ AP Sports Writer ] PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) _

or: 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 287

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Slug: [ BC-TEN—Wimbledon, Bjt ] Headline: [ Agassi, Sampras advance; Hingis defeated ] Eds. note: [ Eds: PMs. Changes byline. Will be updated with morning matches, about 7 a.m. EDT. ] Byline: [ By STEPHEN WILSON ] Bytitle: [ AP Sports Writer ] WIMBLEDON, England (AP) _

Sports Story-type Identifiers: BC-BBO — professional baseball (major league baseball: inter- league games, All-Star game, World Series, commissioner’s office, Hall of Fame) BC-BBA — professional baseball (American League) BC-BBN — professional baseball (National League) BC-BBM — professional baseball (all minor leagues) BC-BBI — international baseball (Japanese, etc.) BC-BBC — collegiate baseball BC-BBH — high school baseball BC-BBW — women’s baseball (Silver Bullets, etc.) BC-BBY — youth baseball (Little League, Babe Ruth, American Legion, etc.) BC-BKC — college basketball BC-BKN — professional basketball (NBA) BC-BKO — other basketball, including preps BC-BKW — women’s college basketball BC-BKL — women’s pro basketball (ABL, WNBA) BC-BOX — boxing BC-CAR — automotive racing, motorcycle racing BC-CYC — cycling BC-FBC — college football BC-FBN — NFL football BC-FBO — other football, including Arena football, CFL, NFL Europe BC-FIG — figure skating (all types) BC-GLF — golf BC-HKC — college hockey BC-HKN — NHL hockey BC-HKO — other hockey, including minor leagues BC-OLY — Olympics BC-RAC — horse racing BC-RUN — track and field BC-SKI — skiing BC-SOC — soccer BC-TEN — tennis 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 288

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(After 3 of 4 Distances) 1. Darrell Pace, Cincinnati, 914 points. A 2. Richard McKinney, Muncie, Ind. 880. 3. etc. abbreviations It is not necessary to spell out the most com- AstroTurf A trademark for a mon abbreviations on first refer- type of artificial grass. ence: AFC, CART, NASCAR, NBA, NFC, NFL, NHL. athlete’s foot, athlete’s heart -added Follow this form in sports stories: The $500,000- athletic club Abbreviate as added sweepstakes. AC with the name of a club, but only in sports summaries: Illinois All-America, All-Ameri- AC. See the volleyball entry for can The Associated Press recog- an example of such a summary. nizes only one All-America football and basketball team each athletic director Use the year. In football, only Walter singular athletic unless otherwise Camp’s selections through 1924, in a formal title. and the AP selections after that, are recognized. Do not call any- athletic teams Capitalize one an All-America selection un- teams, associations and recog- less he is listed on either the nized nicknames: Red Sox, the Camp or AP roster. Big Ten, the A’s, the Colts. Similarly do not call anyone an All-America basketball player un- auto racing less an AP selection. The first All- Follow the forms below for all America basketball team was major auto races: chosen in 1948. Examples: Use All-American when refer- Qualifying: ring specifically to an individual: ANYTOWN, Fredonia (AP) — Qualifying results Friday All-American Pat Ewing, or He for the Fredonia Grand Prix Formula One race on the 3.97- is an All-American. kilometer (2.48-mile) Major Fredonia circuit with driver, country, make of car and qualifying speed: Use All-America when referring 1. Ayrton Senna, Brazil, McLaren-Honda, 171.103 kph to the team: (108.265 mph). All-America team, or All-Ameri- 2. Alain Prost, France, Ferrari, 170.297 kph (107.919 ca selection. mph). 3. etc. for entire starting grid. Americas Cup (golf) Ameri- Race: ca’s Cup (yachting) ANYTOWN, Fredonia (AP) — Results Sunday in the Fredonia Grand Prix over the 3.97-kilometer (2.48-mile) Major Fredonia circuit with driver, country (for U.S. drivers, archery Scoring is usually in add hometown), make of car, laps completed, reason out points. Use a basic summary. Ex- (if any) and winner’s average speed: ample: 1. Ayrton Senna, Brazil, McLaren-Honda, 44 laps, 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 289

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164.297 kph (101.823 mph). ballplayer pinch-hit (n., adj.) 2. Alain Prost, France, Ferrari, 44. baseline pinch hitter (n.) 3. Nigel Mansell, Britain, Ferrari, 43. bullpen pitchout 4. etc. for entire starting grid, adding all non-finishers center field play off (v.) as follows: center fielder playoff (n., adj.) 23. Bernhard Bergen, Austria, McLaren-Honda, 12, designated hitter put out (v.) putout (n.) broken axle. doubleheader RBI (s.), RBIs (pl.) After the final driver, add: double play rundown (n.) Time of race: 1:52:53. fair ball sacrifice Margin of victory: 1.7 seconds. fastball sacrifice fly Caution flags: No full-course yellows. first baseman sacrifice hit Lead changes: 2 between 2 drivers. foul ball line shoestring catch Lap leaders: Senna, 1-34, Boutsen 35-36, Senna 37-44. foul tip shortstop For point leaders: ground-rule double shut out (v.) World Driver Leaders home plate shutout (n., adj.) home run slugger (Points on 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis) left-hander squeeze play 1. Nicki Lauda, Austria, 47 points. 2. Emerson Fitipaldi, line drive strike Brazil, 53.3. etc. line up (v.) strike zone lineup (n.) Texas leaguer major league(s) (n.) triple play major league (adj.) wild pitch B major leaguer (n.) backboard, backcourt, NUMBERS: Some sample uses backfield, backhand, back- of numbers: first inning, seventh- spin, backstop, backstretch, inning stretch, 10th inning; first base, second base, third base; backstroke Some are excep- first home run, 10th home run; tions to Webster’s New World, first place, last place; one RBI, 10 made for consistency in handling RBIs. The pitcher’s record is now sports stories. 6-5. The final score was 1-0. badminton Games are won LEAGUES: Use American by the first player to score 21 League, National League, Ameri- points, unless it is necessary to can League West, National League continue until one player has a East, or AL West and AL East, two-point spread. Most matches etc. On second reference: the go to the first winner of two league, the pennant in the West, games. the league’s West Division, etc. Use a match summary. See racquetball for an example. BOX SCORES: A sample fol- ball carrier lows. The visiting team always is ballclub, ballgame, ball- listed on the left, the home team park, ballplayer on the right. Only one position, the first he baseball played in the game, is listed for The spellings for some fre- any player. quently used words and phrases, Figures in parentheses are the some of which are exceptions to player’s total in that category for Webster’s New World: the season. backstop outfielder Use the First Game line shown ballclub passed ball here only if the game was the first ballpark pinch hit (v.) in a doubleheader. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 290

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One line in this example — (Night games not included) Monday’s Results None out when winning run Chicago 7, St. Louis 5 scored — could not have occurred Atlanta at New York, rain. in this game as played. It is in- Tuesday’s Games cluded to show its placement Cincinnati (Gullett 14-2 and Nolan 4-4) at New York when needed. (Seaver 12-3 and Matlack 6-1) 2, 6 p.m. Wednesday’s Games First Game Cincinnati at New York PHILADELPHIA SAN DIEGO Chicago at St.Louis, night ab r h bi ab r hbi Stone lf 4 0 0 0 Flannry 2 3 0 1 0 Only games scheduled. GGross lf 0 0 0 0 Gwynn rf 4 0 2 0 In subheads for results and Schu 3 4 1 0 0 Garvey 1 4 0 0 0 Samuel 2b 4 0 1 2 Nettles 3b 3 1 1 0 future games, spell out day of the Schmdt 1 4 0 0 0 Royster 3 0 0 0 0 week as: Tuesday’s Games, in- Virgil c 4 2 2 3 McRynl cf 4 0 1 1 stead of Today’s Games. GWilson rf 4 0 0 0 Kennedy c 4 0 1 0 Maddoxc 3 0 0 0 Martinez lf 4 1 1 0 Jeltz ss 2 0 0 0 Templtn ss 4 0 2 1 basic summary This format KGross p 3 0 1 0 Dravcky p 2 0 0 0 for summarizing sports events Tekulve p 0 0 0 0 Bmbry ph 1 0 0 0 Lefferts p 0 0 0 0 lists winners in the order of their Totals 32 3 4 5 33 292 finish. The figure showing the Philadelphia 010 200 000 - 3 San Diego 000 200 000 - 2 place finish is followed by an ath- None out when winning run scored. lete’s full name, his affiliation or E. Templeton, GWilson. DP — Philadelpia 2. hometown, and his time, dis- LOB — Philadelphia 3, San Diego 6. 2B — Templeton, Gwynn. HR — Virgil (8). tance, points, or whatever perfor- IP H R ERBB SO mance factor is applicable to the Philadelphia sport. KGross W, 4-6 7 1-3 9220 3 Tekulve S, 3 1 2-3 0001 0 If a contest involves several San Diego types of events, the paragraph be- Dravecky L, 4-3 7 4311 2 Lefferts 2 0000 1 gins with the name of the event. HBP — Flannery by KGross. T — 2:13. A- A typical example: 17,740. 60-yard dash — 1, Steve Williams, Florida TC, 6.0. 2, Hasley Crawford, Philadelphia Pioneer, 6.1. 3, Mike McFar- LINESCORE: When a bare land, Chicago TC, 6.2. 4, etc. linescore summary is required, 100 — 1, Steve Williams, Florida TC, 10.1. 2, etc. use this form: Additional examples are pro- Philadelphia 010 200 000 — 3 4 1 vided in the entries for many of San Diego 000 200 000 — 2 9 1 the sports that are reported in K. Gross, Tekulve (8) and Virgil; Dravecky, Lefferts (3) this format. and Kennedy. W - KGross, 4-6. LDravecky, 4-3. Sv - Tekulve Most basic summaries are a (3). HRs - Philadelphia, Virgil 2 (8). single paragraph per event, as shown. In some competitions with LEAGUE STANDINGS: large fields, however, the basic The form: summary is supplied under a dateline with each winner listed All Times EDT in a single paragraph. See the NATIONAL LEAGUE auto racing and bowling entries EAST WLPct. GB for examples. Pittsburgh 92 69 .571 — For international events in Philadelphia 85 75 .531 61/2 etc. which U.S. or Canadian competitors are not among the leaders, WEST add them in a separate paragraph WLPct. GB Cincinnati 108 54 .667 — as follows: Los Angeles 88 74 .543 20 Also: 14, Dick Green, New York, 6.8. 17, George etc. Bensen, Canada, 6.9. 19, etc. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 291

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In events where points, rather BOSTON (148) than time or distance, are record- McHale 10-16 6-9 26, Bird 8-14 2-2 19, Parish 6-11 6-7 ed as performances, mention the 18, D. Johnson 6-14 1-1 13, Ainge 9-15 0-0 19, Buckner 3-5, 0-0 6, Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Wedman 11-11 0-2 26, Maxwell 1- word points on the first usage 1 1-2 3, Kite 3-5 1-2 7, Carr 1-3 0-0 3, Clark 1-2 0-0 2. Totals only: 62-102 17-25 148. 1. Jim Benson, Springfield, N.J., 150 points. 2. Jerry Three-point goals — Wedman 4, McGee 2, Bird, Green, Canada, 149. 3. etc. Ainge, Carr. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Los Angeles 43 (Rambis 9), Boston 63 (McHale 9). basketball The spellings of Assists — Los Angeles 28 (E. Johnson 12), Boston 43 some frequently used words and (D. Johnson 10). phrases: Total fouls — Los Angeles 23, Boston 17. Technicals — backboard half-court pass Ainge. A — 14,890. backcourt halftime STANDINGS: The format for backcourtman hook shot professional standings: baseline jump ball Eastern Conference field goal jump shot Atlantic Division foul line layup WLPct. GB foul shot man-to-man Boston 43 22 .662 — free throw midcourt Philadelphia 40 30 .571 5 1/2 free-throw line pivotman etc. frontcourt play off (v.) In college boxes, the score by full-court press playoff (n., adj.) periods is omitted because the goaltending zone games are divided only into NUMBERS: Some sample uses halves. of numbers: in the first quarter, a UCLA (69) second-quarter lead, nine field Jackson 1-6 2-2 4, Maloncon 4-7 2-2 10, Wright 4-7 1-5 goals, 10 field goals, the 6-foot-5 9, Gaines 4-6 1-2 9, MIguel 5-10 0-0 10, Butler 2-3 6-8 10, forward, the 6-10 center. He is 6 Hatcher 3-8 0-0 6, Immel 2-2 1-1 5, Haley 1-1 4-4 6, Miller 0- feet 10 inches tall. 2 0-0 0, J. Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Dunlap 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 17- 24 69. LEAGUE: National Basketball ST. JOHN’S (88) Association or NBA. Berry 10-14 3-5 23, Glass 4-5 3-6 11, Wennington 5-9 For subdivisions: the Atlantic 4-4 14, Moses 5-6 0-0 10, Mullin 6-11 4-6 16, Jackson 1-3 5-5 Division of the Eastern Confer- 7, Stewart 0-3 2-2 2, S. Jones 1-2 2-2 4, Bross 0-1 0-0 0, ence, the Pacific Division of the Rowan 0-2 0-0 0, Shurina 0-0 1-2 1, Coregy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals Western Conference, etc. On sec- 32-56 24-32 88. ond reference: the NBA East, the Halftime — St. John’s 48, UCLA 35. Fouled out — division, the conference None. Rebounds — UCLA 25 (Wright 9), St. John’s 39 , etc. (Mullin 9). Assists —UCLA 18 (Gaines 5), St. John’s 21 BOX SCORE: A sample fol- (Moses 8). Total fouls — UCLA 22, St. John’s 20. lows. The visiting team always is A-15,256 listed first. In listing the players, begin The format for college confer- with the five starters — two for- ence standings: Conference All Games wards, center, two guards — and WL Pct. W L Pct. follow with all substitutes who Missouri 12 2 .857 24 4 .857 played. Figures after each player’s last betting odds Use figures name denote field goals, free and a hyphen: The odds were 5-4, throws, free throws attempted he won despite 3-2 odds against and total points. him. Example: The word to seldom is neces- LOS ANGELES (114) sary, but when it appears it Worthy 8-19 4-6 20, Rambis 4-6 0-0 8, Abdul-Jabbar 6- should be hyphenated in all con- 11 0-0 12, E. Johnson 8-14 3-4 19, Scott 5-14 0-0 10, Cooper 1-5 2-2 4, McAdoo 6-13 0-0 12, McGee 4-7 4-5 14, Spriggs 4- structions: 3-to-2 odds, odds of 3- 7 0-2 8, Kupchak 3-3 1-2 7. Totals 49-100 14-21 114. to-2, the odds were 3-to-2. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 292

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bettor A person who bets. Weight classes and titles by organization: bicycle 105 pounds — Mini Flyweight, WBF, IBF; Strawweight, WBC billiards Scoring is in points. 108 pounds — Light Fly- Use a match summary. Example: weight, WBA, WBC; Junior Fly- Minnesota Fats, St. Paul, Minn., def. Pool Hall Duke, weight, IBF 150-141. 112 pounds — Flyweight, WBA, WBC, IBF bobsledding, luge Scoring is in minutes, seconds and tenths 115 pounds — Super Fly- of a second. Extend to hun- weight, WBA, WBC; Junior Ban- dredths if available. tamweight, IBF Identify events as two-man, 118 pounds — Bantamweight, four-man, men’s luge, women’s WBA, WBC, IBF luge. 122 pounds — Super Ban- Use a basic summary. Exam- tamweight, WBA, WBC, Junior ple: Featherweight, IBF Two-man — 1, Jim Smith and Dick Jones, Alaska Sled- 126 pounds — Featherweight, ders, 4:20.77.2, Tom Winner and Joe Finisher, Moun- WBA, WBC, IBF taineers, 4:31.14.3, etc. 130 pounds — Super Feather- weight, WBA, WBC; Junior Light- bowl games Capitalize weight, IBF them: Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, 135 pounds — Lightweight, Rose Bowl, etc. WBA, WBC, IBF 140 pounds — Super Light- bowling Scoring systems weight, WBA, WBC; Junior Wel- use both total points and won- lost records. terweight, IBF Use the basic summary format 147 pounds — Welterweight, in paragraph form. Note that a WBA, WBC, IBF comma is used in giving pinfalls 154 pounds — Super Welter- of more than 999. weight, WBA, WBC; Junior Mid- Examples: dleweight, IBF ST. LOUIS (AP) — Second-round leaders and their total 160 pounds — Middleweight, pinfalls in the $100,000 Professional Bowlers Association WBA, WBC, IBF tournament: 168 pounds — Super Mid- 1. Bill Spigner, Hamden, Conn., 2,820. dleweight, WBA, WBC, IBF 2. Gary Dickinson, Fort Worth, Texas, 2,759. 3. etc. 175 pounds — Light Heavy- ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The 24 match play finalists weight, WBA, WBC, IBF with their won-lost records and total pinfall Thursday night 190 pounds — Cruiser- after tour rounds — 26 games — of the $65,000 Alameda weight, WBA, WBC, IBF Open bowling tournament: More than 190 pounds — 1. Jay Robinson, Los Angeles, 5-3, 5,937. 2. Butch Soper, Huntington Beach, Calif., 3-5, 5,932. Heavyweight, WBA, WBC, IBF 3. etc. Some other terms:

boxing The three major kidney punch A punch to an sanctioning bodies for profession- opponent’s kidney when the al boxing are the World Boxing puncher has only one hand free. Association, the World Boxing An illegal punch. If the puncher Council and the International has both hands free, a punch to Boxing Federation. the opponent’s kidney is legal. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 293

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knock out (v.) knockout (n. Scoring by points system: and adj.) A fighter is knocked out Referee Tom Smith A 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 10 if he takes a 10-count. F 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 If a match ends early because Total — Ali 146, Frazier 143. one fighter is unable to continue, Judge Ralph Cohen say that the winner stopped the A 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 loser. In most boxing jurisdictions F 9 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 there is no such thing as a tech- Total — Ali 145, Frazier 143. nical knockout. box office (n.) box-office outpointed Not outdecisioned. (adj.)

rabbit punch A punch behind bullfight, bullfighter, an opponent’s neck. It is illegal. bullfighting

SUMMARIES: Use a match bullpen One word, for the summary. place where baseball pitchers Some examples, with the fight- warm up, and for a pen that ers weights after their names and holds cattle. the number of rounds at the end. Randy Jackson, 152, New York, outpointed Chuck James, 154, Philadelphia, 10. Muhammad Ali, 220, Chicago, knocked out Pierre Coopman, 202, Belgium, 5. George Foreman, 217, Hayward, Calif., stopped Joe C Frazier, 214, Philadelphia, 2. Canada goose Not Canadi- TALE OF THE TAPE: an goose. An example: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The tale of the tape canoeing Scoring is in min- for the Jean Pierre Coopman-Muhammad Ali world heavy- utes, seconds and tenths of a sec- weight championship fight Friday night: ond. Extend to hundredths if Coopman Ali available. Age 29 34 Weight 202 220 Use a basic summary. Example: Height 6-0 6-3 Canoeing, Men Reach 75 80 Kayak Singles, 500 meters Chest Normal 43 44 Heat 1 — Rudiger Helm, Germany, 1:56.06. 2. Zoltan Chest Expanded 45 1/2 46 Sztanity, Hungary, 1:57.12. 3. etc. Biceps 15 15 Also: 6. Henry Krawczyk, New York, 2 04.64. Forearm 13 13 1/2 First Repechage — 1, Ladislay Soucek, Czech Republic, Waist 34 1/2 34 1:53.20. 2. Hans Eich, Germany, 1:54.23. 3. etc. Thigh 25 1/2 26 Calf 15 17 coach Lowercase in all uses, Neck 17 17 1/2 as a job description, not a formal Wrist 7 1/2 8 title. See titles in main section. Fist 12 1/2 13 Ankle 9 9 1/2 collective nouns Nouns SCORING BY ROUNDS: that denote a unit take singular An example: verbs and pronouns: class, com- NEW YORK (AP) — Scorecards for the Muhammad Ali- mittee, crowd, family, group, herd, Joe Frazier heavyweight title fight Friday night: jury, orchestra, team. Scoring by rounds: However, team names such as Referee Tom Smith AAA FFF AAA AFA FFF — A8-7 Judge Bill Swift AAA FFF FFF AFA FFF — F10-5 the Jazz, the Magic, the Judge Ralph Cohen AAA FFF FFF FFF AFF — F11-4 Avalanche, take plural verbs. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 294

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Major College Basketball Conferences (Football affiliations, where different, are in parentheses.) AMERICA EAST — Albany, N.Y. (Northeast); Boston University (no program); Delaware (Atlantic 10); Drexel (no program); Hartford (no program); Hofstra (Atlantic 10); Maine (Atlantic 10); New Hampshire (Atlantic 10); Northeastern (Atlantic 10); Stony Brook (Northeast); Towson (Patriot); Vermont (no program). ATLANTIC 10 — Dayton (Pioneer League); Duquesne (Metro Atlantic); Fordham (Patriot League); George Wash- ington (no program); La Salle (Metro Atlantic); Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Richmond; St. Bonaventure (no program); St. Joseph’s (no program); Temple (Big East); Xavier (no program). ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE — Clemson; Duke; Florida State; Georgia Tech; Maryland; North Carolina; North Carolina State; Virginia; Wake Forest. BIG EAST CONFERENCE — Boston College; Connecticut (Division I-A Independent); Georgetown (Division I-AA In- dependent); Miami; Notre Dame (Division I-A Independent); Pittsburgh; Providence (no program); Rutgers; St. John's (Division I-AA Independent); Seton Hall (no program); Syracuse; Villanova (Atlantic 10); Virginia Tech; West Virginia. BIG SKY CONFERENCE — Eastern Washington; Idaho State; Montana; Montana State; Northern Arizona; Portland State; Sacramento State; Weber State. BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE — Charleston Southern (Division I-AA Independent); Coastal Carolina (no program); Elon (Division I-AA Independent); High Point (no program); Liberty (Division I-AA Independent); North Carolina- Asheville (no program); Radford (no program); Winthrop (no program). BIG TEN CONFERENCE — Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Michigan; Michigan State; Minnesota; Northwestern; Ohio State; Penn State; Purdue; Wisconsin. BIG 12 CONFERENCE — Baylor; Colorado; Iowa State; Kansas; Kansas State; Missouri; Nebraska; Oklahoma; Okla- homa State; Texas; Texas A&M; Texas Tech. BIG WEST CONFERENCE — Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (Division I-AA Independent); Cal State Fullerton (no program); Cal State Northridge; Idaho (Sun Belt); Long Beach State (no program); Pacific (no program); UC Irvine (no program); UC Riverside (no program); UC Santa Barbara (no program); Utah State (Division I-A Independent). COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION — American (no program); George Mason (no program); James Madison (At- lantic 10); North Carolina-Wilmington (no program); Old Dominion (no program); Virginia Commonwealth (no program); William & Mary (Atlantic 10). CONFERENCE USA — Alabama-Birmingham; Charlotte (no program); Cincinnati; DePaul (no program); East Caroli- na; Houston; Louisville; Marquette (no program); Memphis; Saint Louis (no program); South Florida (Division I-A Inde- pendent); Southern Mississippi; Texas Christian; Tulane. IVY LEAGUE — Brown; Columbia; Cornell; Dartmouth; Harvard; Pennsylvania; Princeton; Yale. METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE — Canisius; Fairfield; Iona; Loyola, Md. (no program); Manhattan (no program); Marist; Niagara (no program); Rider (no program); St. Peter’s; Siena. MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE — Akron; Ball State; Bowling Green; Buffalo; Central Michigan; Eastern Michigan; Kent State; Marshall; Miami (Ohio); Northern Illinois; Ohio; Toledo; Western Michigan. MID-CONTINENT CONFERENCEˆ Chicago State (no program); Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis (no program); Mis- souri-Kansas City (no program); Oakland, Mich. (no program); Oral Roberts (no program); Southern Utah (Division I-AA Independent); Valparaiso (Pioneer League); Western Illinois (Gateway Conference). MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE — Bethune-Cookman; Coppin State (no program); Delaware State; Flori- da A&M; Hampton; Howard; Maryland-Eastern Shore (no program); Morgan State; Norfolk State; North Carolina A&T; South Carolina State. MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE — Butler (Pioneer League); Cleveland State (no program); Detroit (no program); Illinois-Chicago (no program); Loyola Chicago (no program); Wisconsin-Green Bay (no program); Wisconsin- Milwaukee (no program); Wright State (no program); Youngstown State (Gateway Conference). MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE — Bradley (no program); Creighton (no program); Drake (Pioneer League); Evansville (no program); Illinois State (Gateway Conference); Indiana State (Gateway Conference); Northern Iowa (Gate- way Conference); Southern Illinois (Gateway Conference); Southwest Missouri State (Gateway Conference); Wichita State (no program). MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE — Air Force; Brigham Young; Colorado State; New Mexico; San Diego State; UNLV; Utah; Wyoming. NORTHEAST CONFERENCE — Central Connecticut State; Fairleigh Dickinson (no program); Long Island University (no program); Maryland-Baltimore County (no program); Monmouth, N.J.; Mount St. Mary’s, Md. (no program); Quin- nipiac (no program); Robert Morris; Sacred Heart; St. Francis, N.Y. (no program); St. Francis, Pa.; Wagner. OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE — Austin Peay (Pioneer League); Eastern Illinois; Eastern Kentucky; Morehead State (Pioneer League); Murray State; Southeast Missouri; Tennessee-Martin; Tennessee State; Tennessee Tech. PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE — Arizona; Arizona State; California; Oregon; Oregon State; Southern California; Stan- ford; UCLA; Washington; Washington State. PATRIOT LEAGUE — Army (Conference USA); Bucknell; Colgate; Holy Cross; Lafayette; Lehigh; Navy (Division I-A Independent). SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE — Alabama; Arkansas; Auburn; Florida; Georgia; Kentucky; LSU; Mississippi; Mis- sissippi State; South Carolina; Tennessee; Vanderbilt. SOUTHERN CONFERENCE — Appalachian State; Chattanooga; College of Charleston; Davidson; East Tennessee State; Furman; Georgia Southern; North Carolina-Greensboro; The Citadel; VMI; Western Carolina; Wofford. SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE — Lamar; Louisiana-Monroe; McNeese State; Nicholls State; Northwestern State; Sam Houston State; Southeastern Louisiana; Southwest Texas; Stephen F. Austin; Texas-Arlington; Texas-San Antonio. SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE — Alabama A&M; Alabama State; Alcorn State; Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Grambling State; Jackson State; Mississippi Valley State; Prairie View; Southern University; Texas Southern. SUN BELT CONFERENCE — Arkansas-Little Rock (no program); Arkansas State; Denver (no program); Florida Inter- national (no program); Louisiana Tech; Louisiana-Lafayette; Middle Tennessee; New Mexico State; New Orleans; North Texas; Western Kentucky (Gateway Conference). TRANS AMERICA ATHLETIC CONFERENCE — Campbell (no program); Central Florida; Florida Atlantic (no program); Georgia State (no program); Jacksonville; Jacksonville State; Mercer (no program); Samford; Stetson (no program); Troy State. WEST COAST CONFERENCE — Gonzaga (no program); Loyola Marymount (no program); Pepperdine (no program); Portland (no program); St. Mary's, Calif. (Division I-AA Independent); San Diego (Pioneer League); San Francisco (no program); Santa Clara (no program). WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE — Boise State; Fresno State; Hawaii; Nevada; Rice; San Jose State; Southern Methodist; Texas-El Paso; Tulsa. INDEPENDENTS — Belmont (no program); Centenary (no program); Texas-Pan American (no program); Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (no program). 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 295

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colt A male horse 4 years and competition; on the last day, first under. names are included only in the first event and in the summary conferences A listing of denoting final placings. major college basketball confer- Use the basic summary for- ences is on the previous page. mat. Include all entrants in sum- (Football affiliations, where differ- maries of each of the 10 events. ent, are in parentheses.) An example for individual events: courtesy titles On sports Decathlon wires, do not use courtesy titles (Group A) in any reference unless needed to 100-meter dash — 1. Fred Dixon, Los Angeles, 10.8 seconds, 854 points. 2. Bruce Jenner, San Jose State, 11:09, distinguish among those of the 783. 3. etc. same last name. See courtesy ti- Long jump — 1. Dixon, 24-7 (7.34m), 889, 1,743. 2. tles in main section. Jenner, 23-6 (7.17m), 855, 1,638. 3. etc. Decathlon final — 1. Bruce Jenner, San Jose State, cross country No hyphen, 8,524 points. 2. Fred Dixon, Los Angeles, 8,277. 3. etc. an exception to Webster’s New World based on the practices of discus The disc thrown in U.S. and international governing track and field events. bodies for the sport. Scoring for this track event is diving Use a basic summary. in minutes, seconds and tenths of See skating, figure for the a second. Extended to hun- style on compulsory dives. dredths if available. National AAU Championship Cross Country Frank Shorter, Miami, 5:25.67; 2. Tom Coster, Los An- geles, 5:30.72; 3. etc. E Adapt the basic summary to ERA Acceptable in all refer- paragraph form under a dateline ences to baseball’s earned run av- for a field of more than 10 com- erage. petitors. See the auto racing and bowling entries for examples.

cycling Use the basic summary format. F fencing Identify epee, foil and saber classes as: men’s individual foil, women’s team foil, etc. D Use match summary for early decathlon Summaries in- rounds of major events, for lesser clude time or distance perfor- dual meets and for tournaments. mance, points earned in that Use basic summary for final event and the cumulative total of results of major championships. points earned in previous events. For major events, where com- Contestants are listed in the petitors meet in a round-robin and are divided into pools, use order of their overall point totals. this form: First name and hometown (or na- Epee, first round (four qualify for semi-finals) Pool 1 tion) are included only on the first — Joe Smith, Springfield, Mass., 4-1. Enrique Lopez, Chile, and last events on the first day of 3-2. etc. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 296

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figure skating See skating, Abbreviate team names to four figure for guidelines on the sum- letters or fewer on the scoring mary form. and statistical lines as illustrated. The passing line shows, in filly A female horse under the order: completions-attempts-had age of 5. intercepted. A sample agate package: football The spellings of Birmingham-Houston, Stats some frequently used words and Birmingham 7 16 0 6 29 Houston 14 7 0 6 27 phrases: ball carrier lineman First Quarter ballclub line of scrimmage Hou — Harrell 23 pass from Dillon (Fritsch kick), 1:00 blitz (n., v.) out of bounds (adv.) Bir — Jones 11 run with lateral after Mason 12 pass end line out-of-bounds (adj.) from Stoudt (Miller kick), 5:57 end zone pitchout (n.) Hou — Harrell 6 run (Fritsch kick), 8:07 fair catch place kick Second Quarter field goal place-kicker Bir — FG Miller 47, 1:13 fourth-and-one (adj.) play off (v.) Bir — Caruth 6 run (Miller kick), 5:49 fullback playoff (n., adj.) Hou — Johnson 36 pass from Dillon (Fritsch kick), goal line quarterback 12:12 goal-line stand runback (n.) Bir — FG Miller 43, 14:33 halfback running back Fourth Quarter halftime split end Bir — FG Miller 20, 3:42 handoff tailback Bir — Stoudt 1 run (kick failed), 9:09 kick off (v.) tight end Hou — Dillon 8 run (pass failed), 13:58 kickoff (adj.) touchback A — 13,202 left guard touchdown linebacker wide receiver Bir Hou First downs 21 15 NUMBERS: Use figures for Rushes-yards 46-209 12-70 Passing yards 109 260 yardage: The 5-yard line, the 10- Return yards 75 112 yard line, a 5-yard pass play, he Comp-Att 13-24-0 17-33-2 plunged in from the 2, he ran 6 Sacked-Yards Lost 4-23 2-24 yards, a 7-yard gain. But: a Punts 3-38 3-41 fourth-and-two play. Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-0 Some other uses of numbers: Penalties-yards 3-25 12-69 The final score was 21-14. The Time of Possession 35:57 24:03 team won its fourth game in 10 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS starts. The team record is 4-5-1. RUSHING—Birmingham, Caruth 23-84, Coles 14-59, Stoudt 8-50, Gant 1-5. Houston, Harrell, 4-34, Fowler 5-26, LEAGUE: National Football Dillon 3-10. League, or NFL. PASSING—Birmingham, Stoudt 13-24-0 133. Houston, Dillon 17- 33-2 283. STATISTICS: All football RECEIVING—Birmingham, Toler 4-53, Jones 3-15, Mc- Faddon 2-38, Coles 2-12, Mason, 1-12, Caruth 1-4. Houston, games, whether using the one- or Johnson 5-108, McGee 3-59, McNeil 3-36, 2-27, Sanders 3- two-point conversion, use the 29. Verdin 1-24. same summary style. MISSED FIELD GOALS—Houston, Fritsch 32. The visiting team always is listed first. The rushing and receiving Field goals are measured from paragraph for individual leaders the point where the ball was shows attempts and yardage kicked — not the line of scrim- gained. The passing paragraph mage. The goal posts are 10 yards shows completions, attempts, behind the goal lines. Include number of attempts intercepted, that distance. and total yards gained. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 297

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STANDINGS: The form for pro- hole in one (no hyphens) fessional standings: Masters, Masters Tourna- American Conference ment No possessive. Use the Mas- East W L T Pct. PF PA ters on second reference. Baltimore 10 4 0 .714 395 269 New England 9 5 0 .643 387 275 Etc. tee, tee off

The form for college confer- U.S. Open Championship Use ence standings: the U.S. Open or the Open on sec- Conference All games ond reference. WL TPts. OP W L T Pts. OP NUMBERS: Some sample uses UCLA 6 1 0 215 123 8 2 1 326 233 of numbers: Etc. Use figures for handicaps: He has a 3 handicap; a 3-handicap In college conference stand- golfer, a handicap of 3 strokes; a ings, limit team names to nine 3-stroke handicap. letters or fewer. Abbreviate as Use figures for par listings: He necessary. had a par 5 to finish 2-up for the round, a par-4 hole; a 7-under-par fractions Put a full space be- 64, the par-3 seventh hole. tween the whole number and the Use figures for club ratings: a fraction. Do not separate with a No. 5 iron, a 5-iron, a 7-iron shot, thin symbol. a 4-wood. Miscellaneous: the first hole, the ninth hole, the 10th hole, the back nine, the final 18, the third round. He won 3 and 2. G ASSOCIATIONS: Professional game plan Golfers’ Association of America (note the apostrophe) or PGA. gelding A castrated male Headquarters is in Palm Beach horse. Gardens, Fla. Members teach golf at golf shops and teaching facili- golf Some frequently used ties across the country. terms and some definitions: The PGA Tour is a separate organization made up of competing Americas Cup No possessive. professional golfers. Use tour (lowercase) on second reference. birdie, birdies One stroke The PGA conducts the PGA under par. Championship, the PGA Seniors’ Championship, and the Ryder bogey, bogeys One stroke Cup matches as well as other golf over par. The past tense is bo- championships not associated geyed. with the PGA Tour. The Ladies Professional Golf caddie Association (no apostrophe, in keeping with LPGA practice) or eagle Two strokes under par. LPGA. SUMMARIES — Stroke (Medal) fairway Play: List scores in ascending 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 298

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order. Use a dash before the final Football League’s championship figure, hyphens between others. game. On the first day, use the player’s score for the first nine holes, Gulfstream Park The race- a hyphen, the player’s score for track. the second nine holes, a dash and the player’s total for the day: First round: gymnastics Scoring is by Jack Nicklaus 35-35 — 70 points. Identify events by name: Johnny Miller 36-35 — 71 sidehorse, horizontal bars, etc. Etc. Use a basic summary. Exam- On subsequent days, give the ple: player’s scores for each day, then Sidehorse — 1. John Leaper, Penn State, 8.8 points. 2. the total for all rounds completed: Jo Jumper, Ohio State, 7.9. 3. Etc. Second round: Jack Nicklaus 70-70 — 140 Johnny Miller 71-70 — 141 Etc. Final round, professional tournaments, including prize money: H Jack Nicklaus, $30,000 70-70-70-68 — 278 Johnny Miller, $17,500 71-70-70-69 — 280 halfback Use hometowns, if ordered, handball Games are won by only on national championship the first player to score 21 points amateur tournaments. Use home or, in the case of a tie breaker, 11 countries, if ordered, only on major international events such points. Most matches go to the as the British Open. If used, the first winner of two games. hometown or country is placed on Use a match summary. Exam- a second line, indented one ple: space. Bob Richards, Yale, def. Paul Johnson, Dartmouth, 21- Arnold Palmer 70-69-68-70—277 18, 21-19. United States Tom Brenna, Massachusetts, def. Bill Stevens, Michi- Tony Jacklin 71-70-70-70—281 gan, 21-19, 17-21, 21-20. England handicaps Use figures, hy- The form for cards: phenating adjectival forms before Par out 444 343 544-35 Watson out 454 333 435-34 a noun: He has a 3 handicap, he Nicklaus out 434 243 544-33 is a 3-handicap golfer, a handicap Par in 434 443 454-35 — 70 of 3 strokes, a 3-stroke handicap. Watson in 434 342 443-31 — 65 Nicklaus in 433 443 453-33 — 66 hit and run (v.) hit-and- run (n. and adj.) The coach told SUMMARIES — Match Play: In the first example that follows, the him to hit and run. He scored on a and 1 means that the 18th hole hit-and-run. She was struck by a was skipped because Nicklaus hit-and-run driver. had a 2-hole lead after 17. In the second, the match went 18 holes. hockey The spellings of some In the third, a 19th hole was frequently used words: played because the golfers were blue line play off (v.) tied after 18. crease playoff (n., adj.) Jack Nicklaus def. Lee Trevino, 2 and 1. face off (v.) power play Sam Snead def. Ben Hogan, 2-up. faceoff (n., adj.) power-play goal Rachel Teske def. Ikuyo Shiotani, 19 holes. goalie red line goal line short-handed Grey Cup The Canadian goal post slap shot 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 299

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goaltender two-on-one break STANDINGS: The form: penalty box Eastern Conference The term hat trick applies Atlantic Division WLTPts. GF GA when a player has scored three Philadelphia 47 10 14 108 314 184 goals in a game. Use it sparingly, NY Islanders 45 17 9 99 310 192 however. Etc. LEAGUE: National Hockey League or NHL. horse races Capitalize their For NHL subdivisions: the Cen- formal names: Kentucky Derby, tral Division of the Western Con- Preakness, Belmont Stakes, etc. ference, the division, the conference, etc. horse racing Some frequently used terms and their defini- SUMMARIES: The visiting tions: team always is listed first in the score by periods. broodmare A female horse Note that each goal is num- used for breeding. bered according to its sequence in the game. bug boy An apprentice jockey, The figure after the name of a so-called because of the asterisk scoring player shows his total beside the individual’s name in a goals for the season. program. It means that the jock- Names in parentheses are ey’s mount gets a weight al- players credited with an assist on lowance. a goal. The final figure in the listing of colt A male horse 4 years old each goal is the number of min- and under. utes elapsed in the period when the goal was scored. entry Two or more horses Philadelphia 3 0 0 — 3 owned by same owner running as Edmonton 2 2 1 — 5 a single betting interest. In some First period — 1, Philadelphia, Rick Sutter 1 (Ron Sut- ter, Smith),:46. 2, Edmonton, Coffey 10 (Huddy, Kurri), 4:22 states two or more horses trained (pp). 3, Philadelphia, Bergen 4 (Zezel, Crossman), 6:38 (pp). by same person but having differ- 4, Philadelphia, Craven 4 (Smith, Marsh), 11:32 (sh). 5, Ed- ent owners also are coupled in monton, Huddy 3 (Coffey, Kurri), 18:23 (pp). Penalties — betting. Poulin, Phi (high-sticking), 3:31; Hughes, Edm (high-stock- ing), 5:17; Messier, Edm (slashing), 5:59; Crossman, Phi, filly A female horse under the double minor (holding-unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:32; Hospodar, Phi (slashing), 16:38. age of 5. Second period — 6, Edmondton, Anderson 10,:21. 7, Edmonton, Gretzky 15 (Coffey, Huddy), 12:53 (pp). Penal- furlong One-eighth of a mile. ties —Tocchet, Phi (roughing),:48; Fogolin, Edm (rough- Race distances are given in fur- ing),:48; Paterson, Phi (hooking), 12:11; Allison, Phi (slash- longs up through seven furlongs, ing), 17:39; Hunter, Edm (roughing),17:39; Lowe, Edm after that in miles, as in one-mile, (holding), 18:02; Crossman, Phi (holding), 19:07; Hunter, Edm (holding), 20:00. 1/1-16 miles. Third Period — 8 Edmonton, Gretzky 16 (Messier, An- derson), 3:422 (pp). Penalties — Hospodar, Phi (hooking), gelding A castrated male 2:46; Hunter, Edm (kneeing), 7:58. horse. Shots on goal — Philadelphia 10-6-7 23. Edmonton 10-12-1 32. half-mile pole The pole on a Penalty shots — Ron Sutter, Phi, 8:47 1st (missed). racetrack that marks one-half Goalies — Philadelphia, Lindbergh at 8:56 2nd; re-entered at start of 3rd, 10-9) Edmonton, Fuhr (23-20). A — mile from the finish. All distances 17,498. Referee — Kerry Fraser. are measured from the finish line, 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 300

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meaning that when a horse reaches the quarter pole, he is one-quarter mile from the finish. J judo Use the basic summary horse A male horse over 4 format by weight divisions for years old. major tournaments; use the match summary for dual and mare A female horse 5 years lesser meets. and older.

mutuel field Not mutual field. Two or more horses, long shots, that have different owners and K trainers. They are coupled as a Kentucky Derby The Derby single betting interest to give the on second reference. An exception field not more than 12 wagering to normal second-reference prac- interests. There cannot be more tice. Plural is Derbies. than 12 betting interests in a See capitalization in main race. The bettor wins if either section. horse finishes in the money.

stallion A male horse used for breeding. L horses’ names Capitalize. lacrosse Scoring in goals, See animals in main section. worth one point each. The playing field is 110 yards long. The goals are 80 yards apart, with 15 yards of playing I area behind each goal. A match consists of four 15- IC4A See Intercollegiate As- minute periods. Overtimes of sociation of Amateur Athletes varying lengths may be played to of America. break a tie. Adapt the summary format in indoor (adj.) indoors (adv.) hockey. He plays indoor tennis. He went Ladies Professional Golf indoors. Association No apostrophe Intercollegiate Associa- after Ladies. In general, spell out on first reference. tion of Amateur Athletes of A phrase such as LPGA tourna- America In general, spell out on ment may be used on first refer- first reference. ence to avoid a cumbersome lead. A phrase such as IC4A tourna- If this is done, provide the full ment may be used on first refer- name later in the story. ence, however, to avoid a cumbersome lead. If this is done, provide left hand (n.) left-handed the full name later in the story. (adj.) left-hander (n.) 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 301

SPORTS GUIDELINES — 301 M N marathon Use the formats National Association for illustrated in the cross country Stock Car Auto Racing Or and track and field entries. NASCAR. mare A female horse 5 years National Collegiate Ath- and older. letic Association Or NCAA.

match summary This for- numerals See the main sec- mat for summarizing sports tion on general use and entries events applies to one vs. one con- on betting odds, handicaps and tests such as tennis, match play scores. golf, etc. Give a competitor’s name, followed either by a hometown or by a college or club affiliation. For competitors from outside the O United States, a country name alone is sufficient in summaries odds See betting odds. sent for domestic use. Jimmy Connors, Belleville, Ill., def. Manuel Orantes, offseason (no hyphen) Spain, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. Olympics Capitalize all refer- metric system See main ences to the international athletic section. contests: the Olympics, the Winter Olympics, the Olympic Games, an motor sports (two words Olympic-size pool. unless different in the official Lowercase the games in sec- name of an event) ond refenence. motorboat racing Scoring may be posted in miles per hour, points or laps, depending on the competition. P In general, use the basic summary format. For some major pingpong A synonym for events, adapt the basic summary table tennis. to paragraph form under a date- The trademark name is Ping- line. See the auto racing entry Pong. for an example. play off (v.) playoff, play- motorcycle racing Follow offs (n. and adj.) The noun and the formats shown under auto adjective forms are exceptions to racing. Webster’s New World Dictionary, in keeping with widespread practice in the sports world.

postseason, preseason No hyphen. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 302

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the golfer had a 5 on the first hole but finished with a 2-under-par R score. Use a comma in this format: racket Not racquet, for the Boston 6, Baltimore 5 light bat used in tennis and bad- . minton. See individual listings for each sport for further details. racquetball Amateur games are played to 15 points in a best- skating, figure Scoring in- of-three match. Professional cludes both ordinals and points. matches are played to 11 points, Use a basic summary. Exam- unless it is necessary to continue ples: until one player has a two-point Men (After 3 compulsory figures) spread. Most matches go to the Sergei Volkov, Russia, 19-5 ordinals, 44.76 points. 2, winner of three of five games. John Curry, Britain, 21.5, 44.96. 3, Etc. Use a match summary. Women’s Final Dorothy Hamill, Riverside, Conn., 9.0 ordinals, 215 record Avoid the redundant points; 2, Dianne de Leeuw, Netherlands, 20.0, 236; 3, Etc. new record. skating, speed Scoring is in right hand (n.) right- minutes, seconds and tenths of a handed (adj.) right-hander second. Extend to hundredths if (n.) available. Use a basic summary. rodeo Use the basic summary format by classes, listing skiing Identify events as: points. men’s downhill, women’s slalom, cross-country (note hyphen), etc. rowing Scoring is in min- In ski jumping, note style where utes, seconds and tenths of a sec- two jumps and points are posted. ond. Extend to hundredths if Use a basic summary. Exam- available. ple: Use a basic summary. An ex- 90-meter special jumping — 1, Karl Schnabel, Austria, ample, for a major event where 320 and 318 feet, 234.8 points. 2, Toni Innauer, Austria, qualifying heats are required: 377-299, 232.9. 3, Etc. Also; 27, Bob Smith, Hanover, N.H., Single Sculls Heats (first two in each heat qualify for 312-280, 201. 29, Etc. Monday’s quarterfinals, losers go to repechage Friday): Heat 1 — 1, Peter Smith, Australia, 4:24.7. 2. Etc. Heat 2 — ski, skis, skier, skied, ski- 1, John Jones, Canada, 4:26.3. 72, Etc. ing Also: ski jump, ski jumping.

runner-up, runners-up soccer The spellings of some frequently used words and phrases: AFC (Asian Football Confeder- S ation) Bundesliga (German League scores Use figures exclusive- first division) ly, placing a hyphen between the CAF (Confederation Africaine totals of the winning and losing de Football; refer to as the gov- teams: The Reds defeated the Red erning body of African soccer Sox 4-3, the Giants scored a 12-6 rather than spelling out French football victory over the Cardinals, acronym) 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 303

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Champions League Second half — 3, Italy, own goal, 88th minute. 4, Italy, coach (also known as manager R. Baggio 6 (D. Baggio), 90th minute. First overtime — None. on British teams and technical di- Second overtime — None. rector on some Latin American Penalty kicks — France 4 (Zidane G, Lizarazu NG, teams) Trezeguet G, Henry G, Blanc G); Italy 3 (Baggio G, Albertini CONCACAF (Confederation of NG, Costacurta G, Vieri G, Di Biagio NG). North and Central American and Yellow Cards — Italy, Del Piero, 26th minute; Bergo- Caribbean Football — use full mi, 28th; Rostacurta, 113th. France, Guivarc’h, 53rd minute; name somewhere in story) Deschamps, 63rd. Referee — Dallas (Scotland). Linesmen — Grigorescu CONMEBOL (Confederacion (Romania), Sudamerica de Futbol; refer to as Warren (England). South America’s governing body A —77,000 rather than spelling out Spanish Lineups acronym) Italy — Gianluca Pagliuca; Giuseppe Bergomi, Fabio Cup Winners Cup Cannavaro, Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Maldini; Francesco Moriero, Dino Baggio (Demetrio Albertini, 52nd), FIFA (Federation International Luigi Di Biagio, Gianluca Pessotto (Angelo Di Livio, 90th); de Football Association, FIFA ac- Christian Vieri, Alessandro Del Piero (Roberto Baggio, ceptable as first reference, refer to 67th). as the international soccer foot- France — Fabien Barthez; Lilian Thuram, Laurent ball governing body rather than Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Bixente Lizarazu; Didier Deschamps, spelling out French acronym) Emmanuel Petit, Zinedine Zidane, Christian Karembeu forward (striker for interna- (Thierry Henry, 65th); Stephane Guivarc’h (David Trezeguet, 65th), Youri Djorkaeff. tional wires) friendly (use exhibition game Lineup order is goalkeepers, on U.S. wires) defenders, midfielders, forwards. goalkeeper (goalie is accept- Separate the different posi- able but goaltender is not) tions with semicolons and the midfielder players within a position with MLS (Major League Soccer, commas. MLS acceptable on first reference) STANDINGS: The form for U.S. OFC (Oceania Football Confed- wires: eration) Italian League offside At A Glance penalty area (sometimes By The Associated Press penalty box — do not refer to All Times EST solely as box on U.S. wires) Division One Team W L T G A Pts Serie A (Italian League first di- Fiorentina 12 4 2 34 18 38 vision) Lazio of 10 3 5 37 20 35 sideline (touchline for interna- Sunday’s Games= tional wires) Bologna 2, AC Milan 3 UEFA (Union of European Internazionale of Milan 5, Cagliari 1 Football Associations) Juventus of Turin 2, Perugia 1 Sunday, Jan. 31 In summaries and key lines for Lazio of Rome at Bari, 8:30 a.m. international wires, the home Juventus of Turin at Cagliari, 8:30 a.m. team is listed first; on U.S. wires, Vicenza at Fiorentina, 8:30 a.m. the visiting team is listed first SUMMARY: The form for international At Saint-Denis, France wires: Italy 0 2 — 2 Scores and standings move in France 2 0 — 2 separate files. (France won 4-3 on penalty kicks) First half — 1, France, Zidane 4 (Djorkaeff), 12th Schedule has times GMT in- minute. 2, France, Deschamps (penalty kick), 45th minute. stead of EST or EDT. 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 304

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Schedule lists home teams ence. Condense to men’s 440 first. relay, women’s 100 backstroke on Sunday, Jan. 31 second reference. Bari vs. Lazio of Rome, 0130 See the track and field entry Cagliari vs. Juventus of Turin, 0130 Fiorentina vs. Vicenza, 0130 for the style on relay teams and events where a record is broken Standings have a different Use a basic summary. Exam- style, starting with GP (games ples, where qualifying heats are played), changing header from T required: (ties) to D (draws) and putting Men’s 200-meter Backstroke Heats (fastest eight qual- draws between wins and losses ify for final Saturday night) heat 1 — 1, John Naber, USC, instead of after. 2:03.25; 2, Zoltan Verraszio, Hungary, 2:03.50; 3. Etc. Italian League Standings By The Associated Press For diving events, adapt the Division One skating, figure entry. Team GP W D L GF GA Pts Fiorentina 18 12 4 2 34 18 38 Lazio of Rome 18 10 3 5 37 20 35

sports editor Capitalize as a T formal title before a name. See titles in main section. table tennis See pingpong.

sports sponsorship If the tennis The scoring units are sponsor‚s name is part of the points, games, sets and matches. sports event, such as Pepsi 500 A player wins a point if his op- or Buick Open, use the name in ponent fails to return the ball, the title. If there is a previously hits it into the net or hits it out of established name commonly ac- bounds. A player also wins a cepted for the event — Orange point if his opponent is serving Bowl, Sugar Bowl — use that and fails to put the ball into play name even if it currently has a after two attempts (double faults, corporate sponsor. Orange Bowl, in tennis terms). not FedEx Orange Bowl. However, A player must win four points mention the sponsor in an edi- to win a game. In tennis scoring, tor’s note at the end of the copy: both players begin at love, or zero, and advance to 15, 30, 40 Eds: The event is sponsored and game. (The numbers 15, 30 by FedEx. and 40 have no point value as such — they are simply tennis stadium, stadiums Capi- terminology for 1 point, 2 points talize only when part of a proper and 3 points.) The server’s score name: Yankee Stadium. always is called out first. If a game is tied at 40-all, or deuce, swimming Scoring is in play continues until one player minutes, if appropriate, seconds has a two-point margin. and tenths of a second. Extend to A set is won if a player wins hundredths if available. six games before his opponent Most events are measured in has won five. If a set becomes tied metric units. at five games apiece, it goes to the Identify events as men’s 440- first player to win seven games. If meter relay, women’s 100-meter two players who were tied at five backstroke, etc., on first refer- games apiece also tie at six games 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 305

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apiece, they normally play a tenths of a second. Use progres- tiebreaker — a game that goes to sions such as 6.0 seconds, 9.4, the first player to win seven 10.1, etc. Extend times to hun- points. In some cases, however, dredths, if available: 9.45. the rules call for a player to win In running events, the first by two games. event should be spelled out, as in A match may be either a best- men’s 100-meter dash. Later ref- of-three contest that goes to the erences can be condensed to first player or team to win two phrases such as the 200, the 400, sets, or a best-of-five contest that etc. goes to the first player or team to For hurdle and relay events, win three sets. the progression can be: 100-meter Set scores would be reported hurdles, 200 hurdles, etc. this way: Chris Evert Lloyd defeat- For field events — those that ed Sue Barker 6-0, 3-6, 6-4. Indi- do not involve running — use cate tiebreakers in parentheses these forms: 26 1/2 for 26 feet, after the set score, using only the one-half inch; 25-10 1/2 for 25 lower number: 7-6, (9) feet, 10 1/2 inches, etc. In general, use a basic sum- SUMMARIES: Winners always mary. For the style when a record is broken, note the mile event in are listed first in agate sum- the example below. For the style maries. An example: in listing relay teams, note 1,000- Men’s Singles meter relay. First Round 60-yard dash — 1, Steve Williams, Florida TC, 6.0 2, Jimmy Connors, Belleville, Ill., def. Manuel Orantes, Hasley Crawford, Philadelphia Pioneer, 6.2 3, Mike McFar- Spain, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. land, Chicago TC. 6.2 3. Etc. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, def. Jim Green, New York (de- 100 — 1, Steve Williams, Florida TC 10.1. 2. Etc. fault). Mile — 1, Filbert Bayi, Tanzania, 3:55.1, meet record, Arthur Ashe, New York, def. James Peters, Chicago, 6- old record 3:59, Jim Beatty, Los Angeles TC. Feb. 27, 1963; 3, 4-3 (retired). 2. Paul Cummings, Beverly Hills TC. 3:56.1; 3, Etc. Women’s 880 — 1, Johanna Forman, Falmouth TC. track and field Scoring is in 2:07.9. 2. Etc. distance or time, depending on 1,600-meter relay — 1, St. John’s, Jon Kennedy, Doug the event. Johnson, Gary Gordon, Ordner Emanuel, 3:21.9. 2. Brown, Most events are measured in 3:23.5. 3. Fordham, 3:24.1. 4. Etc. Team scoring — Chicago TC 32. Philadelphia Pioneer metric units. For those meets 29, Etc. that include feet, make sure the Where qualifying heats are re- measurement is clearly stated, as quired: in men’s 100-meter dash, Men’s 100-meter heats (first two in each heat qualify women’s 880-yard run, etc. for Friday’s semifinals): Heat 1 — 1, Steve Williams, Florida For time events, spell out min- TC. 10.1. 2. Etc. utes and seconds on first reference, as in 3 minutes, 26.1 seconds. Subsequent times in stories and all times in agate require a V colon and decimal point: 3:34.4. For a marathon, it would be 2 volleyball Games are won hours, 11 minutes, 5.01 seconds by the first team to score 15 on first reference then the form points, unless it is necessary to 2:12:4.06 for later listings. continue until one team has a Do not use a colon before two-point spread. times given only in seconds and 295-316_SPORTS.qrk 3/3/03 10:24 AM Page 306

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Use a match summary. Exam- ple: National AAU Men’s Volleyball Y First Round New York AC def. Illinois AC 15-7, 12-15, 19-17. yachting Use a basic sum- Vesper Boat Club, Philadelphia, def. Harvard 15-7, 15-8. mary, identifying events by classes. volley, volleys yard Equal to 3 feet. The metric equivalent is approximately 0.91 meter. To convert to meters, multiply W by 0.91 (5 yards x 0.91 = 4.55 water polo Scoring is by meters). goals. List team scores. Example: See foot; meter; and dis- World Water Polo Championship tances. First Round United States 7, Canada 1 yard lines Use figures to in- Britain 5, France 3 dicate the dividing lines on a foot- Etc. bal field and distance traveled: 4- yard line, 40-yard line, he plunged water skiing Scoring is in in from the 2, he ran 6 yards, a 7- points. Use a basic summary. Ex- yard gain. ample: World Water Skiing Championships Men yearling An animal 1 year Overall — 1, George Jones, Canada, 1,987 points. 2, old or in its second year. The Phil Brown, Britain, 1,756. 3, Etc. birthdays of all thoroughbred Slalom — 1, George Jones, Canada, 73 buoys (two horses arbitrarily are set at Jan. rounds). 2, Etc. 1. On that date, any foal born in the preceding year is reckoned 1 weightlifting Identify year old. events by weight classes. Where both pounds and kilograms are available, use both figures with kilograms in parentheses, as shown in the examples. Use a basic summary. Exam- ple: Flyweight (114.5 lbs.) — 1, Zygmont Smalcerz, Poland, 744 pounds (337.5 kg). 2, Lajos Szuecs, Hungary, 728 (330 kg). 3, Etc.

World Series Or the Series on second reference. A rare exception to the general principles under capitalization.

wrestling Identify events by weight division. BUSINESS GUIDELINES BUSINESS BUSINESS AND STYLE AND GUIDELINES 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 307 Page 1:32 PM 3/1/03 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 308

308 — BUSINESS GUIDELINES BUSINESS GUIDELINES AND STYLE This section of the Stylebook is designed to help AP reporters cover business and economic news accurately and clearly. It includes an explanation of how to write one of the most common business stories, the quarterly earnings report issued by all publicly held corporations. And there are alphabetical definitions of business and economic terms and jargon. A word of caution. As with any specialty, technical terms and economic argot permeate the business world. Avoid jargon. Define technical terms. Do not assume your reader knows their meaning. Stories about corporations, business executives and economic trends increasingly are spreading beyond the business pages. We must cover these stories so they can be understood by the general public.

Covering Corporate Earnings Reports Federal law requires all corporations whose stock is publicly traded to report revenues and profits or losses each three months in an income statement. This is what business is all about, whether a corporation made money or lost it, and why. These statements are usually released on the major public relations wire services, PR Newswire or Business Wire, during an earnings “season,” a three- or four-week period that begins roughly two weeks after the end of each quarter. Each of these stories should include certain basic information. The lead should tell the reader what the company does, if it is not a household word, and should give the increase or decline of profits, either in percentage or absolute terms, along with the reason. Profits are synonymous with income and earnings. The story should also include the company’s revenues, which is sometimes called sales. Comparisons of profits or losses and revenues/sales should be made with the same period a year earlier. For example, the third quarter of this year compared with the third quarter of last year. This reduces season- able variations that affect many businesses. Another important figure to include is earnings-per-share, which is simply the profit divided by the number of shares of stock outstanding. Company statements often express this figure as “primary” or “basic” and “fully diluted.” AP uses “fully diluted” as a more meaningful figure. Earn- ings per share is used by analysts to compare companies. Finally, include the year-to-date figures for all of the above. The only quarter when this isn’t done is the first quarter. Include comments on the corporation’s performance from the chief executive or outside analysts, and any background that puts the performance in perspective. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 309

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Note: AP has traditionally focused such stories on “net” earnings, which are the profits left over after all expenses have been paid. But in recent years, Wall Street analysts have been much more concerned with operating earnings, which are net earnings excluding one-time “extraordinary” gains or charges which distract from the performance of the core business. Operating earnings may exclude the costs of a big reorganization, such as severance payments to laid-off workers or penalties for breaking leases on factories that are closed. They also exclude things like taxes and interest. Operating earnings per share is a key measure for Wall Street securities analysts. Here’s why, weeks before the earnings reports, analysts issue predictions for this figure, and these predictions are compiled into a “consensus” figure by research companies such as First Call/Thompson Finan- cial. On the day of the report, investors compare the consensus prediction for operating earnings per share with the actual number and the stock price often moves up or down based on whether the company meets, fails to meet or exceeds expectations. When AP says in a story “Company X’s performance beat Wall Street analysts’ predictions,” this is the number we’re referring to. Caution: Before you report on a company’s earnings expectations, con- firm both the consensus prediction for operating earnings per share and actual operating earnings per share with an analyst. That’s because the operating earnings per share is not a precise accounting term and can vary from company to company. If a company has no extraordinary events, operating earnings and net earnings can be identical. “Operating earnings” is sometimes confused with “earnings from continuing operations.” Continuing operations is a subset of operations. It refers to business units that existed in the past and will exist in the future. It excludes “discontinued operations” which represent businesses that have been sold or shut down in the past year. Companies often downplay earnings of these operations since they are no longer relevant to future profits. If extraordinary charges or gains weigh so heavily on the results that using net earnings in the lead would ignore the news, you do not have to do so. In this case, operating earnings will be the more important number and may be used in the lead.

Not good: XYZ Data Co.’s net profits grew 864 percent in the fourth quarter due largely to the costs of its purchase a year ago of the International Widget Co. Excluding the acquisition costs, XYZ earnings rose a modest 8 percent.

Better: XYZ Data Co.’s profits rose a modest 8 percent in the fourth quarter, excluding a big corporate acquisition a year ago, thanks to a boost in sales of its new line of hand-held computers. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 310

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The company earned $100 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with $92.5 million, or 8 cents a share, a year ago, excluding the cost of the November 1997 purchase of International Widget Co. When the purchase costs are added, XYZ’s net income for the fourth quarter of 1997 was just $10.37 million.

The most immediate reaction to a financial report is the movement of the company’s stock. This should be included in our earnings stories. Major factors that influence a stock price: 1. Did the company meet, exceed or miss analyst predictions? 2. Did the shares rise or fall sharply in the days before the report in anticipation of factor No. 1? If so, they could go in the opposite direction after the report comes out. (Remember, many investors buy on the rumor, sell on the news.) 3. Did the company issue a statement predicting future profits? Loss- es?

INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS

Currency Conversions International writers should report results in domestic currencies first, then give U.S. dollars for current period results only. There’s no need to convert last year’s results to dollars. If the company doesn’t give its own conversion to dollars, you’ll have to do it. You should use the foreign exchange rate on the last day of the quarter, not today’s exchange rate.

Different Accounting Rules In some countries, companies don’t report every quarter. The reports may come out every six months or even annually. Many foreign companies don’t report “net earnings” or “earnings per share.” Some report “earnings before taxes.” If that’s all they report, call them to see if they will give you net earnings. If they won’t, use whatever number seems closest. Foreign companies that sell shares in the United States (called Ameri- can depository receipts) often issue a separate earnings statement using American accounting standards. Use this when you can. Here’s a concise example of an earnings story that doesn’t include any one-time factors, followed by one that does.

Wal-Mart’s quarterly profits up 23 percent, but fears of slowdown hurt stock By RACHEL BECK AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s fourth-quarter profits rose 23 percent from a year ago, fueled by strong sales growth at its U.S. su- perstores and operations abroad. While the results reported Tuesday by the world’s largest retailer were 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 311

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slightly above expectations, its stock fell about 3 percent on concerns that its growth may slow in the coming year. Wal-Mart earned $1.92 billion, or 43 cents a share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with $1.56 billion, or 35 cents a share, a year ago. That’s above the 42 cents a share that analysts had forecast. Quarterly sales totaled $51.39 billion, an increase of 26 percent over the $40.79 billion in the same period a year ago. Sales at stores open at least a year, an industry gauge of performance, rose 6.3 percent. Sales at its Wal-Mart stores rose 12.6 percent in the quarter, boosted by gains at its Supercenters, which combine discount and grocery stores. Sales at its Sam’s Club warehouse stores increased 7.4 percent. International sales gained about 164 percent, fueled by strength in its Mexican, Canadian, British and Puerto Rican divisions. During the quarter, Wal-Mart named Lee Scott as president and chief executive officer, replacing David Glass who will remain at the company for a year as chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors. Scott, who was Wal-Mart’s chief operating officer and vice chairman, had been tapped about a year ago to succeed Glass. The company also took some significant steps during the quarter to beef up its Internet operations. In December, Wal-Mart teamed up with America Online Inc. to create an Internet service provider (ISP) and offer discounted Web access to people who currently may not have an affordable phone hookup in towns near its 2,500 stores. The name and price of the ISP have not yet been released. In January, the company relaunched www.Walmart.com, which now stocks more than 600,000 items and offers services, such as travel reservations. It also formed a new Internet company with venture-capital firm Accel Partners, which will work to enhance the giant retailer’s Web site. While Wal-Mart continues to outpace most of its rivals with its sharp growth, there were fears that its pace may slow in the coming year. The Federal Reserve boosted interest rates four times in the last year to fend off inflationary pressures — and may raise rates further. That has raised concerns that consumer spending may slow in the coming months. “That’s the real issue affecting all retailers right now,” said Jeffrey Feiner, a retail analyst at Lehman Brothers Inc. Wal-Mart also said that it will continue aggressively cutting prices, which the company calls “rollbacks.” But such promotions will be more difficult in the coming year because of high raw material prices, increased labor costs and strengthening of Asian currencies. The “rollbacks” have been one of Wal-Mart’s key marketing strategies to woo shoppers into its stores. Wal-Mart’s shares fell 68 3/4 cents to $57.18 3/4 in trading at 4:30 p.m. on the New York Stock Exchange. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer’s stock was down as low as $55 in early trading. For the year, Wal-Mart earned $5.58 billion, or $1.25 a share, compared to $4.43 billion, or 99 cents a share, in 1998. Sales for the year were $165 billion, an increase of 20 percent over the previous year. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 312

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Here’s an earnings story that includes significant one-time events.

Lilly earnings soar despite tumbling Prozac sales INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eli Lilly’s fourth-quarter profit rose 20 percent as declining sales of the antidepressant Prozac were offset by stronger demand for the company’s osteoporosis and antipsychotic drugs. Excluding one time gains and losses, the Indianapolis-based drug firm’s operating income rose to $671.7 million, or 61 cents per share, up from $567.3 million or 51 cents per share a year ago. Results matched Wall Street estimates, according to First Call/Thom- son Financial. Including one-time events, such as wholesalers who stocked up on drugs due to Y2K concerns, Lilly earned $786.3 million or 71 cents per share. Sales rose 7 percent to $2.82 billion from $2.64 billion. Prozac sales dropped 13 percent to $645.2 million. Prozac has been the nation’s top selling antidepressant for the past decade. But sales have fallen recently due to new competitors. Helping offset the decline in Prozac was the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa, which saw a sales increase of 36 percent to $587.7 million. Sales of Evista, an osteoporosis drug, jumped 39 percent to $112.1 million. For all of 1999, excluding one-time events, Lilly’s net income rose 16 percent to $2.52 billion, or $2.28 per share, up from $2.1 billion, or $1.87 per share, in 1998. Sales rose 8 percent to $10.0 billion, up from $9.24 billion. Shares of Lilly rose $1.50 to $64.25 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 313

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the same time in another to make A a profit on the price discrepancy. asset Current cash and other accounts payable Current items readily converted into cash, liabilities or debts of a business usually within one year. which must be paid in the near future (within one year). asset, fixed Plant, land, equipment, long-term accounts receivable investments that cannot be Amounts due to a company for readily liquefied without merchandise or services sold on disturbing the operation of the credit. These are short-term business. assets.

acquisitions The process of buying or acquiring some asset. The term can refer to the B purchase of a block of stock or, more often, to the acquisition of balance sheet A listing of an entire company. assets, liabilities and net worth showing the financial position of agricultural parity The a company at the specific time. A ratio between the price a farmer bank balance sheet is generally buys and sells, calculated from referred to as a statement of the same base period when farm condition. incomes were considered equivalent to income standards of balloon mortgage A the economy. mortgage whose amortization schedule will not extinguish the antitrust Any law or policy debt by the end of the mortgage designed to encourage term, leaving a large payment competition by curtailing (called balloon payment) of the monopolistic power and unfair remaining principal balance to be business practices. paid at that time.

appreciation Increase in bankruptcy An individual or value of property, as opposed to organization, acting voluntarily or depreciation. by court order, liquidates its assets and distributes the arbitrage Buying currency, proceeds to creditors. commercial bills or securities in Various filings under U.S. one market and selling them at Bankruptcy Code: 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 314

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Chapter 7 — Sometimes in any name. They are negotiable referred to as straight without endorsement and bankruptcy, this filing usually transferable by delivery. leads to liquidation of a company. A company in Chapter 7 bear market A period of proceedings is able to continue to generally declining stock prices. operate under the direction of a court trustee until the matter is Big Board Acceptable on settled. If the company can second reference for the New York resolve its problems and settle Stock Exchange. with creditors in the interim, it may not have to be liquidated. blue chip stock Stock Chapter 11 — The most company known for its long- common form of bankruptcy, this established record of making action frees a company from the money and paying dividends. threat of creditors’ lawsuits while it reorganizes its finances. The bond ratings Grades debtor’s reorganization plan must assigned by credit-rating agencies be accepted by a majority of its to corporate and municipal debt creditors. Unless the court rules securities, based on the otherwise, the debtor remains in borrower’s expected ability to control of the business and its repay. The higher the grade, the assets. lower the interest rate a borrower Chapter 12 — This is an must pay. extension of Chapter 11, designed The two major Wall Street to help debt-burdened family credit rating firms are Moody’s farms. It allows family farmers to Investors Service Inc. and operate under bankruptcy court Standard & Poor’s bond ratings. protection while paying off Both issue a variety of grades. creditors. Standard & Poor’s bond ratings, Chapter 13 — Called the for example, include 10 basic “wage earner” bankruptcy, this is grades: in order, AAA, AA, A and available to individuals who BBB, given to borrowers with the promise to repay as many strongest ability to repay; BB, B, creditors as possible from CCC, CC and C, for more available income. speculative securities, and D, for securities that are in payment basis point The movement default. of interest rates or yields expressed in hundredths of a bonds See loan percent. terminology.

bearer bond A bond for book value The difference which the owner’s name is not between a company’s assets and registered on the books of the liabilities. issuing company. Interest and The book value per share of principal is thus payable to the common stock is the book value bond holder. divided by the number of common shares outstanding. bearer stock Stock certificates that are not registered brand names When they are 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 315

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used, capitalize them. CEO Acceptable on first Brand names normally should reference as a title before a name be used only if they are essential or as a stand-alone abbreviation to a story. for chief executive officer. But Sometimes, however, the use spell it out somewhere in the of a brand name may not be story. (Spell out chief financial essential but is acceptable officer and chief operating officer, because it lends an air of reality which are less familiar as to a story: He fished a Camel from abbreviations.) his shirt pocket may be preferable to the less specific cigarette. charge off A loan that no Brand name is a non-legal longer is expected to be repaid term for service mark or and is written off as a bad debt. trademark. See entries under those words in the main section. Chicago Board of Trade Commodity trading market. bullion Unminted precious metals of standards suitable for Chicago Board Options coining. Exchange (CBOE) Set up by the Chicago Board of Trade, it is bull market A period of the world’s largest options generally increasing market exchange. prices. closely held corporation A corporation in which stock shares and voting control are C concentrated in the hands of a small number of investors, but capital When used in a for which some shares are financial sense, capital describes available and traded on the money, equipment or property market. used in a business by a person or corporation. Co. See company. capital gain, capital loss collateral Stock or other The difference between what a property that a borrower is capital asset cost and the price it obliged to turn over to a lender if brought when sold. unable to repay a loan. See loan terminology. central bank A bank having responsibility for controlling a commercial paper One of country’s monetary policy. the various types of short-term negotiable instruments whereby cents Spell out the word industrial or finance companies cents and lowercase, using obtain cash after agreeing to pay numerals for amounts less than a a specific amount of money on dollar: 5 cents, 12 cents. Use the the date due. $ sign and decimal system for larger amounts: $1.01, $2.50. commodities futures contract A contract to purchase or sell a specific amount of a 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 316

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given commodity at a specified Generally, follow the spelling future date. and capitalization preferred by the company: iMac, eBay. But commodity The products of capitalize the first letter if it mining or agriculture before they begins a sentence. have undergone extensive Do not use all capital letter processing. names unless the letters are individually pronounced: CRX, common stock, preferred BMW. Others should be stock An ownership interest in a uppercase and lowercase. corporation. Do not use symbols such as If other classes of stock are exclamation points, plus signs or outstanding, the holders of asterisks that form contrived common stock are the last to spellings that might distract or receive dividends and the last to confuse a reader. Use an receive payments if a corporation ampersand only if it is part of the is dissolved. The company may company’s formal name, but not raise or lower common stock otherwise in place of ‘and.’ dividends as its earnings rise or fall. conglomerate A When preferred stock is corporation that has diversified outstanding and company its operations, usually by earnings are sufficient, a fixed acquiring enterprises in widely dividend is paid. If a company is varied industries. liquidated, holders of preferred stock receive payments up to a consumer credit Loans set amount before any money is extended to individuals or small distributed to holders of common businesses usually on an stock. unsecured basis, and providing for monthly repayment. Also company, companies Use referred to as installment credit Co. or Cos. when a business uses or personal loans. either word at the end of its proper name: Ford Motor Co., convertible bond See loan American Broadcasting Cos. But: terminology. Aluminum Company of America. If company or companies Corp. See corporation. appears alone in second reference, spell the word out. corporate names See The forms for possessives: company names. Ford Motor Co.’s profits, American Broadcasting Cos.’ profits. corporation An entity that See main section for specific is treated as a person in the eyes company names. of the law. It is able to own property, incur debts, sue and be company names Consult sued. the company or Standard & Abbreviate corporation as Corp. Poor’s Register of Corporations if when a company or government in doubt about a formal name. Do agency uses the word at the end not, however, use a comma before of its name: Gulf Oil Corp., the Inc. or Ltd. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 317

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Spell out corporation when it as one of the costs of doing occurs elsewhere in a name: the business. Corporation for Public Broadcasting. discount Interest withheld Spell out and lowercase when a note, draft or bill is corporation whenever it stands purchased. alone. The form for possessives: Gulf discount rate The rate of Oil Corp.’s profits. interest charged by the Federal Reserve on loans it makes to cost-plus member banks. This rate has an influence on the rates banks then coupon See loan charge their customers. terminology for its meaning in a financial sense. dividend In a financial sense, the word describes the cross rate The rate of payment per share that a exchange between two currencies corporation distributes to its calculated by referring to the stockholders as their return on rates between each and a third the money they have invested in currency. its stock. See profit terminology.

dollars Always lowercase. Use figures and the $ sign in all D except casual references or debt service The outlay amounts without a figure: The necessary to meet all interest and book cost $4. Dad, please give me principal payments during a a dollar. Dollars are flowing given period. overseas. For specified amounts, the default The failure to meet a word takes a singular verb: He financial obligation, the failure to said $500,000 is what they want. make payment either of principal For amounts of more than $1 or interest when due or a breach million, use up to two decimal or nonperformance of the terms places. Do not link the numerals of a note or mortgage. and the word by a hyphen: He is worth $4.35 million. He is worth deflation A decrease in the exactly $4,351,242. He proposed general price level, which results a $300 billion budget. from a decrease in total spending The form for amounts less relative to the supply of available than $1 million: $4, $25, $500, goods on the market. Deflation’s $1,000, $650,000. immediate effect is to increase See cents. purchasing power. Dow Jones & Co. The depreciation The reduction company publishes the Wall in the value of capital goods due Street Journal and Barron‚s to wear and tear or obsolescence. National Business and Financial Estimated depreciation may be Weekly. It also operates the Dow deducted from income each year Jones News Service. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 318

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For stock market watchers, it provides the Dow Jones industrial average, the Dow Jones F transportation average, the Dow A financial Jones utility average, and the factor organization whose primary Dow Jones composite average. business is purchasing the Headquarters is in New York. accounts receivable of other downside risk The firms, at a discount, and taking probability that the price of an the risk and responsibilities of investment will fall. making collection. A publicly held dumping The selling of a Fannie Mae company traded on the New York product in a foreign market at a Stock Exchange that helps price lower than the domestic provide money for home price. It is usually done by a mortgages, primarily conventional monopoly when it has such a mortgages, by buying residential large output that selling entirely mortgages for its investment in the domestic market would portfolio and packaging pools of substantially reduce the price. mortgages from lenders. The nickname Fannie Mae is durable goods Long-lasting acceptable, but somewhere in the goods such as appliances that are story the company should be bought by consumers. identified as the Federal National Mortgage Association. Federal Farm Credit E System The federally chartered cooperative banking system that employee Not employe. provides most of the nation’s agricultural loans. The system is equity When used in a cooperatively owned by its farm financial sense, equity means the borrowers and is made up of the value of property beyond the regional banks that issue amount that is owed on it. operating and mortgage loans A stockholder’s equity in a through local land bank corporation is the value of the associations and production shares he holds. credit associations. A homeowner’s equity is the difference between the value of federal funds, federal the house and the amount of the funds rate Money in excess of unpaid mortgage. what the Federal Reserve says a bank must have on hand to back Eurodollar A U.S. dollar on up deposits. The excess can be deposit in a European bank, lent overnight to banks that need including foreign branches of U.S. more cash on hand to meet their banks. reserve requirements. The interest rate of these loans is the extraordinary loss, federal funds rate. extraordinary income See profit terminology. Federal Home Mortgage 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 319

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Corp. See Freddie Mac entry. repackaging them as investment securities. Federal National Freddie Mac, a publicly held Mortgage Association See company traded on the New York Fannie Mae entry. Stock Exchange, packages conventional mortgages as well as firm A business partnership FHA mortgages. is correctly referred to as a firm: The nickname Freddie Mac is He joined a law firm. acceptable, but somewhere in the Do not use firm in references story, the company should be to an incorporated business identified as the Federal Home entity. Use the company or the Loan Mortgage Corp. corporation instead. freely floating Describes fiscal, monetary Fiscal an exchange rate that is allowed applies to budgetary matters. to fluctuate in response to supply Monetary applies to money and demand in the foreign supply. markets. fiscal year The 12-month full faith and credit bond period that a corporation or See loan terminology. governmental body uses for bookkeeping purposes. futures Futures contracts are The federal government’s fiscal agreements to deliver a quantity year starts three months ahead of of goods, generally commodities, the calendar year — fiscal 1984, at a specified price at a certain for example, ran from Oct. 1, time in the future. Options, which 1983, to Sept. 30, 1984. also are widely traded on the nation’s commodities exchanges, float Money that has been give buyers the right but not the committed but not yet credited to obligation to buy or sell an account, like a check that has something at a certain price been written but has not yet within a specified period. cleared. The purpose of the futures f.o.b. Acceptable on first exchanges is to transfer the risk reference for free on board. of price fluctuations from people who don’t want the risk, such as force majeure A condition farmers or metals processors, to permitting a company to depart speculators who are willing to from the strict terms of a contract take a gamble on making big because of an event or effect that profits. can’t be reasonably controlled. Major U.S. commodities markets are the Chicago Board 401(k) (no space) Options Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Freddie Mac A government- Mercantile Exchange, New York chartered organization formed to Mercantile Exchange, the New help provide money for home York Cotton Exchange, and the mortgages by buying mortgages Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa from lenders such as banks and Exchange. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 320

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income See profit G terminology. general obligation bond incorporated Abbreviate See loan terminology. and capitalize as Inc. when used as a part of a corporate name. It usually is not needed, but when it is used, do not set off with commas: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. H announced ... See company names. hedging A method of selling for future delivery whereby a Index of Leading dealer protects himself from Economic Indicators A falling prices between the time he composite of 10 economic buys a product and the time he measurements developed to help resells or processes it. A miller, forecast shifts in the direction of for example, who buys wheat to the U.S. economy. convert to flour, will sell a similar It is compiled by the quantity of wheat he doesn’t own Conference Board, a private at near the price at which he business-sponsored research bought his own. He will agree to group, which took it over from the deliver it at the same time his Commerce Department in 1995. flour is ready for market. If at that time the price of wheat and inflation A sustained therefore flour has fallen, he will increase in prices. The result is a lose on the flour but can buy the decrease in the purchasing power wheat at a low price and deliver it of money. at a profit. If prices have risen, he There are two basic types of will make an extra profit on his inflation: flour which he will have to —Cost-push inflation occurs sacrifice to buy the wheat for when rising costs are the chief delivery. But either way he has reason for the increased prices. protected his profit. —Demand-pull inflation occurs when the amount of money holding company A available exceeds the amount of company whose principal assets goods and services available for are the securities it owns in sale. companies that actually provide goods or services. infrastructure An The usual reason for forming a economy’s capital in the form of holding company is to enable one roads, railways, water supplies, corporation and its directors to educational facilities, health control several companies by services, etc., without which holding a majority of their stock. investment in factories can’t be fully productive. International Monetary I Fund IMF is acceptable on second reference. Headquarters is Inc. See incorporated. in Washington. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 321

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A supply of money supported other assets into cash. by subscriptions of member When a company is liquidated, nations, for the purpose of the cash obtained is first used to stabilizing international exchange pay debts and obligations to and promoting orderly and holders of bonds and preferred balanced trade. Member nations stock. Whatever cash remains is may obtain foreign currency distributed on a per-share basis needed, making it possible to to the holders of common stock. correct temporary maladjust- ments in their balance of liquidity The ease with payments without currency which assets can be converted to depreciation. cash without loss in value.

loan terminology Note the meanings of these terms in describing loans by governments L and corporations: leverage The use of borrowed assets by a business to bond A certificate issued by a enhance the return of the owner’s corporation or government stating equity. The expectation is that the the amount of a loan, the interest interest rate charged will be lower to be paid, the time for repayment than the earnings made on the and the collateral pledged if money. payment cannot be made. Repayment generally is not due leveraged buyout A for a long period, usually seven corporate acquisition in which years or more. the bulk of the purchase price is paid with borrowed money. The collateral Stock or other debt then is repaid with the property that a borrower is acquired company’s cash flow, obligated to turn over to a lender with money raised by the sale of if unable to repay a loan. its assets or by the later sale of the entire company. commercial paper A document describing the details liabilities When used in a of a short-term loan between financial sense, the word means corporations. all the claims against a corporation. convertible bond A bond They include accounts carrying the stipulation that it payable, wages and salaries due may be exchanged for a specific but not paid, dividends declared amount of stock in the company payable, taxes payable, and fixed that issued it. or long-term obligations such as bonds, debentures and bank coupon A slip of paper loans. attached to a bond that the See assets. bondholder clips at specified times and returns to the issuer liquidation When used in a for payment of the interest due. financial sense, the word means the process of converting stock or debenture A certificate stating 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 322

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the amount of a loan, the interest by someone living within the state to be paid and the time for of issue. repayment, but not providing collateral. It is backed only by the note A certificate issued by a corporation’s reputation and corporation or government stating promise to pay. the amount of a loan, the interest to be paid and the collateral default A person, corporation pledged in the event payment or government is in default if it cannot be made. The date for fails to meet the terms for repayment is generally more than repayment. a year after issue but not more than seven or eight years later. full faith and credit bond An The shorter interval for alternate term for general repayment is the principal obligation bond, often used to difference between a note and a contrast such a bond with a bond. moral obligation bond. revenue bond A bond backed general obligation bond A only by the revenue of the airport, bond that has had the formal turnpike or other facility that was approval of either the voters or built with the money it raised. their legislature. The government’s promise to repay Treasury borrowing A the principal and pay the interest Treasury bill is a certificate is constitutionally guaranteed on representing a loan to the federal the strength of its ability to tax government that matures in the population. three, six or 12 months. A Treasury note may mature in one maturity The date on which a to 10 years or more. A Treasury bond, debenture or note must be bond matures in seven years or repaid. more. moral obligation bond A government bond that has not had the formal approval of either the voters or their legislature. It is M backed only by the government’s “moral obligation” to repay the margin The practice of principal and interest on time. purchasing securities in part with borrowed money, using the municipal bond A general purchased securities as collateral obligation bond issued by a state, in anticipation of an advance in country, city, town, village, the market price. If the advance possession or territory, or a bond occurs, the purchaser may be issued by an agency or authority able to repay the loan and make a set up by one of these profit. If the price declines, the governmental units. In general, stock may have to be sold to interest paid on municipal bonds settle the loan. The margin is the is exempt from federal income difference between the amount of taxes. It also usually is exempt the loan and the value of the from state and local taxes if held securities used as collateral. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 323

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monetary See the fiscal, A call option gives the holder monetary entry. the right to buy blocks of 100 shares of stock within a specified moral obligation bond time at an agreed-upon price. See loan terminology. over the counter A term municipal bond See loan for the method of trading when terminology. securities are not listed on a recognized securities exchange. N P Nasdaq The name of the computerized trading network preferred stock See the that used to be known as the common stock, preferred stock National Association of Securities entry. Dealers Automated Quotations system. price-earnings ratio The price of a share of stock divided National Labor Relations by earnings per share for a 12- Board NLRB is acceptable on month period. Ratios in AP stock second reference. tables reflect earnings for the most recent 12 months. net income, net profit See For example, a stock selling profit terminology. for $60 per share and earning $6 per share would be selling at a New York Stock price-earnings ratio of 10-to-1. Exchange NYSE is acceptable See profit terminology. on second reference as an adjective. Use the stock exchange PricewaterhouseCoopers or the exchange for other references. prime rate A benchmark rate used by banks to set interest note For use in a financial charges on a variety of corporate sense, see loan terminology. and consumer loans, including some adjustable home mortgages, revolving credit cards and business loans. Banks set the rate based on their borrowing O costs, as reflected by the interest on short-term Treasury securities option The word means an in the bond market. agreement to buy or sell something, such as shares of profit-taking (n. and adj.) stock, within a stipulated time Avoid this term. It means selling and for a certain price. a security after a recent rapid rise A put option gives the holder in price. It is inaccurate if the the right to sell blocks of 100 seller bought the security at a shares of stock within a specified higher price, watched it fall, then time at an agreed-upon price. sold it after a recent rise but for 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 324

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less than he bought it. In that gross profit The difference case, he would be cutting his between the sales price of an item losses, not taking his profit. or service and the expenses directly attributed to it, such as profit terminology Note the cost of raw materials, labor the meanings of the following and overhead linked to the terms in reporting a company‚s production effort. financial status. Always be careful to specify whether the income before taxes Gross figures given apply to quarterly or profits minus companywide annual results. expenses not directly attributed The terms, listed in the order to specific products or services. in which they might occur in These expenses typically include analyzing a company’s financial interest costs, advertising and condition: sales costs, and general administrative overhead. dividend The amount paid per share per year to holders of net income, profit, earnings common stock. Payments The amount left after taxes have generally are made in quarterly been paid. installments. A portion may be committed to The dividend usually is a pay preferred dividends. Some of portion of the earnings per share. what remains may be paid in However, if a company shows no dividends to holders of common profit during a given period, it stocks. The rest may be invested may be able to use earnings to obtain interest revenue or retained from profitable periods spent to acquire new buildings or to pay its dividend on schedule. equipment to increase the company’s ability to make further earnings per share (or loss profits. per share, for companies posting To avoid confusion, do not use a net loss) The figure obtained by the word income alone — always dividing the number of specify whether the figure is outstanding shares of common income before taxes or net income. stock into the amount left after The terms profit and earnings dividends have been paid on any commonly are interpreted as preferred stock. meaning the amount left after taxes. The terms net profit and extraordinary loss, net earnings are acceptable extraordinary income An synonyms. expense or source of income that does not occur on a regular basis, return on investment A such as a loss due to a major fire percentage figure obtained by or the revenue from the sale of a dividing the company’s assets subsidiary. Extraordinary items into its net income. should be identified in any report on the company’s financial status revenue The amount of money to avoid creating the false a company took in, including impression that its overall profit interest earned and receipts from trend has suddenly plunged or sales, services provided, rents soared. and royalties. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 325

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The figure also may include retail stores, including excise taxes and sales taxes merchandise sold and receipts for collected for the government. If it repairs and similar services. does, the fact should be noted in A business is considered a any report on revenue. retail store if it is engaged primarily in selling merchandise sales The money a company for personal, household or farm received for the goods and consumption. services it sold. In some cases the figure revenue See profit includes receipts from rents and terminology. royalties. In others, particularly when rentals and royalties make revenue bond See loan up a large portion of a company’s terminology. income, figures for these activities are listed separately. revolving credit Describes an account on which the payment protective tariff A duty is any amount less than the total high enough to assure domestic balance, and the remaining producers against any effective balance carried forward is subject competition from foreign to finance charges. producers. rollover The selling of new securities to pay off old ones coming due or the refinancing of R an existing loan. receivership A legal action in which a court appoints a receiver to manage a business S while the court tries to resolve problems that could ruin the savings and loan business, such as insolvency. associations They are not Receivership is often used in banks. Use the association on federal bankruptcy court second reference. proceedings. But it also can be used for nonfinancial troubles service mark A brand, such as an ownership dispute. symbol, word, etc. used by a In bankruptcy proceedings, supplier of services and protected the court appoints a trustee by law to prevent a competitor called a receiver who attempts to from using it: Realtor, for a settle the financial difficulties of member of the National the company while under Association of Realtors, for protection from creditors. example. When a service mark is used, recession A falling-off of capitalize it. economic activity that may be a The preferred form, however, temporary phenomenon or could is to use a generic term unless continue into a depression. the service mark is essential to the story. retail sales The sales of See brand names and 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 326

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trademark. Standard & Poor’s Corp. of New York. short An investment term used to describe the position held stockbroker by individuals who sell stock that they do not yet own by borrowing stock index futures from their broker in order to Futures contracts valued on the deliver to the purchaser. basis of indexes that track the A person selling short is prices of a specific group of betting that the price of the stock stocks. The most widely traded is will fall. the future based on the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. short covering The Speculators also trade options on purchase of a security to repay index futures. shares of a security borrowed from a broker. stock market prices Use fractions rather than decimals, short sale A sale of spelling out the fraction if it is not securities that are not owned by linked with a figure: The stock the sellers at the time of sale but went up three-quarters of a point. which they intend to purchase or The stock went up 1 1/2 points. borrow in time to make delivery. small-business man

spinoff (n.) A distribution T that occurs when the company trademark A trademark is a forms a separate company out of brand, symbol, word, etc., used a division, a subsidiary or other by a manufacturer or dealer and holdings. The shares of the new protected by law to prevent a company are distributed competitor from using it: proportionately to the parent AstroTurf, for a type of artificial company holders. grass, for example. In general, use a generic spot market A market for equivalent unless the trademark buying or selling commodities or name is essential to the story. foreign exchange for immediate When a trademark is used, delivery and for cash payment. capitalize it. Many trademarks are listed spot price The price of a separately in this book, together commodity available for with generic equivalents. immediate sale and delivery. The The International Trademark term is also used to refer to Association, located in New York, foreign exchange transactions. is a helpful source of information about trademarks. Standard & Poor’s See brand names and service Register of Corporations marks. The source for determining the formal name of a business. See Treasury bills, Treasury company names. bonds, Treasury notes See The register is published by loan terminology. 317-337_BUSINESS.qrk 3/1/03 1:32 PM Page 327

BUSINESS GUIDELINES — 327 U Y union names The formal yield In a financial sense, the names of unions may be annual rate of return on an condensed to conventionally investment, as paid in dividends accepted short forms that or interest. It is expressed as a capitalize characteristic words percentage obtained by dividing from the full name followed by the market price for a stock or union in lowercase. bond into the dividend or interest Follow union practice in the paid in the preceding 12 months. use of the word worker in See profit terminology. shortened forms. Among major unions, all except the United Steelworkers use two words: United Auto Workers, United Mine Workers, etc. See entry in main section for more detail and references. W Wall Street When the reference is to the entire complex of financial institutions in the area rather than the actual street itself, the Street is an acceptable short form. See capitalization.

wholesale price index A measurement of the changes in the average price that businesses pay for a selected group of industrial commodities, farm products, processed foods and feed for animals. Capitalize when referring to the U.S. index, issued monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an agency of the Labor Department. PUNCTUATION GUIDE 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/0311:39AMPage328 PUNCTUATION A GUIDETO 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 329

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There is no alternative to correct punctuation. Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence, the results of which could be far- reaching. Even if the meaning is not changed, bad punctuation, however inconsequential, can cause the reader to lose track of what is being said and give up reading a sentence. The basic guideline is to use common sense. —Punctuation is to make clear the thought being expressed. —If punctuation does not help make clear what is being said, it should not be there. “The Elements of Style ” by E.B. White and William Strunk Jr. is a bible of writers. It states: “Clarity, clarity, clarity. When you become hopelessly mired in a sentence, it is best to start fresh; do not try to fight your way through against terrible odds of syntax. Usually what is wrong is that the construction has become too involved at some point; the sentence needs to be broken apart and replaced by two or more shorter sentences. ” This applies to punctuation. If a sentence becomes cluttered with commas, semicolons and dashes, start over. These two paragraphs are full of commas and clauses; all of it equals too much for the reader to grasp: The Commonwealth Games Federation, in an apparent effort to persuade other nations to ignore the spiraling boycott, ruled Sunday that Budd, a runner who has had a storied past on and off the track, and Cowley, a swimmer who competes for the University of Texas, were ineligible under the Commonwealth Constitution to compete for England in the 10-day event to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, beginning July 24. The decision on Budd, who has been the object of a number of demonstrations in the past, and Cowley followed an earlier announcement Sunday by Tanzania that it was joining Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Uganda in boycotting the games because of Britain’s refusal to support economic sanctions against South Africa’s white-led government. 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 330

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PUNCTUATION MARKS AND HOW TO USE THEM

apostrophe (’) Follow these ENDING IN S: Add ’s unless the guidelines: next word begins with s: the host- POSSESSIVES: See the pos- ess’s invitation, the hostess’ seat; sessives entry in main section. the witness’s answer, the witness’ PLURAL NOUNS NOT ENDING story. IN S: Add ’s: the alumni’s contri- SINGULAR PROPER NAMES butions, women’s rights. ENDING IN S: Use only an apos- PLURAL NOUNS ENDING IN S: trophe: Achilles’ heel, Agnes’ Add only an apostrophe: the book, Ceres’ rites, Descartes’ theo- churches’ needs, the girls’ toys, ries, Dickens’ novels, Euripides’ the horses’ food, the ships’ wake, dramas, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ states’ rights, the VIPs’ entrance. life, Jules’ seat, Kansas’ schools, NOUNS PLURAL IN FORM, Moses’ law, Socrates’ life, Ten- SINGULAR IN MEANING: Add nessee Williams’ plays, Xerxes’ only an apostrophe: mathematics’ armies. (An exception is St. rules, measles’ effects. (But see James’s Palace.) INANIMATE OBJECTS below.) SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS: The Apply the same principle when following exceptions to the gener- a plural word occurs in the for- al rule for words not ending in s mal name of a singular entity: apply to words that end in an s General Motors’ profits, the United sound and are followed by a word States’ wealth. that begins with s: for appear- NOUNS THE SAME IN SINGU- ance’ sake, for conscience’ sake, LAR AND PLURAL: Treat them for goodness’ sake. Use ’s other- the same as plurals, even if the wise: the appearance’s cost, my meaning is singular: one corps’ lo- conscience’s voice. cation, the two deer’s tracks, the PRONOUNS: Personal inter- lone moose’s antlers. rogative and relative pronouns SINGULAR NOUNS NOT END- have separate forms for the pos- ING IN S: Add ’s: the church’s sessive. None involves an apostro- needs, the girl’s toys, the horse’s phe: mine, ours, your, yours, his, food, the ship’s route, the VIP’s hers, its, theirs, whose. seat. Caution: If you are using an Some style guides say that apostrophe with a pronoun, al- singular nouns ending in s ways double-check to be sure sounds such as ce, x, and z may that the meaning calls for a con- take either the apostrophe alone traction: you’re, it’s, there’s, or ’s. See SPECIAL EXPRES- who’s. SIONS, but otherwise, for consis- Follow the rules listed above in tency and ease in remembering a forming the possessives of other rule, always use ’s if the word pronouns: another’s idea, others’ does not end in the letter s: plans, someone’s guess. Butz’s policies, the fox’s den, the COMPOUND WORDS: Apply- justice’s verdict, Marx’s theories, ing the rules above, add an apos- the prince’s life, Xerox’s profits. trophe or ’s to the word closest to SINGULAR COMMON NOUNS the object possessed: the major 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 331

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general’s decision, the major gen- Home Journal, the National Gover- erals’ decisions, the attorney gen- nors’ Association. See separate eral’s request, the attorneys gen- entries for these and similar eral’s request. See the plurals names frequently in the news. entry for guidelines on forming QUASI POSSESSIVES: Follow the plurals of these words. the rules above in composing the Also: anyone else’s attitude, possessive form of words that John Adams Jr.’s father, Ben- occur in such phrases as a day’s jamin Franklin of Pennsylvania’s pay, two weeks’ vacation, three motion. Whenever practical, how- days’ work, your money’s worth. ever, recast the phrase to avoid Frequently, however, a hy- ambiguity: the motion by Ben- phenated form is clearer: a two- jamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. week vacation, a three-day job. JOINT POSSESSION, INDIVID- DOUBLE POSSESSIVE: Two UAL POSSESSION: Use a posses- conditions must apply for a dou- sive form after only the last word ble possessive — a phrase such if ownership is joint: Fred and as a friend of John’s — to occur: Sylvia’s apartment, Fred and 1. The word after of must refer to Sylvia’s stocks. an animate object, and 2. The Use a possessive form after word before of must involve only both words if the objects are indi- a portion of the animate object’s vidually owned: Fred’s and possessions. Sylvia’s books. Otherwise, do not use the pos- DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES: Do sessive form of the word after of: not add an apostrophe to a word The friends of John Adams ending in s when it is used pri- mourned his death. (All the marily in a descriptive sense: citi- friends were involved.) He is a zens band radio, a Cincinnati friend of the college. (Not college’s, Reds infielder, a teachers college, because college is inanimate). a Teamsters request, a writers Memory Aid: This construction guide. occurs most often, and quite nat- Memory Aid: The apostrophe urally, with the possessive forms usually is not used if for or by of personal pronouns: He is a rather than of would be appropri- friend of mine. ate in the longer form: a radio INANIMATE OBJECTS: There band for citizens, a college for is no blanket rule against creat- teachers, a guide for writers, a re- ing a possessive form for an inan- quest by the Teamsters. imate object, particularly if the An ’s is required however, object is treated in a personified when a term involves a plural sense. See some of the earlier ex- word that does not end in s: a amples, and note these: death’s children’s hospital, a people’s recall, the wind’s murmur. public, the Young Men’s Christian In general, however, avoid ex- Association. cessive personalization of inani- DESCRIPTIVE NAMES: Some mate objects, and give preference governmental, corporate and in- to an of construction when it fits stitutional organizations with a the makeup of the sentence. For descriptive word in their names example, the earlier references to use an apostrophe; some do not. mathematics’ rules and measles’ Follow the user’s practice: Actors’ effects would better be phrased: Equity, Diners Club, the Ladies’ the rules of mathematics, the ef- 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 332

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fects of measles. Q: Did you strike him? OMITTED LETTERS: I’ve, it’s, A: Indeed I did. don’t, rock ’n’ roll, ’tis the season INTRODUCING QUOTATIONS: to be jolly. He is a ne’er-do-well. Use a comma to introduce a di- See contractions in main section. rect quotation of one sentence OMITTED FIGURES: The class that remains within a paragraph. of ’62. The Spirit of ’76. The ’20s. Use a colon to introduce long PLURALS OF A SINGLE LET- quotations within a paragraph TER: Mind your p’s and q’s. He and to end all paragraphs that in- learned the three R’s and brought troduce a paragraph of quoted home a report card with four A’s material. and two B’s. The Oakland A’s PLACEMENT WITH QUOTA- won the pennant. TION MARKS: Colons go outside DO NOT USE: For plurals of quotation marks unless they are numerals or multiple-letter com- part of the quotation itself. binations. See plurals. MISCELLANEOUS: Do not combine a dash and a colon. brackets [ ] They cannot be transmitted over news wires. Use comma (,) The following parentheses or recast the material. guidelines treat some of the most See parentheses. frequent questions about the use of commas. Additional guidelines colon (:) The most frequent on specialized uses are provided use of a colon is at the end of a in separate entries such as dates sentence to introduce lists, tabu- and scores. lations, texts, etc. For detailed guidance, consult Capitalize the first word after a the punctuation section in the colon only if it is a proper noun or back of Webster’s New World Dic- the start of a complete sentence: tionary. He promised this: The company IN A SERIES: Use commas to will make good all the losses. But: separate elements in a series, but There were three considerations: do not put a comma before the expense, time and feasibility. conjunction in a simple series: EMPHASIS: The colon often The flag is red, white and blue. He can be effective in giving empha- would nominate Tom, Dick or sis: He had only one hobby: eat- Harry. ing. Put a comma before the con- LISTINGS: Use the colon in cluding conjunction in a series, such listings as time elapsed however, if an integral element of (1:31:07.2), time of day (8:31 the series requires a conjunction: p.m.), biblical and legal citations I had orange juice, toast, and ham (2 Kings 2:14; Missouri Code and eggs for breakfast. 3:245-260). Use a comma also before the DIALOGUE: Use a colon for di- concluding conjunction in a com- alogue. In coverage of a trial, for plex series of phrases: The main example: points to consider are whether the Bailey: What were you doing athletes are skillful enough to com- the night of the 19th? pete, whether they have the stami- Mason: I refuse to answer that. na to endure the training, and Q AND A: The colon is used for whether they have the proper question-and-answer interviews: mental attitude. 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 333

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See the dash and semicolon sion would slow comprehension: entries for cases when elements On the street below, the curious of a series contain internal com- gathered. mas. WITH CONJUNCTIONS: When WITH EQUAL ADJECTIVES: a conjunction such as and, but or Use commas to separate a series for links two clauses that could of adjectives equal in rank. If the stand alone as separate sen- commas could be replaced by the tences, use a comma before the word and without changing the conjunction in most cases: She sense, the adjectives are equal: a was glad she had looked, for a thoughtful, precise manner; a man was approaching the house. dark, dangerous street. As a rule of thumb, use a Use no comma when the last comma if the subject of each adjective before a noun outranks clause is expressly stated: We are its predecessors because it is an visiting Washington, and we also integral element of a noun plan a side trip to Williamsburg. phrase, which is the equivalent of We visited Washington, and our a single noun: a cheap fur coat senator greeted us personally. But (the noun phrase is fur coat); the no comma when the subject of old oaken bucket; a new, blue the two clauses is the same and spring bonnet. is not repeated in the second: We WITH NONESSENTIAL are visiting Washington and plan CLAUSES: A nonessential clause to see the White House. must be set off by commas. An The comma may be dropped if essential clause must not be set two clauses with expressly stated off from the rest of a sentence by subjects are short. In general, commas. however, favor use of a comma See the essential clauses, unless a particular literary effect nonessential clauses entry in the is desired or if it would distort the main section. sense of a sentence. WITH NONESSENTIAL INTRODUCING DIRECT PHRASES: A nonessential phrase QUOTES: Use a comma to intro- must be set off by commas. An duce a complete one-sentence essential phrase must not be set quotation within a paragraph: off from the rest of a sentence by Wallace said, “She spent six commas. months in Argentina and came See the essential phrases, back speaking English with a nonessential phrases entry in Spanish accent.” But use a colon the main section. to introduce quotations of more WITH INTRODUCTORY than one sentence. See colon. CLAUSES AND PHRASES: A Do not use a comma at the comma is used to separate an in- start of an indirect or partial quo- troductory clause or phrase from tation: He said the victory put him the main clause: When he had “firmly on the road to a first-ballot tired of the mad pace of New York, nomination.” he moved to Dubuque. BEFORE ATTRIBUTION: Use a The comma may be omitted comma instead of a period at the after short introductory phrases if end of a quote that is followed by no ambiguity would result: During attribution: “Rub my shoulders,” the night he heard many noises. Miss Cawley suggested. But use the comma if its omis- Do not use a comma, however, 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 334

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if the quoted statement ends with compound adjectives See a question mark or exclamation the hyphen entry. point: “Why should I?” he asked. WITH HOMETOWNS AND dash (—) Follow these guide- AGES: Use a comma to set off an lines: individual’s hometown when it is ABRUPT CHANGE: Use dashes placed in apposition to a name to denote an abrupt change in (whether of is used or not): Mary thought in a sentence or an em- Richards, Minneapolis, and phatic pause: We will fly to Paris Maude Findlay, Tuckahoe, N.Y., in June — if I get a raise. Smith of- were there. fered a plan — it was unprece- If an individual’s age is used, dented — to raise revenues. set it off by commas: Maude Find- SERIES WITHIN A PHRASE: lay, 48, Tuckahoe, N.Y., was pre- When a phrase that otherwise sent. would be set off by commas con- WITH PARTY AFFILIATION, tains a series of words that must ACADEMIC DEGREES, RELI- be separated by commas, use GIOUS AFFILIATIONS: See sepa- dashes to set off the full phrase: rate entries under each of these He listed the qualities — intelli- terms. gence, humor, conservatism, inde- NAMES OF STATES AND NA- pendence — that he liked in an ex- TIONS USED WITH CITY NAMES: ecutive. His journey will take him from ATTRIBUTION: Use a dash be- Dublin, Ireland, to Fargo, N.D., fore an author’s or composer’s and back. The Selma, Ala., group name at the end of a quotation: saw the governor. “Who steals my purse steals Use parentheses, however, if a trash.” — Shakespeare. state name is inserted within a IN DATELINES: proper name: The Huntsville (Ala.) NEW YORK (AP) — The city is Times. broke. WITH YES AND NO: Yes, I will IN LISTS: Dashes should be be there. used to introduce individual sec- IN DIRECT ADDRESS: Mother, tions of a list. Capitalize the first I will be home late. No, sir, I did word following the dash. Use peri- not take it. ods, not semicolons, at the end of SEPARATING SIMILAR each section. Example: Jones WORDS: Use a comma to sepa- gave the following reasons: rate duplicated words that other- —He never ordered the pack- wise would be confusing: What age. the problem is, is not clear. —If he did, it didn’t come. IN LARGE FIGURES: Use a —If it did, he sent it back. comma for most figures greater WITH SPACES: Put a space on than 999. The major exceptions both sides of a dash in all uses are: street addresses (1234 Main except the start of a paragraph St.), broadcast frequencies (1460 and sports agate summaries. kilohertz), room numbers, serial numbers, telephone numbers, ellipsis ( ... ) In general, and years (1876). See separate treat an ellipsis as a three-letter entries under these headings. word, constructed with three pe- PLACEMENT WITH QUOTES: riods and two spaces, as shown Commas always go inside quota- here. tion marks. Use an ellipsis to indicate the See semicolon. deletion of one or more words in 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 335

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condensing quotes, texts and densing President Nixon’s resig- documents. Be especially careful nation announcement: to avoid deletions that would dis- Good evening. ... tort the meaning. In all the decisions I have Brief examples of how to use made in my public life, I have al- ellipses are provided after guide- ways tried to do what was best for lines are given. More extensive the nation. ... examples, drawn from the speech ... However, it has become evi- in which President Nixon an- dent to me that I no longer have a nounced his resignation, are in strong enough political base in the sections below marked CON- Congress. DENSATION EXAMPLE and QUO- ... As long as there was a base, TATIONS. I felt strongly that it was neces- SPACING REQUIREMENTS: In sary to see the constitutional some computer editing systems process through to its conclusion, the thin space must be used be- that to do otherwise would be ... a tween the periods of the ellipsis to dangerously destabilizing prece- prevent them from being placed dent for the future. on two different lines when they QUOTATIONS: In writing a are sent through a computer that story, do not use ellipses at the handles hyphenation and justifi- beginning and end of direct cation. quotes: Leave one regular space — “It has become evident to me never a thin — on both sides of that I no longer have a strong an ellipsis: I ... tried to do what enough political base,” Nixon was best. said. PUNCTUATION GUIDELINES: Not “... it has become evident to If the words that precede an ellip- me that I no longer have a strong sis constitute a grammatically enough political base ... ,” Nixon complete sentence, either in the said. original or in the condensation, HESITATION: An ellipsis also place a period at the end of the may be used to indicate a pause last word before the ellipsis. Fol- or hesitation in speech, or a low it with a regular space and an thought that the speaker or writer ellipsis: I no longer have a strong does not complete. Substitute a enough political base. ... dash for this purpose, however, if When the grammatical sense the context uses ellipses to indi- calls for a question mark, excla- cate that words actually spoken mation point, comma or colon, or written have been deleted. the sequence is word, punctua- SPECIAL EFFECTS: Ellipses tion mark, regular space, ellipsis: also may be used to separate in- Will you come? ... dividual items within a paragraph When material is deleted at of show business gossip or simi- the end of one paragraph and at lar material. Use periods after the beginning of the one that fol- items that are complete sen- lows, place an ellipsis in both lo- tences. cations. CONDENSATION EXAMPLE: exclamation point (!) Fol- Here is an example of how the low these guidelines: spacing and punctuation guide- EMPHATIC EXPRESSIONS: lines would be applied in con- Use the mark to express a high 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 336

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degree of surprise, incredulity or easily remembered rule. other strong emotion. Many combinations that are AVOID OVERUSE: Use a hyphenated before a noun are not comma after mild interjections. hyphenated when they occur End mildly exclamatory sentences after a noun: The team scored in with a period. the first quarter. The dress, a PLACEMENT WITH QUOTES: bluish green, was attractive on Place the mark inside quotation her. She works full time. His atti- marks when it is part of the quot- tude suggested that he knew it all. ed material: “How wonderful!” he But when a modifier that exclaimed. “Never!” she shouted. would be hyphenated before a Place the mark outside quota- noun occurs instead after a form tion marks when it is not part of of the verb to be, the hyphen usu- the quoted material: I hated read- ally must be retained to avoid ing Spenser’s “Faerie Queene”! confusion: The man is well- MISCELLANEOUS: Do not use known. The woman is quick-wit- a comma or a period after the ex- ted. The children are soft-spoken. clamation mark: The play is second-rate. Wrong: “Halt!”, the corporal The principle of using a hy- cried. phen to avoid confusion explains Right: “Halt!” the corporal why no hyphen is required with cried. very and -ly words. Readers can expect them to modify the word hyphen (-) Hyphens are join- that follows. But if a combination ers. Use them to avoid ambiguity such as little-known man were not or to form a single idea from two hyphenated, the reader could log- or more words. ically be expecting little to be fol- Some guidelines: lowed by a noun, as in little man. AVOID AMBIGUITY: Use a hy- Instead, the reader encountering phen whenever ambiguity would little known would have to back result if it were omitted: The pres- up mentally and make the com- ident will speak to small-business pound connection on his own. men. (Businessmen normally is TWO-THOUGHT COM- one word. But the president will POUNDS: serio-comic, socio-eco- speak to small businessmen is nomic. unclear.) COMPOUND PROPER NOUNS Others: He recovered his AND ADJECTIVES: Use a hyphen health. He re-covered the leaky to designate dual heritage: Italian- roof. American, Mexican-American. COMPOUND MODIFIERS: No hyphen, however, for When a compound modifier — French Canadian or Latin Ameri- two or more words that express a can. single concept — precedes a PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES: noun, use hyphens to link all the See the prefixes and suffixes en- words in the compound except tries, and separate entries for the the adverb very and all adverbs most frequently used prefixes and that end in -ly: a first-quarter suffixes. touchdown, a bluish-green dress, AVOID DUPLICATED VOW- a full-time job, a well-known man, ELS, TRIPLED CONSONANTS: a better-qualified woman, a know- Examples: anti-intellectual, pre- it-all attitude, a very good time, an empt, shell-like. 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 337

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WITH NUMERALS: Use a hy- period before the closing parenthe- phen to separate figures in odds, sis.) ratios, scores, some fractions When a phrase placed in and some vote tabulations. See parentheses (this one is an exam- examples in entries under these ple) might normally qualify as a headings. complete sentence but is depen- When large numbers must be dent on the surrounding material, spelled out, use a hyphen to con- do not capitalize the first word or nect a word ending in -y to anoth- end with a period. er word: twenty-one, fifty-five, etc. MATERIAL FROM OTHER SUSPENSIVE HYPHENATION: AREAS: If a story contains infor- The form: He received a 10- to 20- mation from outside the datelined year sentence in prison. city, put the material in parentheses only if the correspondent in parentheses ( ) In general, the datelined community was cut use parentheses around logos, as off from incoming communica- shown in the datelines entry, but tions. See dateline selection. otherwise be sparing with them. INSERTIONS IN A PROPER Parentheses are jarring to the NAME: Use parentheses if a state reader. Because they do not ap- name or similar information is in- pear on some news service print- serted within a proper name: The ers, there is also the danger that Huntsville (Ala.) Times. But use material inside them may be mis- commas if no proper name is in- interpreted. volved: The Selma, Ala., group The temptation to use paren- saw the governor. theses is a clue that a sentence is NEVER USED: Do not use becoming contorted. Try to write parentheses to denote a political it another way. If a sentence must figure’s party affiliation and juris- contain incidental material, then diction. Instead, set them off with commas or two dashes are fre- commas, as shown under party quently more effective. Use these affiliation. alternatives whenever possible. Do not use (cq) or similar nota- There are occasions, however, tion to indicate that an unusual when parentheses are the only ef- spelling or term is correct. In- fective means of inserting neces- clude the confirmation in an edi- sary background or reference in- tor’s note at the top of a story. formation. When they are necessary, follow these guidelines: periods (.) Follow these WITHIN QUOTATIONS: If par- guidelines: enthetical information inserted in END OF DECLARATIVE SEN- a direct quotation is at all sensi- TENCE: The stylebook is finished. tive, place an editor’s note under END OF A MILDLY IMPERA- a dash at the bottom of a story TIVE SENTENCE: Shut the door. alerting copy desks to what was Use an exclamation point if inserted. greater emphasis is desired: Be PUNCTUATION: Place a period careful! outside a closing parenthesis if END OF SOME RHETORICAL the material inside is not a sen- QUESTIONS: A period is prefer- tence (such as this fragment). able if a statement is more a sug- (An independent parenthetical gestion than a question: Why sentence such as this one takes a don’t we go. 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 338

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END OF AN INDIRECT QUES- Did he plan the riot, employ as- TION: He asked what the score sistants, and give the signal to was. begin? MANY ABBREVIATIONS: For Or, to cause full stops and guidelines, see the abbreviations throw emphasis on each element, and acronyms entry. For the break into separate sentences: form of frequently used abbrevia- Did he plan the riot? Employ as- tions, see the entry under the full sistants? Give the signal to begin? name, abbreviation, acronym or CAUTION: Do not use question term. marks to indicate the end of indi- INITIALS: John F. Kennedy, rect questions: T.S. Eliot (No space between T. He asked who started the riot. and S., to prevent them from To ask why the riot started is un- being placed on two lines in type- necessary. I want to know what setting.) the cause of the riot was. How Abbreviations using only the foolish it is to ask what caused initials of a name do not take pe- the riot. riods: JFK, LBJ. QUESTION AND ANSWER ELLIPSIS: See ellipsis. FORMAT: Do not use quotation ENUMERATIONS: After num- marks. Paragraph each speaker‚s bers or letters in enumerating ele- words: ments of a summary: 1. Wash the Q: Where did you keep it? car. 2. Clean the basement. Or: A. A: In a little tin box. Punctuate properly. B. Write sim- PLACEMENT WITH QUOTA- ply. TION MARKS: Inside or outside, PLACEMENT WITH QUOTA- depending on the meaning: TION MARKS: Periods always go Who wrote “Gone With the inside quotation marks. See quo- Wind”? tation marks. He asked, “How long will it SPACING: Use a single space take?” after a period at the end of a sen- MISCELLANEOUS: The ques- tence. tion mark supersedes the comma that normally is used when sup- question mark (?) Follow plying attribution for a quotation: these guidelines: “Who is there?” she asked. END OF A DIRECT QUES- TION: Who started the riot? quotation marks (“ ”) The Did he ask who started the basic guidelines for open-quote riot? (The sentence as a whole is a marks (“) and close-quote marks direct question despite the indi- (”): rect question at the end.) FOR DIRECT QUOTATIONS: You started the riot? (A ques- To surround the exact words of a tion in the form of a declarative speaker or writer when reported statement.) in a story: INTERPOLATED QUESTION: “I have no intention of staying,” You told me ˜ Did I hear you cor- he replied. rectly? ˜ that you started the riot. “I do not object,” he said, “to MULTIPLE QUESTION: Use a the tenor of the report.” single question mark at the end Franklin said, “A penny saved of the full sentence: is a penny earned.” Did you hear him say, “What A speculator said the practice right have you to ask about the is “too conservative for inflationary riot?” times.” 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 339

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RUNNING QUOTATIONS: If a COMPOSITION TITLES: See full paragraph of quoted material the composition titles entry for is followed by a paragraph that guidelines on the use of quotation continues the quotation, do not marks in book titles, movie titles, put close-quote marks at the end etc. of the first paragraph. Do, howev- NICKNAMES: See the nick- er, put open-quote marks at the names entry. start of the second paragraph. IRONY: Put quotation marks Continue in this fashion for any around a word or words used in succeeding paragraphs, using an ironical sense: The “debate” close-quote marks only at the end turned into a free-for-all. of the quoted material. UNFAMILIAR TERMS: A word If a paragraph does not start or words being introduced to with quotation marks but ends readers may be placed in quota- with a quotation that is continued tion marks on first reference: in the next paragraph, do not use Broadcast frequencies are mea- close-quote marks at the end of sured in “kilohertz.” the introductory paragraph if the Do not put subsequent refer- quoted material constitutes a full ences to kilohertz in quotation sentence. Use close-quote marks, marks. however, if the quoted material See the foreign words entry. does not constitute a full sen- AVOID UNNECESSARY FRAG- tence. For example: MENTS: Do not use quotation He said, “I am shocked and marks to report a few ordinary horrified by the incident. words that a speaker or writer “I am so horrified, in fact, that I has used: will ask for the death penalty.” Wrong: The senator said he But: He said he was “shocked would “go home to Michigan” if he and horrified by the incident.” lost the election. “I am so horrified, in fact, that I Right: The senator said he will ask for the death penalty,” he would go home to Michigan if he said. lost the election. DIALOGUE OR CONVERSA- PARTIAL QUOTES: When a TION: Each person’s words, no partial quote is used, do not put matter how brief, are placed in a quotation marks around words separate paragraph, with quota- that the speaker could not have tion marks at the beginning and used. the end of each person’s speech: Suppose the individual said, “I “Will you go?” am horrified at your slovenly man- “Yes.” ners.” “When?” Wrong: She said she “was hor- “Thursday.” rified at their slovenly manners.” NOT IN Q-and-A: Quotation Right: She said she was horri- marks are not required in formats fied at their “slovenly manners.” that identify questions and an- Better when practical: Use the swers by Q: and A:. See the ques- full quote. tion mark entry for example. QUOTES WITHIN QUOTES: NOT IN TEXTS: Quotation Alternate between double quota- marks are not required in full tion marks (“ or ”) and single texts, condensed texts or textual marks (‘ or ’): excerpts. See ellipsis. She said, “I quote from his let- 338-350_PUNCTUATION.qrk 3/3/03 11:39 AM Page 340

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ter, ‘I agree with Kipling that ‘the Note that the semicolon is female of the species is more used before the final and in such deadly than the male,” but the a series. phenomenon is not an unchange- Another application of this able law of nature,’ a remark he principle may be seen in the did not explain.” cross-references at the end of en- Use three marks together if tries in this book. Because some two quoted elements end at the entries themselves have a same time: She said, “He told me, comma, a semicolon is used to ‘I love you.’” separate references to multiple (NOTE: Local style should en- entries, as in: See the felony, sure some differentiation between misdemeanor entry; pardon, pa- the single and double quotation role, probation; and prison, jail. marks, either with a “thin” space See the dash entry for a differ- or by different typography, if not ent type of connection that uses computer-programmed.) dashes to avoid multiple commas. PLACEMENT WITH OTHER TO LINK INDEPENDENT PUNCTUATION: Follow these CLAUSES: Use semicolon when a long-established printers’ rules: coordinating conjunction such as —The period and the comma and, but or for is not present: The always go within the quotation package was due last week; it ar- marks. rived today. —The dash, the semicolon, the If a coordinating conjunction question mark and the exclama- is present, use a semicolon before tion point go within the quotation it only if extensive punctuation marks when they apply to the also is required in one or more of quoted matter only. They go out- the individual clauses: They side when they apply to the whole pulled their boats from the water, sentence. sandbagged the retaining walls, See comma. and boarded up the windows; but even with these precautions, the semicolon (;) In general, island was hard-hit by the hurri- use the semicolon to indicate a cane. greater separation of thought and Unless a particular literary ef- information than a comma can fect is desired, however, the bet- convey but less than the separa- ter approach in these circum- tion that a period implies. stances is to break the indepen- The basic guidelines: dent clauses into separate sen- TO CLARIFY A SERIES: Use tences. semicolons to separate elements PLACEMENT WITH QUOTES: of a series when the items in the Place semicolons outside quota- series are long or when individual tion marks. segments contain material that also must be set off by commas: He leaves a son, John Smith of Chicago; three daughters, Jane Smith of Wichita, Kan., Mary Smith of Denver, and Susan, wife of William Kingsbury of Boston; and a sister, Martha, wife of Robert Warren of Omaha, Neb. BRIEFING ON MEDIA LAW MEDIA LAW BRIEFING ON 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 341 AM Page 11:47 3/3/03 351-394_LAW.qrk 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 342

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FOREWORD

What follows is not a textbook on libel. It is a guide for The Associated Press staff. It explains fundamental principles of libel law and relevant First Amendment principles for working writers and editors. This manual will not make the reader an expert on libel or on the First Amendment. It will, we hope, make everyone aware of what libel is and how to avoid it. Underlying all the guidance in this book is one basic rule for the AP staff: If a legal problem develops with a story, or if guidance is needed in the handling of a story, consult the General Desk. Nothing in the manual alters this rule. The law of libel is a matter of state law and, as is the case with all other matters of state law, it is neither universal, nor static. While the First Amendment principles which guide the state laws of libel are universally applicable to all the states, each state is free to craft its own laws against libel, within the First Amendment boundaries. Few general- ities about the law of libel apply universally to all the states. The past 30 years have ushered in dramatic change in the First Amendment principles governing libel. New interpretations go on, especially in the arena of cyberspace. What has not and does not change is our promise to our- selves to be accurate and to be fair. For his help with this manual we are indebted to the late General News Editor Samuel G. Blackman.

LOUIS D. BOCCARDI President and Chief Executive Officer 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 343

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INTRODUCTION Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan remarked that “the law of libel has changed substantially since the early days of the Re- public.” And it has changed substantially since he made that observa- tion. But the working journalist remembers: The news stories that generate the most claims of injury to reputation — the basis of libel — are run-of-the-mill. Perhaps 95 of 100 libel suits are in that category and result from publication of charges of crime, im- morality, incompetence or inefficiency. A Harvard Nieman report makes the point: “The gee-whiz, slam-bang stories usually aren’t the ones that generate libel, but the innocent-appearing, potentially treacherous minor yarns from police courts and traffic cases, from routine meetings and from business reports.” Most suits based on relatively minor stories result from factual error or inexact language — for example, getting the plea wrong or making it appear that all defendants in a case face identical charges. Many libel suits arise in the context of reporting court and police news, especially criminal courts. Problems can arise in stories about crime and in identifying a suspect where there has been no arrest or where no charge has been made. Libel even lurks in such innocent-appearing stories as birth no- tices and wedding announcements. As Turner Catledge, former managing editor of The New York Times, noted in his book, “My Life and the Times,” “Sometimes people will call in the engagement of two people who hate each other, as a practical joke.” The fact that some New York newspapers have had to defend suits for such announcements illustrates the care and concern required in every editorial department. The lesson is twofold: one, there is no substitute for accuracy, and, two, news organizations may face legal challenges to what they publish — even when they have accurately reported statements made by someone else, as in the case of a phony engagement announcement. When the press reports that person X has leveled libelous accusations against person Y, unless a privilege discussed below applies, the press may be held to account not only for the truth of the fact that the allegations were made, but also for the steps taken to verify the truth of the accusations. When accusations are made against a person, it is always well to investigate the truth of the accusations as well as to try for balancing comment which has some relation to the original charges. Irrelevant countercharges can lead to problems with the person who made the first accusation. Always bear in mind that a newspaper can be held responsible in defamation for republishing the libelous statement made by another. This handbook outlines the law of libel, in general, and provides more details of the law as it specifically applies in Texas, Illinois, California and New York. While certain privileges, such as the 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 344

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privilege for neutral reportage, are not universally recognized, the law in every state is always evolving — the courts of any particular state may decide to recognize a privilege they had not recognized before. Chapter 1 WHAT IS LIBEL?

At its most basic, libel means injury to reputation. Each state, however, has adopted its own definition of the term libel. In some states libel is distinguished from slander, in that a libel is written, or otherwise printed, whereas a slander is spoken; in either case, the term defamation generally includes both terms. Words, pictures, cartoons, photo captions and headlines can all give rise to a claim for libel. In Illinois, libel is defined as “the publication of anything injurious to the good name or reputation of another, or which tends to bring him into disrepute.&ldquot; Illinois is an example of a state that makes no distinction between slander and libel. In New York, a libelous statement is one which tends to expose a person to hatred, contempt or aversion or to induce an evil or unsavory opinion of him in the minds of a substantial number of people in the community. In Texas, where libel is defined by statute, a “libel is a defamation expressed in written or other graphic form that tends to blacken the memory of the dead or that tends to injure a living person’s reputation and thereby expose the person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or financial injury or to impeach any person’s honesty, integrity, virtue, or reputation or to publish the natural defects of anyone and thereby expose the person to public hatred, ridicule, or financial injury.” In California, where libel is also defined by statute, libel is a false and unprivileged publication by writing, printing, picture, effigy or other fixed representation which exposes any person to hatred, contempt, ridicule or oblo- quy, or which causes him to be shunned or avoided or which in- jures him in his occupation. California is an example of a state that distinguishes substan- tively between libel and slander. In California, a slander, also defined by statute, is a false and unprivileged publication, orally ut- tered (including over the radio) which: (1) charges a person with committing a crime or with having been indicted, convicted or punished for a crime; (2) alleges that a person is infected with a contagious or loathsome disease; (3) imputes a person is generally unqualified to perform his job or tends to lessen the profits of someone’s profession, trade or business; (4) imputes impotence or want of chastity, or (5) by natural consequence charges actual damage. The definition of slander is thus more narrow than that of libel in California — so the speaker you quote may not be guilty of 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 345

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slander, but your written publication of the same matter may constitute a libel. Finally, many states, such as California, draw a distinction between a libel which defames the plaintiff without reference by extrinsic explanatory matter and a libel which requires reference to extrinsic matters. A claim for damages based on a statement that is not libelous without reference to extrinsic matter usually must be accompanied by a showing of specific damages suffered. A claim based on libel that does not require external reference can generally stand without a showing of specific damage. Chapter 2 LIABILITY FOR REPUBLICATION

A common misconception regarding the law of libel is that the publisher of a true and accurate quote of a statement containing libelous allegations is immune from suit if the quoted statement was actually made and was accurately transcribed by the reporter. In many circumstances, however, a newspaper can be called to task for republishing the libelous statement of another. For example, even when it comes to the reporting of the fact that a plaintiff has filed a libel suit against a defendant, a newspaper could, in certain circumstances, be held responsible for repeating the libel that gave rise to the suit. In most states, a “fair report privilege” shields the publisher of an accurate and impartial report of the contents of legal papers which have commenced a libel action. (See Chapter 3.) In some states, however, the fair report privilege does not attach to the contents of legal papers until a case goes to trial or some other specified judicial action takes place. Thus, publication of the pleadings in a libel case before the specified judicial action takes place could give rise to a fresh claim for libel. On the other hand, there are some instances where a newspaper will be justified in republishing the statements of another. First, there is the fair report privilege. Additionally, many states recognize that newspapers under the pressure of daily deadlines often rely on the research of other reputable newspapers in republishing news items originally appearing in the other newspapers. In such cases, reliance on a reputable newspaper or news agency is recognized as a defense to a libel claim. Of course, this justifica- tion ceases to exist if the republisher had or should have had substantial reason to question the accuracy or good faith of the original story. In some states, this defense is even further modified where the plaintiff is a public figure or public official, in which case the republisher is justified unless it had actual knowledge that the original statement was, in fact, false or published with a belief it was probably false, i.e., recklessly. Liability for republication of another’s materials is an area of the law of libel whose limits have been tested recently by the ad- vent of the Internet. Should online access providers be held liable 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 346

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as though they were the “publishers” of the material published everyday on the Internet by the millions of individuals with access to the Internet? Although the question has not yet been fully re- solved, the trend seems to be to either relieve the access providers of any liability, or to hold them responsible only for publication of those matters which they actually know to be false or probably false (as where someone calls the service to complain). Chapter 3 PRIVILEGES

In addition to the substantive defenses described later, in Chapter 4, certain privileges, grounded in both constitutional and state law, limit the ability of a plaintiff to successfully prosecute a libel claim. When an article raises any libel concerns, an editor or reporter should consider whether or not any of the following privileges apply to the publication. If any privileges do apply, the reporter and editor should consider whether the circumstances of the contemplated publication match the circumstances under which the privilege will attach.

1. Opinion The rationale behind the opinion privilege is that only statements that can be proven true or false are capable of defamatory meaning and that statements of “opinion” cannot, by their nature, be proven true or false. As the Supreme Court decision, Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974), which recognized the constitutional dimension of the opinion privilege, stated, “there is no such thing as a false idea.” In a more recent case, Milkovich v. Lo- rain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990), the Supreme Court attempted to clarify how an opinion was to be distinguished from a fact. Milkovich is widely thought of by legal commentators, however, to have added more confusion than clarity to the question. After Milkovich, some states have turned to their own state constitutions as providing basis for the opinion privilege and have thus attempted to avoid the Milkovich confusion. One such state, New York, has gone so far as to declare that its state constitution affords more protection for expression of opinion than the U.S. Constitution does — at least under the Milkovich standards. Texas, on the other hand, has claimed to have adopted the Milkovich holding. One test for distinguishing fact from opinion that appears to be followed in many states, even after the Milkovich decision, asks: (1) whether the statement has a precise core of meaning on which a consensus of understanding exists; (2) whether the statement is verifiable; (3) whether the textual context of the statement would influence the average reader to infer factual content; and (4) 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 347

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whether the broader social context signals usage as either fact or opinion. In New York, a statement of opinion based on accurately stated and reported facts is not actionable. Likewise, statements incapable of being proven false are considered protected expressions of opinion, as are epithets, satire, parody and hyperbole. Under these principles, calling a doctor a “rotten apple,” for example, was incapable of being proved true or false and was therefore protected as an expression of opinion. Similarly, a statement that plaintiff lacked “talent, ambition, initiative” was a nonaction- able expression of opinion. A letter to the editor published in a scientific journal submitted by the International Primate Protection League and which warned that a multinational corporation’s plans for establishing facilities to conduct hepatitis research using chim- panzees could well wind up spreading hepatitis to the rest of the chimpanzee population was, given its overall context, protected as opinion. Where the facts underlying the opinion are reported inaccurate- ly and would adversely affect the conclusion drawn by the average reader concerning the opinion expressed, however, the publication may give rise to a claim for libel in New York. Moreover, accusations of criminal or illegal activity, even when couched in the form of opinion, are not protected by the opinion privilege. Finally, to be protected under the opinion privilege in New York, the content, tone and apparent purpose of the statement should signal the reader that the statement reflects the author’s opinion. In Illinois, the test for distinguishing a fact from opinion is whether the statement clearly discloses the factual basis on which it depends. If so, the statement is pure opinion. If the statement suggests or appears to rely on undisclosed facts, it will be considered a statement of fact. Illinois courts assess the totality of the circumstances in which the statement appears. A statement is not protected in Illinois by the opinion privilege if it implies the existence of undisclosed facts which are both false and defamatory. In addition, false statements of fact, even when couched in terms of opinion, are capable of defamatory meaning. In Illinois, if a statement is provably false, it may be actionable unless the language is clearly “loose, figurative or hyperbolic.” In Illinois, the statement that a sports commentator was a “liar” without reference to specific facts was protected as opinion. Taken in the total context of an article, the statement that plaintiff was “neo-Nazi” was protected as opinion. Likewise, a statement calling a plaintiff a “commie,” suggesting that he does not understand the subject he teaches and that he is “not traveling with a full set of luggage,” was also protected as opinion. Statements accusing doc- tors of being “cancer con-artists,” of practicing “medical quackery,” and of promoting “snake oil remedies,” were also protected. A newspaper column and editorial characterizing a nudist pageant as “pornography” and as “immoral” were also protected. In California, after Milkovich, the state’s highest court held that a false assertion of fact could be libelous even though couched in 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 348

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terms of opinion, although statements that are clearly satirical, rhetorical, or hyperbolic continue to be protected. The same court also declared, in another case, that no “categorical exception for opinion exists independently under California Law” (Kahn v. Bower, 1991). This is in direct contrast to New York’s approach. Another court in California held that three questions should be considered to distinguish opinion from fact: (1) does the statement use figurative or hyperbolic language that would negate the impression that the statement is serious? (2) does the general tenor of the statement negate the impression that the statement is serious? (3) can the statement be proved true or false? Under this test, a television commentator’s statement that a manufacturer’s product “didn’t work” was not an opinion because, despite the hu- morous tenor of the comment, it did not use figurative or hyperbolic language, it could reasonably be understood as asserting an objective fact that could be proven true or false. Likewise, a statement made in a newspaper interview that plaintiff was an “extor- tionist” was not protected as opinion. Before Milkovich, courts in Texas had held that only false statements of fact were actionable in libel. After Milkovich, at least one court has held that there is no separate constitutional privilege for opinion and that opinions or ideas may be actionable if they imply false statements of objective fact. Thus, before Milkovich, a Texas court found that a statement in an editorial that the prosecution’s burden of proof of guilt “is no excuse for cheating” was protected as opinion. Likewise, the char- acterization of a fluoridation opponent as a “quack” and an “im- ported fearmonger” was protected as opinion. After Milkovich, statements that plaintiffs were incompetent pi- lots and troublemakers, when made in the context of a public issue, were protected opinions. On the other hand, the statement that a stockbroker was going to lose his license, was in big trouble with the SEC and would never work again as a broker, was not protected as opinion, but was, in fact, actionable. The common thread to these variations is that opinions that are offered in a context that presents the facts on which the opinion is based are generally not actionable. On the other hand, opinions that imply the existence of undisclosed, defamatory facts (i.e., if you knew what I know) are more likely to be actionable. In addition, a statement that is capable of being proven true or false, regardless of whether it is expressed as an opinion or as an exagger- ation or even hyperbole, may be actionable. One example offered by a prominent commentator on libel law illustrates the point: “Suppose the opinion is, ‘I think X must be an alcoholic,’ and there are no underlying facts stated. It would be reasonable for a reader to conclude that the writer knew facts that would justify such a comment — that X drank often, alone and compulsively, for example. If these facts are defamatory, that is, false and damaging to reputation, the comment will be considered defamatory also. Had underlying, accurate facts been supplied — ‘that X 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 349

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drinks three martinis every night on the club car which is why I think he must be an alcoholic’ — the comment would be protected.” (Sanford, Libel and Privacy, Second Edition, 1994.)

2. Fair Comment and Criticism The fair comment and criticism privilege long predates the constitutional opinion privilege and continues, in most states, to exist as an independent matter of state law. The right of fair comment has been summarized as follows: “Everyone has a right to comment on matters of public interest and concern, provided they do so fairly and with an honest purpose. Such comments or criticism are not libelous, however severe in their terms, unless they are written maliciously. Thus it has been held that books, prints, pictures and statuary publicly exhibited, and the architecture of public buildings, and actors and exhibitors are all the legitimate subjects of newspapers’ criticism, and such criticism fairly and hon- estly made is not libelous, however strong the terms of censure may be.” (Hoeppner v. Dunkirk Pr. Co., 1930.) Some states, such as Texas, have recognized the fair comment privilege as a matter of statutory law. The Texas statute protects reasonable and fair comment or criticism of the official acts of public officials and of other matters of public concern when published for general information. In Illinois, the fair comment privilege applies to statements of opinion, relating to an act, not an individual. The statements of opinion must include their factual predicate and relate to a matter of public interest. A recent Illinois court, however, has held that this privilege was supplanted by the U.S. constitutional opinion privilege (i.e.,Gertz and Milkovich) — thus placing in doubt the continued existence of this privilege.

3. Fair Report Under the fair report privilege, a fair and accurate report of a public proceeding cannot provide grounds for a libel suit. In New York the fair report privilege is a matter of statute. According to the statute, a fair and substantially accurate report of an official judicial or legislative proceeding cannot be the basis for defamation action. In order to qualify for the privilege, however, the account must be substantially accurate and fair. The privilege can still apply where the publisher edits out portions of an official report, provided that what is published is still substantially accurate. At least one New York trial court has even applied this fair report privilege to a news report based on information provided by police sources. Pursuant to the Texas fair report statute, the privilege applies to “a fair, true and impartial account” of: (a) judicial proceedings; (b) an official proceeding to administer the law; (c) all executive and legislative proceedings; and (d) the proceedings of public meetings dealing with public purposes. In this context, the phrase “fair, true and impartial account” means a substantially true account. This privilege relieves a news organization of responsibility 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 350

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for determining the underlying truth of the statements made in these contexts, precisely because the very fact that these comments were made is newsworthy and important regardless of whether they are actually true. Once again, however, this privilege is limited to statements made in the contexts as defined. California also has a statute recognizing a privilege for a fair and true report in a public journal of a judicial, legislative or other public official proceeding, including a report of anything said in the course thereof. California also recognizes a privilege for a fair and true report of a public meeting, which includes press conferences. In Illinois, a report of a governmental proceeding is privileged unless the report significantly alters the defamatory meaning of the statements made by government officials. The privilege may not apply if the defamatory statement itself does not appear in the public record. Statements made outside the court by police or a prosecutor or an attorney may or may not qualify as privileged, depending on what state you are in and on the circumstances in which the statements are made. Some states only extend the privilege to such out of court statements if made by specified top officials. In New York and some other states, court rules provide that the papers filed in matrimonial actions are sealed and thus not open to inspection by the general public. It is not clear whether the fair report privilege will attach to publication of the contents of such papers, which by court rule, or order of the judge, are to be kept confidential. In one case where this very situation arose, the vice president of a company filed a libel suit in New York alleging that he was fired because a newspaper published his wife’s charges of infidelity set forth in divorce proceedings. The newspaper responded that its report was a true and fair account of court proceedings. The New York Court of Appeals rejected that argument on grounds that the law makes details of marital cases secret because spatting spouses frequently make unfounded charges. The lesson of this case is that information gleaned from “confidential” court documents might not be covered under the fair report privilege. In such a case, the paper will be put to the test of proving that it made a reasonable effort to determine the truth of the allegations before publishing them. There are other “traps” to be aware of when relying on this privilege. For example, statements made on the floor of convention sessions or from speakers’ platforms organized by private organizations may not be privileged under the fair report privilege. Strict- ly speaking, conventions of private organizations are not “public and official proceedings” even though they may be forums for dis- cussions of public questions. Similarly, while statements made by the president of the United States or a governor in the course of executive proceedings have absolute privilege for the speaker (even if false or defamatory), the press’ privilege to report all such statements is not always ab- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 351

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solute. For example, President Kennedy once was asked at a news conference what he was going to do about “two well-known security risks” in the State Department. The reporter gave names when the president asked for them. The AP published the names because it was in the public interest to report the incident fully. No suits resulted. In contrast, after a civil rights march, George Wal- lace, then governor of Alabama, appeared on a television show and said some of the marchers were members of communist and communist-front organizations. He gave some names, which newspapers carried. Some libel suits resulted.

4. Neutral Reportage The lack of recognition, in many states, of the neutral reportage privilege is a sad fact of which all reporters and editors should be aware. The neutral reportage privilege protects a fair, true and impartial account of a newsworthy event. Neutral reportage is, of course, a basic tenet of good journalism and, as such, is a good practice to follow regardless of whether it is an officially recognized privilege in your state. California is one of the few states that has recognized the neutral reportage privilege. The privilege is available when the plaintiff is a public figure, the defamatory statement is made by one who is a party to a public controversy and the publication is accurate and neutral. One California court applying the privilege found that a newspaper’s account of an accusation that a police officer had im- properly obtained a false confession to a crime from a person later released as innocent was not actionable where the newspaper also printed the officer’s denial of the charge. Although Texas does not officially recognize the neutral report privilege, at least one recent case has recognized the principle of the neutral reportage privilege, without naming it as such. In that case, KTRK Television v. Felder, 1997, the court held that a story which accurately reported that parents of school children had accused a school teacher of physically threatening and verbally abusing their children was substantially true regardless of whether the allegations themselves were accurate. Similarly, while New York state courts do not recognize a privilege for neutral reportage, a federal court in New York state has actually found a neutral reportage privilege grounded in the U.S. Constitution. As the court described the neutral reportage privilege in this case, “when a responsible, prominent organization ... makes serious charges against a public figure, the First Amend- ment protects the accurate and disinterested reporting of those charges, regardless of the reporter’s private views regarding their validity.” (Edwards v. National Audubon Society, 2d Cir. 1977.) Subsequent cases have held that the neutral reportage privilege will not apply when the author of an article appears to espouse or concur in the charges made by others and that the privilege is limited to cases involving public figures. 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 352

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Chapter 4 DEFENSES

When contemplating publication of a statement that might raise a libel claim, a publisher would do well to consider the defenses available and the requirements of each defense. The several defenses available to news organizations charged with committing libel are listed below. 1. Not Capable of Defamatory Meaning The first and most obvious defense to an actual or threatened libel suit is that the language complained of “is not capable of defamatory meaning.” Generally, statements accusing someone of being a criminal, an adulterer, insane or infected with a loathsome disease are considered “capable of defamatory meaning.” However, to determine whether any particular statement is susceptible of defamatory meaning, reference must be made to the definition of libel adopted in the relevant state. Whether or not any given statement is “capable of defamatory meaning” depends additionally on the entire circumstances in which the statement arises as well as the state whose law governs. For example, a New York court found that a statement identifying an attorney as a “flashy entertainment lawyer” was not, without more, defamatory. Likewise, in New York, allegations of drunkenness, use of “political clout” to gain governmental benefit, membership in the “Mafia,” communist affiliation or that someone has cancer may or may not be defamatory, depending on the circumstances of the case. In Illinois, a court found that even though an allegation that an employee made unauthorized phone calls amounted to an allegation of misconduct on the job, the statement was not, without more, defamatory, because the allegation did not amount to an in- dictable criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. On the other hand, an Illinois court did find defamatory the statement that an employee was selling illegal drugs at work. In California, a court has held that it is defamatory per se to call someone a communist. Another California court, however, has cautioned that whether or not a statement is defamatory depends on the social climate at the time the statement is made. That court held that it was not defamatory in 1968 to say that someone was a member of the John Birch Society and an extremist, but implied that it would be defamatory to say that someone was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In Texas, a statement may be false, abusive and unpleasant without being defamatory. For example, a Texas court held that describing someone as resembling a “hard boiled egg,” referring to baldness and pudginess, was not defamatory. Likewise, describing a political candidate as a “radical,” “backed and financed by big- shot labor bosses” was not considered defamatory in Texas. On 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 353

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the other hand, an insinuation that a person is connected with gambling and prostitution was found to be defamatory. The assertion that a person who had made an allegation against another of child molestation had fabricated and since recanted the allegation was defamatory when no recantation had, in fact, been made. 2. Truth A public official and a public figure and a private individual involved in a matter of public concern all will have to prove the statement is false in order to prevail on their libel claim. (The states are divided on whether and in what circumstances the private individual will have to prove falsity if the matter is not one of public concern.) While it is true that most libel plaintiffs will have to prove that the statement about which they complain is false, as a practical matter a libel defendant’s best defense is that the statement is true. In most states, such as New York, truth is a complete and unconditional defense to a civil action for libel. In Cali- fornia a true statement is simply not actionable in defamation — even if published maliciously. In New York, “substantial accuracy” is the test for truth or falsity. In California, proving “truth” requires proof that the substance or the sting of the defamatory charge is true. This does not require proof of the literal truth of every word in the publication. In Texas, truth is considered an absolute privilege by Texas statute. Texas, too, employs the “substantial truth” test. In other words, the statements must not only be literally false, they must be substantially false — the alleged defamatory statement must be more damaging to the plaintiff’s reputation, in the mind of the average listener, than a truthful statement would have been. If the gist of the statement is true or undisputed, variance with respect to matters of secondary importance can be disregarded. Under the Illinois state constitution, truth is a defense to all actions for libel “when published with good motives and for justifi- able ends.” The “good motives” limitation would violate the U.S. Constitution, however, where a public figure is involved, but where a private individual is involved, it may still be valid. 3. Fault As a matter of constitutional law, under Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974), some showing of fault on the part of defendant is a predicate to any recovery in a defamation action. Accordingly, another defense available to any newspaper or reporter accused of libel is that they did not act with the requisite degree of fault. The level of “fault” that the plaintiff must prove will vary depending on who the plaintiff is. When determining fault, reference will be made to the standards of conduct generally adhered to in the circumstances. Public Figures If the plaintiff is a public figure or public official, the plaintiff must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the publica- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 354

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tion was made with actual malice. That is the rule of New York Times v. Sullivan (1964). Although “actual malice” is a constitutional requirement, states have, within the constitutional boundaries, developed their own ways of determining whether actual malice has been shown. New York courts have thus stated that actual malice looks to the subjective state of mind of the publisher at the time of publication. It inquires into whether the publisher believed the statement was false or whether he published it with reckless disregard for its truth, or with awareness of a high probability that the statement was false. Generally speaking, it is difficult for a plaintiff to show that a newspaper published a story with actual malice. In Texas, actual malice is the making of a statement with knowledge that it is false, or with “reckless disregard” of whether it is true. Reckless disregard means a high degree of awareness of probable falsity. To prove reckless disregard, the plaintiff must present sufficient evidence to permit the conclusion that the defendant entertained serious doubts as to the truth of the publication. Moreover, in Texas, malice cannot be inferred from the frequency of a publisher’s criticism of a public official’s performance, nor does the fact that statements are taken out of context establish actual malice. In Illinois, the actual malice rule requires a libel plaintiff to show with convincing clarity that the defendant entertained serious doubts as to the truth of the publication. As one Illinois court stated, actual malice is shown only when a reporter’s investigation “has revealed either insufficient information to support the allegations in good faith or information which creates substantial doubt as to the truth of published allegations.” (Wanless v. Rothballer, 115 Ill.2d 158, 508 N.E.2d 316, 332, 1986.) Private Individuals The U.S. Supreme Court has not addressed the standard by which a newspaper’s actions will be judged where the plaintiff is a private figure. Many state courts, however, have held that a negligence standard of liability applies. In Texas, if the plaintiff is not a public figure, then the newspaper defendant’s standard will be judged by a negligence standard, i.e., whether the defendant should have known, through the exercise of reasonable care, that a statement was false when the defamatory matter is one of private concern. New York, on the other hand, has held that if the plaintiff is a private individual involved in a matter of legitimate public concern, the plaintiff must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the publication was made in a grossly irresponsible manner without due regard for the standards of information gath- ering and dissemination ordinarily followed by responsible parties involving similar matters. The focus in such a case is on objective standards, not the defendant’s state of mind. While there is a lot of subtle variation in this area of the law which concerns lawyers, the bottom line for reporters and editors 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 355

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is that if the plaintiff is a public figure or public official, the plaintiff will bear a high burden of proof in making out his claim. If the plaintiff is a private individual, however, who happens to be involved in a matter of legitimate public concern, the plaintiff’s burden of proof may, in some states, be somewhat eased. If the claim is brought by a private individual not involved in matters of legitimate public concern, however, the burden of proof for the plaintiff will definitely be eased. Accordingly, there are more risks to publishing matters not of legitimate public concern about private individuals than to publishing matters that are of public concern, especially where they involve public figures or public officials. Chapter 5 SUPREME COURT DECISIONS REGARDING LIBEL LAW

What follows is an overview of the First Amendment principles guiding the libel law. The constitutional trend here outlined has a direct impact on which of the aforementioned defenses newspaper libel defendants are most likely to have to rely. In a series of decisions commencing in 1964, the Supreme Court established important First Amendment protections for the press in the libel area. But in more recent decisions, the tide has been running against the press. While the full impact of the later decisions is not yet clear, a review of the rulings since the mid- 1960s shows the trend. 1. Public Officials and Public Figures In The New York Times case, the Supreme Court ruled in March 1964 that public officials cannot recover damages for a report related to official duties unless they prove actual malice. To establish actual malice, the official was required to prove that at the time of publication, those responsible for the story knew it was false or published it with reckless disregard of whether it was true or false. The decision reversed two $500,000 libel verdicts returned in Alabama against The New York Times and four black ministers. The court said: “The constitutional guarantees (the First and 14th Amend- ments) require, we think, a federal rule that prohibits a public official from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with ‘actual malice’ — that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.” This does not give newspapers absolute immunity against libel suits by officials who are criticized. But it does mean that when a newspaper publishes information about a public official and pub- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 356

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lishes it without actual malice, it should be spared a damage suit even though some of the information may be wrong. The court said it considered the case “against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic and sometimes un- pleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.” The ruling in The New York Times case with respect to public officials was extended by the Supreme Court in June 1967 to apply also to public figures in The Associated Press v. Walker. In so holding, the court reversed a $500,000 libel judgment won by former Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker in a Texas state court against the AP. The AP reported that Walker had “assumed command” of rioters at the University of Mississippi and “led a charge of students against federal marshals” when James H. Meredith was admitted to the university in September 1962. Walker alleged those statements to be false. In ruling for the AP, the court found: “Under any reasoning, Gen. Walker was a public man in whose public conduct society and the press had a legitimate and substantial interest.” The rulings in The New York Times and The Associated Press cases were constitutional landmark decisions for freedom of the press and speech. They offered safeguards not previously defined. But they did not confer license for defamatory statements or for reckless disregard of the truth. The Associated Press decision made an additional important distinction. In the context of a case with which The Associated Press case had been consolidated, the Supreme Court upheld an award granted to Wallace Butts, former athletic director of the University of Georgia, against Curtis Publishing Co. The suit was based on an article in the Saturday Evening Post accusing Butts of giving his football team’s strategy secrets to an opposing coach prior to a game between the two schools. The court found that Butts was a public figure, but said there was a substantial difference between the two cases. Justice Harlan said: “The evidence showed that the Butts story was in no sense ‘hot news’ and the editors of the magazine recognized the need for a thorough investigation of the serious charges. Elementary precautions were, nevertheless, ignored.” Justice Warren, in a concurring opinion, referred to “slipshod and sketchy investigatory techniques employed to check the verac- ity of the source.” He said the evidence disclosed “reckless disregard for the truth.” The differing rulings in The Associated Press and the Saturday Evening Post cases should be noted carefully. The Associated Press-Walker case concerned “hot news” the Saturday Evening Post-Butts story was investigative reporting of which journalists are doing more and more. Extension of The New York Times rule in another case was based on a column by Drew Pearson which characterized a candi- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 357

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date for the United States Senate as “a former small-time bootleg- ger.” The jury held that the accusation related to the private sector of the candidate’s life. Reversing this judgment, the Supreme Court said: “We therefore hold as a matter of constitutional law that a charge of criminal conduct, no matter how remote in time or place, can never be irrelevant to an official’s or a candidate’s fit- ness for office for purposes of application of the ‘knowing falsehood or reckless disregard’ rule of New York Times v. Sullivan.” (Monitor Patriot v. Roy, 401 U.S. 265, 1971.) Another case was brought by a Chicago captain of detectives against Time magazine, which had quoted from a report of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission without making clear that the charges of police brutality were those of the complainant whose home was raided and not the independent findings of the commission. The court described the commission’s documents as “bristling with ambiguities” and said that Time did not engage in a “falsification” sufficient to sustain a finding of actual malice. (Time, Inc. v. Pape, 401 U.S. 279 , 1971.) The progression of The New York Times and The Associated Press cases was interrupted, however, in June 1974 with the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc. Gertz, a lawyer of prominence in Chicago, had been attacked in a John Birch Society publication as a communist. There were additional accusations as well. Gertz sued and won a libel verdict in his favor. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict, noting that he was neither a public official nor a public figure. The Gertz decision opened the door to giving courts somewhat wider leeway in determining whether someone was a public person. This case also opened the way to giving state courts the right to assess what standard of liability should be used in testing whether a publication about a private individual is actionable. It insisted, however, that some degree of fault, at least negligence, be shown. As a result, some state courts have established a negligence standard (whether a reasonable person would have done the same thing as the publisher under the circumstances). The New York courts follow a gross negligence test when the matter published is of public concern. Others still observe the actual malice test in suits by private individuals against the press. More recently, in the case Time v. Firestone, the Supreme Court again appears to have restricted the “public figure” and “public issue” standards. The case stemmed from Time magazine’s account of the divorce of Russell and Mary Alice Firestone. The magazine said she had been divorced on grounds of “extreme cruelty and adultery.” The court made no finding of adultery. She sued. She was a prominent social figure in Palm Beach, Fla., and held press conferences in the course of the divorce proceedings. Yet the Supreme Court said she was not a public figure because “she did not assume any role of special prominence in the affairs of society, other than perhaps Palm Beach society, and she did not thrust 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 358

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herself to the forefront of any particular public controversy in order to influence resolution of the issues involved in it.” As in the Gertz case, the Firestone decision further cleared the way for increased application of a negligence standard — a standard less severe than the actual malice standard that was at the base of The New York Times v. Sullivan and The Associated Press v. Walker. Supreme Court decisions, starting with Gertz and extending through Firestone and more recent cases, have consistently narrowed the class of people to be treated as public figures under the Times-Sullivan and AP-Walker standards. Two 1979 rulings by the Supreme Court illustrate the narrowing of the protections that seemed so wide only a few years earlier: Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin was sued for $8 million by Ronald Hutchinson, a research scientist who had received several public grants, including one for $50,000. Proxmire gave Hutchin- son a “Golden Fleece” award, saying Hutchinson “has made a fortune from his monkeys and in the process made a monkey of the American taxpayer.” Hutchinson sued. The Supreme Court found that despite the receipt of substantial public funds, Hutchinson was not a public figure. The court also ruled that Proxmire’s news release was not protected by congressional immunity. (Hutchinson v. Proxmire, 443 U.S. 111, 1979.) Ilya Wolston pleaded guilty in 1957 to criminal contempt for failing to appear before a grand jury investigating espionage. A book published in 1974 referred to these events. Wolston alleged that he had been libeled. In ruling on Wolston v. Reader’s Digest, the Supreme Court said that he was not a public figure. The court said people convicted of crimes do not automatically become public figures. Wolston, the court said, was thrust into the public spotlight unwillingly. In effect, the court extended the Firestone concept of unwilling notoriety to criminal as well as civil cases. Thus the pattern through Gertz, Firestone, Proxmire and Reader’s Digest is clear. The New York Times rule has been left standing but it is slowly being whittled away by exceptions. The Supreme Court is rejecting the notion that a person can be a public figure simply because of the events that led to the story at issue. The court is saying that public figure means people who seek the limelight, who inject themselves into public debate, etc. The court is saying that involvement in a crime, even a newsworthy one, does not make one a public figure. This narrowing of the definition of who is a public figure also means that the broad protections that came out of The New York Times and The Associated Press cases apply to fewer numbers of the people who are written about in the news. Moreover, the broad protections of “knowing falsity” and “reckless disregard of the truth” set out in The New York Times and The Associated Press cases are being replaced in state after state with simple negligence standards. In other words, the plaintiff, now ad- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 359

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judged to be a private citizen because of the recent rulings, need only prove that the press was negligent, not reckless. The difference is more than semantic. This development suggests that press lawyers will be relying more on some of the old standbys as defenses — plaintiff’s inability to prove falsity, privilege, fair comment — and this puts the ball right back with editors and reporters. 2. Private Figure/Public Concern Fortunately, however, this trend has been at least partially abridged by the Supreme Court’s decision in Philadelphia Newspa- pers v. Hepps. In that decision, the Court held that where a newspaper has published statements on a matter of public concern, even a private figure plaintiff cannot prevail without showing the statements at issue are false. This case provides that the common law rule requiring a defendant to prove truth is supplanted by a constitutional requirement that the plaintiff demonstrate falsity when the statements involved are of public concern. 3. Discovery A 1979 Supreme Court ruling, Herbert v. Lando, meanwhile, has had a significant impact on what materials a libel plaintiff can compel a news organization to disclose. The case ruled that retired Army Lt. Col. Anthony Herbert, a Vietnam veteran, had the right to inquire into the editing process of a CBS “60 Minutes” segment, produced by Barry Lando, which provoked his suit. Herbert had claimed the right to do this so that he could establish actual malice. The decision formalizes and calls attention to something that was at least explicit in The New York Times case: that a plaintiff had the right to try to prove the press was reckless or even knew that what it was printing was a lie. How else could this be done except through inquiry about a reporter’s or editor’s state of mind? The ruling reminds plaintiffs’ lawyers that they can do this. This, no doubt, may be responsible for far more of this kind of inquiry than the press has had to face before. 4. Summary Judgment There was a footnote in the Proxmire case that has had a marked effect on the way libel cases are litigated. Footnote 9 questioned the practice of dismissing libel actions early in the course of litigation. The lower courts have paid serious attention to this footnote, with the result that more and more libel actions are being tried before a jury. In a 1986 decision, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, however, the Supreme Court held that summary judgment should be granted in libel actions against public officials and public figures unless the plaintiff can prove actual malice with “convincing clarity” or by “clear and convincing evidence.” This rule should facilitate the 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 360

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early dismissal of unmeritorious claims without the expense and burden of proceeding to trial. 5. Opinion Privilege More recently, in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990), the Supreme Court made clear that even statements of opinion may constitute libel if “sufficiently factual to be proven true or false.” The Milkovich case therefore took away the opinion defense to libel that had been adopted by many lower courts. Although the decision did not alter the rules relating to public figures and events described above (for example, the requirement of actual malice), the case may lead to more jury trials in libel suits, particularly where the person bringing the suit is a private individual. 6. Damages The huge jury verdicts that often result have caused much concern among legal commentators and the press. A number of remedies have been proposed, including statutory caps on both com- pensatory and punitive damages. A 1996 non-press Supreme Court case, holding that some excessive damage verdicts might violate the Constitution, holds out some promise of relief. An indication that the Supreme Court is facing this problem in the libel area appeared in its 1984 opinion in Bose v. Consumers Union. Bose Corp. sued Consumer Reports over its publication of disparaging comments concerning Bose’s loudspeaker systems and obtained a damage judgment of about $211,000. The Court of Appeals, after a careful review of the record, reversed the judgment. The Supreme Court endorsed this process, underscoring the need for appellate courts in libel cases to make an independent review of the record — a standard of scrutiny that does not apply in most other appeals. For the foreseeable future, the press will continue to rely on the willingness of the appeals courts to overturn excessive jury verdicts.

SUMMARY OF FIRST AMENDMENT RULES

The gist of the principles established in the cases discussed above may be summarized as follows:

A. The Public Official Rule: The press enjoys a great protection when it covers the affairs of public officials. In order to successfully sue for libel, a public official must prove actual malice. This means the public official must prove that the editor or re- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 361

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porter had knowledge that the facts were false or acted with reckless disregard of the truth. (See Chapters 5 and 7).

B. The Public Figure Rule: The rule is the same for public figures and public officials. That is, a public figure must prove actual malice. The problem is that it is very difficult in many cases to predict who will be classified as a public figure. (See Chapters 5 and 7). In general, there are two types of public figures:

1. General Purpose Public Figure: This is an individual who has assumed the role of special prominence in the affairs of society and occupies a position of persuasive power and influence. An example is the entertainer Jay Leno.

2. Limited Purpose Public Figure: This is a person who has thrust himself or herself into the vortex of a public controversy in an attempt to influence the resolution of the controversy. An example would be a vocal scientist who has lectured and published articles in an attempt to influence a state legislature to ban fluoridation of water.

C. The Private Figure Rule: A private figure is defined in the negative: someone who is not a public figure. The rule of law for libel suits brought by private figures varies from state to state. The variations fall into three general categories: 1. A number of states follow the same rule for private figures and public figures. They require private figures to prove actual malice. These states include Alaska, Colorado, Indiana and New Jersey. 2. At least one state, New York, requires private figures to prove that the publisher acted in a “grossly irresponsible manner” when the matter published is of public concern. 3. Most states require private figures to prove only “negligence.” Negligence is difficult to define. As a rule of thumb, a careless error on the part of the journalist could be found to constitute negligence. Chapter 6 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PLAINTIFFS

Determination of whether a plaintiff is a public figure plays a crucial role in determining the degree of fault the plaintiff will have to attribute (by proof) to the defendant. As it has been noted, the Supreme Court has, in recent years, narrowed its definition of who is a public figure. The party accused of committing libel will bear the burden of establishing whether the plaintiff is a public or a 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 362

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private figure. As with the rest of the law of libel, whether a plaintiff is a public figure or official varies from state to state. 1. Public Figures In New York, a public figure is one who has thrust himself or herself into the vortex of a public issue or controversy or has taken affirmative steps to attract public attention. Public figures have included: candidates for public office; religious groups; a belly dancer; and a “stripper for God.” In Texas, a public figure is one who has assumed a role of prominence in the affairs of society. Texas courts generally ask three questions in order to determine whether someone is a limited purpose public figure: (1) is the controversy truly a public controversy? (i.e., (a) are people talking about the controversy and (b) are people other than those immediately involved in the controversy likely to feel the impact of its resolution?); (2) does the plaintiff have more than a trivial or tangential role in the controversy?; (3) is the alleged defamation relevant to the plaintiff’s participation in the controversy? Under this standard, an abortion protester on a public street in the vicinity of an abortion clinic was considered a limited purpose public figure, as was a zoologist who appeared on television shows and gave interviews on his controversial work. In California, a public figure is one who has voluntarily and ac- tively sought, in connection with any matter of public interest, to influence resolution of the issues involved. At least one court in California has held that once one becomes a public figure, one retains that status “to the end of his days.” For a limited purpose public figure, the public figure status generally continues as long as the specific issues for which public status was achieved continues. A former city attorney who was also a civic leader and an attorney for a corporation organized to recall members of a city council was a public figure, under the California test. Others who have been found to be public figures have included: (1) a licensed clinical psychologist who conducted “nude marathon” group therapy sessions; (2) an author and television personality; (3) the founder of a well-known drug rehabilitation program; (4) a prominent and outspoken feminist author; (5) a candidate for city council; and (6) the owner, operator and manager of a radio station. On the other hand, a public school teacher whose participation in public controversy did not exceed that which she was required to by school district regulations (except that she responded to media inquiries), was not a public figure in California. Similarly, a corporation which conducted a closeout sale for a landmark department store was not a public figure simply because it was doing business with a party to a controversy. A note on corporations: In New York, the same standards that determine whether an individual is a public figure apply to corporations. In Texas, at least one court has asked three questions in order to determine whether a corporation is a public or a private figure: (1) what level of notoriety does the corporation enjoy among 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 363

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the average individuals in the relevant geographic area? (2) what is the nature of the corporation’s business? and (3) what is the frequency and intensity of media scrutiny that the corporation normally receives? For example, a British corporation that did not deal in consumer goods and had not received significant past publicity was a private figure for the purposes of a libel claim. 2. Public Officials In New York, public officials are those who are elected or appointed to office and who appear to have substantial responsibility for control over public and governmental affairs. Judges, police officers, state troopers and corrections officers have all been held to be public officials under this standard. In Texas, the following criteria are relevant to determining whether a plaintiff is a public official: (1) the public interest in the public position held by the plaintiff; (2) the authority possessed by the plaintiff to act on behalf of a government entity; (3) the amount of governmental funds controlled by the plaintiff; (4) the number of employees the official supervises; (5) the amount of contact between the plaintiff and the public, and (6) the extent to which the plaintiff acts in a representative capacity for the governmental entity or has any direct dealings with the government. Under this standard, (1) a county sheriff, (2) a Child Protective Services specialist with authority to investigate charges of child abuse, remove children from their homes and place them in foster care, (3) an undercover narcotics agent employed by the state’s law enforcement agency, (4) a ranking officer in charge of a narcotics squad of four men, (5) an individual who was a high school athletic director, head football coach and teacher, and (6) an assistant regional administrator of a branch office of the Securities and Exchange Commission and even a part-time city attorney, have all been found to be public officials. Under the same test, the following persons were found not to be public officials: (1) a high school teacher; (2) a prominent member of two private organizations affiliated with a state university; (3) a former special counsel for a court of inquiry into county fund management; (4) a court reporter; and (5) an appointed justice of the peace (where the article appeared in a city where plaintiff was not justice of the peace and did not refer to plaintiff’s official capacity). In California, a public official is one who has, or appears to the public to have, substantial responsibility for or control over the conduct of governmental affairs. In California, people found to be public officers have included a police officer, an assistant public defender, and an assistant district attorney. As a final note, for the plaintiff to be considered a public official for purposes of a libel claim, the article will probably have to address, at some point, the plaintiff’s official status and that status must be in some way relevant to the article. 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 364

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Chapter 7 MISCELLANEOUS

1. Defamation of the Dead Most states do not recognize a cause of action for defamation of the dead. Many states, do, however, permit an ongoing libel suit to continue after the death of the complaining person. For example, in New York no one can bring a cause of action for defamation of a deceased person unless they can demonstrate that their own reputation has been damaged by the defamation of the deceased. If the action is commenced before the plaintiff’s death, however, it may be continued. Substantially, the same rules apply in California. In Texas, too, the libel claim will survive if filed before the plaintiff dies. In Illinois, in contrast, actions for defamation do not survive death of either party (i.e., plaintiff or defendant) regardless of whether the action had been commenced before the party’s death. 2. Group Libel Most states appear not to authorize actions for libel based on defamation of a group. In Illinois, for example, a court dismissed an action by nine members of a 23-lawyer defense team which team the defendant newspaper had described as “as craven a group of lawyers as I’ve seen.” The case was dismissed because it did not include all the members of the defense team. New York does not permit libel actions alleging defamation of a group. Rather, the plaintiff must be able to show that the comments respecting the group actually defame its individual members. Factors considered by courts making this determination include: (1) the size of the group; (2) the degree of organization of the group, and (3) the prominence of the group and its individual members. In California, an individual plaintiff may not maintain an action for defamation directed against a class of persons to which he belongs, unless those to whom the communication is directed understand the communication as applying to the plaintiff. A California court has also commented that whether group libel actions are ever allowed is “highly questionable at best.” Similarly, in Texas, an individual may not recover damages for defamation of a large group of which he or she is a member where nothing in the defamation singles out the plaintiff in particular. Chapter 8 APPLYING THE RULES

We already have defined libel and explained the defenses available to the press. Let’s now look at some applications. 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 365

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In a society in which standards of right living are recognized by most people, any accusation that a member of society has violated such standards may be injurious. Members of a community establish in the minds of others an estimate of what they are believed to be. Injury to that reputation may mean business, professional or social ruin. One court decision put the matter this way: “The law of defamation is concerned only with injuries to one’s reputation.... “Embarrassment and discomfort no doubt came to her from the publication, as they would to any decent woman under like circumstances. Her own reaction, however, has no bearing upon her reputation. That rests entirely upon the reactions of others. We are unable to find anything in this article which could appreciably injure plaintiff’s reputation.” (Kimmerle v. New York Evening Jour- nal Inc., 262 N.Y. 99) The traditional rule was that defamation was concerned only with injuries to one’s reputation. That rule was altered in 1974 by the Gertz case, which held that emotional distress is also an element of damages in libel. In order to be libelous, it is not necessary that a publication im- pute criminal activity. The following was held to be libelous: “Pauper’s Grave For Poor Child”

“Unless financial aid is forthcoming immediately, the body of a 4-year-old boy who was run over Tuesday will be interred in Potter’s Field, burying ground of the homeless, friendless and penniless, who die or are killed in New York City. The parents of this youngster are in dire financial straits, and at this writing have no alternative but to let their son go to his final rest in a pauper’s grave.” The court said: “It is reasonably clear, therefore, that in some cases it may be a libel if the plaintiff has been written up as an object of pity .... The reason is that in libel the matter is defamatory not only if it brings a party into hatred, ridicule or contempt by asserting some moral discredit upon his part, but also if it tends to make him be shunned or avoided, although it imputes no moral turpitude to him.” (Katapodis v. Brooklyn Spectator Inc., 28 7 N.Y. 17). A publication that does not discredit a person as an individual may nonetheless damage a person’s professional status. A story stated that after a youth’s body had been taken from the waters in which he had been swimming, he was pronounced dead by a doctor. Later the youth was revived. The doctor sued because of the implication that he had been unable to determine whether a person was living or dead. Similarly, a publication may affect a business. Companies are naturally sensitive to news stories that reflect on their business prospects and practices. There have been many such news stories in the fields of environmental and consumer protection. The issues 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 366

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are complicated, and the legal aspects are not always clear. For- mal charges and allegations should be reported precisely and fairly. Likewise, there is no alternative to precision in reporting any criminal charge. An essential element of an action for libel is that the complainant be identifiable to a third party. Nevertheless, the omission of names will not, in itself, provide a shield against a claim for libel. As was pointed out earlier, there may be enough details for the person to be recognizable. A story may, by the use of a general description or name, make a charge capable of defamatory meaning against an organized group. It is possible that any member of the group could try to bring an action on the story. In most states, the individual will have to be able to prove that the story is about the plaintiff, rather than the group as a whole. If the plaintiff succeeds, however, and the material is capable of defamatory meaning and not privileged, then the question turns to proof of truth and “fault.” Can the truth of the charge be established by documents, by testimony from trustworthy people or by material from privileged sources? It may not be enough to show that somebody gave you the unprivileged information. The issue turns on the truth of the charge itself and your investigation and attempts to verify the charge. Another potential libel pitfall is the mistaken identity case, when, for example, a famous individual is confused with a person bearing a similar name who gets into a scrape. Petty thieves running afoul of the law may give the names of famous people — often old-time athletes — in the hope of getting leniency from a judge. If a newspaper reports that the famous person was arrested, the famous person may object to the report. Another mistaken identity situation might arise when a non-famous person, John Doe, is arrested and is subsequently identified in news reports about the arrest as “John Doe, the high school teacher.” If the John Doe who was arrested was really John Doe, the lawyer, and John Doe the high school teacher really exists, he probably will not be pleased with the news report. Chapter 9 POINTS TO REMEMBER

When you have any concerns about any particular statement or opinion, the first question to ask is whether it is capable of defamatory meaning. Second, does it refer to a specific, identifiable individual? Third, do any privileges apply? Does the opinion privilege apply? What about the fair report privilege? Does the state recognize any other privilege? (e.g. one for fair comment and criticism of 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 367

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public officials? Or the neutral report privilege?) Fourth, is the individual identified a public figure or a public official? Fifth, is the topic of the article one of public concern? Finally, what investigation was done in the preparation of the article and what sources does the article rely on?

—Remember, once the AP has published a story, only a KILL transmitted on a wire can definitively remove copy that is problem- atic in terms of the paragraph above, or which contains other very serious errors. Remember also that a KILL can be applied to a portion of a story. It is not necessary to KILL an entire item simply to remove one paragraph of the story. The KILL can be applied to only a portion of the story. —If a privilege applies, remember that the privilege does not remove the need for careful reporting and the use of editorial judgment. In many cases, courts have held that it is up to the jury to decide whether a particular publication was a fair and true report or whether there was “actual malice.” —Remember to be careful of descriptive phrases that may give rise to cases of mistaken identity. A report that “an elderly janitor for a local school” was arrested could lead to suits from every elderly janitor in the school district. —Remember that the fact that police are questioning someone about a crime does not necessarily justify the label suspect. Wit- nesses are obviously also questioned about a crime. Additionally, depending on the circumstances, the fact that a detective tells you that someone is a suspect will not always be privileged as a fair report. For example, several of the news organizations which reported that an individual was considered a suspect in planting the bomb that exploded in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympic Games have been sued by the man. —Pictures and captions must be as accurate and objective as news stories. Pictures and their captions can also give rise to a claim of libel. CHAPTER 10 PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING KILLS AND CORRECTIVES

This chapter summarizes how to make critical corrections to stories that have already moved, and how to remove them completely or temporarily from the news report if needed. We use KILLS, ELIMINATIONS, WITHHOLDS, CORRECTIVES and CLARI- FICATIONS in these cases. The rules for the use of these items are more complex than for ordinary corrections, which are described in the Filing Practices section of this Stylebook. The General Desk in New York or the New York manager desig- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 368

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nated to handle correctives must approve a KILL, ELIMINATION, CORRECTIVE or CLARIFICATION before it is filed. The New York Photo Desk must be consulted for photo problems. In many cases, the story involved may have been transmitted over more than one service. Any corrective action must be taken on all services where the story moved. 1. WITHHOLDS, ELIMINATIONS, and KILLS ELIMINATIONS AND KILLS are used to permanently remove from the wire material that is still ‘alive’ — usually, copy that has been transmitted in the current 24-hour cycle. For material transmitted in a previous cycle, use a CORRECTIVE or CLARIFICA- TION. An ELIMINATION advises an AP member not to use a story at all in its publication and to remove it from its Web site. It may be used when the entire basis of the story is found to be wrong. KILLS have the same effect as eliminations, but are used on stories with very particularly damaging errors or that are potentially libelous. A KILL informs a member that the story, or part of a story, must not be used. When a story needs to be removed from the wire for legal reasons, use a KILL rather than an ELIMINA- TION. WITHHOLDS are used to temporarily remove from the report a story that may or may not be incorrect, and which we’re in the process of checking. If the check finds that the story was correct as originally filed, an advisory canceling the WITHHOLD and releasing the story can be filed. If, while the story is withheld, we obtain information that would change the story slightly, an advisory should be filed noting the changes. The advisory should be followed quickly with a writethru incorporating the changes. If the story is found to be substantially in error or potentially libelous, the WITHHOLD should be followed by an ELIMINATION or a KILL. 2. FORMATS FOR WITHHOLDS, ELIMINATIONS and KILLS For print and online services, Workbench templates and the formats below should be used. For broadcast services, follow broadcast style. Datelines on withholds, eliminations and kills should be the same as on the original stories. Withholds, eliminations and kills should carry the same category code as the original story (a for national news stories, n for state news stories, s for sports, etc.). WITHHOLDS, ELIMINATIONS and KILLS should be filed to print, broadcast and online sites at the same time. 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 369

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WITHHOLDS The form for a WITHHOLD is: Slug: [ BC-Gold Find, WITHHOLD ] Headline: [ WITHHOLD ] DENVER _ Withhold BC-Gold Find. Authorities say the miner’s story has been questioned. The AP

The form to release a story that has previously been WITHHELD is: Slug: [ BC-Gold Find, WITHHOLD ADVISORY ] Headline: [ WITHHOLD ADVISORY ] DENVER _ The story BC-Gold Find is available for use. The miner’s story has been confirmed. (Or: The story BC-Gold has been confirmed. A new version with additional information will be sent shortly.) The AP

ELIMINATIONS The form for an ELIMINATION for print and online wires is: Slug: [ BC-Practical Joke, ELIMINATION ] Headline: [ BULLETIN ELIMINATION ] BOSTON _ Eliminate BC-Practical Joke. It cannot be confirmed. The AP

On print wires, but NOT on online wires, follow the BULLETIN ELIMINATION immediately with an advisory. State whether a substitute story is planned: Slug: [ BC-Practical Joke, ELIMINATION Advisory ] Eds. note: [ Editors: The BOSTON story about the practical joke has been eliminated. It cannot be confirmed. ] A sub story will be filed shortly. (Or: No sub will be filed.) The AP

Use this form to eliminate an APNewsAlert: Slug: [ APNewsAlert, ELIMINATION ] NEW YORK _ Eliminate the APNewsAlert that moved on the pope’s arrival. The material is from last week and moved in error.

KILLS A KILL should say succinctly what was wrong with the original story — for example, ‘Smith was charged with robbery, not murder.’ Do not make any legal conclusions in the KILL - e.g., ‘the story is potentially libelous’ - when transmitting the KILL. The form for a KILL: Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL ] Headline: [ BULLETIN KILL ] NEW YORK _ Kill BC-Smith Charged. Smith was charged with robbery, not murder. The AP 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 370

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If only part of a story is killed, it should be followed by a writethru, eliminating the offending paragraph. The form for a partial kill is: Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL ] Headline: [ BULLETIN KILL ] NEW YORK — Kill graf 7 of BC-Smith Charged. Smith was not convicted last year of armed robbery. The AP

On print wires, but NOT on online wires, follow the KILL immediately with an advisory. State whether a substitute story is planned: Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL Advisory ] Editors: The New York story BC-Smith Charged, filed Monday, has been killed. Smith was charged with robbery, not murder. A kill is mandatory. Make certain the story is not published. A substitute story will be filed shortly. (Or: No substitute story will be filed.) The AP

Repeat the kill advisory approximately 12 hours later: Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL Advisory ] Editors: The New York story BC-Smith Charged, filed Monday, has been killed. Smith was charged with robbery, not murder. A kill is mandatory. Make certain the story is not published. A substitute story was filed, slugged BC-Smith Charged, 2nd Ld-Writethru. (Or: No substitute story was filed.) The AP

If a substitute story is filed, mark it as the next lead-writethru to the previous story. Include a nonpublishable editor’s note advis- ing that it replaces an earlier story that was KILLED. The form is: Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, 4th Ld-Writethru ] Eds: SUBS 7th graf pvs, which was killed, to CORRECT that Smith was charged last year with armed robbery but was not convicted. No pickup.

Use this format for killing an APNewsAlert: Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert, KILL ] NEW YORK _ Kill the APNewsAlert saying John Smith was charged in the murder. Smith was not charged with murder. The AP 3. DISREGARDS Use a DISREGARD to advise members of material sent inadver- tently, including old stories, duplicate stories and copy not meant 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 371

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for online or print wires. The advisory should say why the material should be disregarded. The form: Slug: [ BC-Turkey-Quake Survivors, DISREGARD ] Editors: Disregard BC-Turkey-Quake Survivors, a0704. The story moved in a previous cycle. (Or: The material is not intended for use in this service.) The AP 4. CORRECTIVES and CLARIFICATIONS A CORRECTIVE is a publishable story that acknowledges an error in a story and sets the record straight. Do not be hasty in transmitting a CORRECTIVE. When you take the step of transmitting a CORRECTIVE, it is important to ensure that the correction is actually warranted, that it corrects all aspects of the story that may need correction and that the correction itself is accurate. Transmission of a CORRECTIVE does not necessarily safeguard the AP against legal action. In fact, transmission of a CORREC- TIVE may itself have legal consequences because it formally acknowledges an error. You should be aware of any legal requirement in your state setting a time within which a correction must appear. CORRECTIVES and CLARIFICATIONS should identify the previous incorrect story by slug, transmission number and date. They should carry the dateline and category code of the original story. For print and online services, use Workbench templates and the formats below. For broadcast services, follow broadcast style. The format for a corrective: Slug: [ BC-Fed-Indictments, CORRECTIVE ] Eds. note: [ Eds: Members who used BC-Fed-Indictments, sent Oct. 22 under a New York dateline, are asked to use the following story. ] NEW YORK (AP) _ In an Oct. 22 story about federal indictments of city officials, The Associated Press reported erro- neously the name of one of those indicted. The correct name is Joseph Arnold, not John Arnold.

For correctives on undated stories, use By The Associated Press and no dateline. The proper form for a CORRECTIVE story often will be the straightforward statement that a previous AP report contained an error. However, where the AP did not originate the error, the COR- RECTIVE should make that clear. For instance, ‘The Associated Press, quoting state police, on Tuesday identified a man charged with embezzlement as Reginald Smith. The correct name of the man charged was Robert Smith.’ When the original story cited a member as a source, consult with the member. We will usually cite the member in the corrective. If the original story used member material as a source but did 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 372

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not attribute it to the member, we sometimes handle the corrective as if the AP itself made the error. Consult local or New York news managers if necessary.

CLARIFICATIONS A clarification is a publishable story used to clarify or expand upon a previous story which, while factually correct, may be unfair or subject to misinterpretation. A clarification must NOT be used as a substitute for a kill or a corrective. The clarification is used to provide background or detail in the interest of clarity or fairness. It is not used to correct factual errors in copy. The format: Slug: [ BC-Air Fares, CLARIFICATION ] Eds. note: [ Eds: Members who used BC-Air Fares of May 8 may wish to use the following, which explains that not all fares on domestic flights are subject to change. ] WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a story May 8, The Associated Press reported that fares on domestic flights will increase beginning in April. Fares will increase for flights in the continental Unit- ed States, but not for flights to Hawaii and Alaska.

For clarifications on undated stories, use By The Associated Press and no dateline. 5. Sending KILLS, ELIMINATIONS, WITHHOLDS, COR- RECTIVES AND CLARIFICATIONS Every KILL, ELIMINATION, WITHHOLD, CORRECTIVE and CLARIFICATION must be sent to the same services as the original story. To ensure that distribution is complete, the news editor in charge of the bureau or desk where the problem arose should fully advise the General Desk of all services to which the original item was sent. The General Desk, Broadcast News Center, AP Digital, Graphics and Photos are responsible for ensuring that these items are filed wherever necessary in their services. 6. Report Requirements Any time that a kill or corrective is filed, the bureau chief or news editor must prepare and maintain a file containing the following: 1. Wire copy of the original story and of the KILL and ELIMINA- TION that was sent. Include material transmitted on broadcast. 2. Wire copy of the substitute story, CORRECTIVE or CLARIFI- CATION filed. 3. A copy of any source material used by the writer or editor in preparation of the story, including member clip, reporter’s notes and the like. In addition, a factual letter stating why the story was KILLED or ELIMINATED should be sent to the New York manager designated to handle correctives. This statement should be prepared either by 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 373

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the bureau chief or the news editor, in consultation with the staff members involved. If legal action is a possibility, this explanation should not be prepared without prior consultation with the deputy managing editor. The letter should include relevant details not covered above, such as any contact with outsiders on the matter. The letter should be a factual report of what happened. It is not the place for extraneous comments about staff members or bureau procedures. Nor is it the place for apologies, nor any legal or factual speculation or conclusions. Do not make any response to any letter or other communication in connection with any case where legal action seems possible, especially if a lawyer is involved, without prior consultation with the New York manager handling correctives and kills.

CHAPTER 11 ACCESS TO PLACES AND INFORMATION

1. The First Amendment Right of Access Courtrooms - Criminal Proceedings In 1980, in Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that, under the First Amendment, criminal trials are presumptively open to the public and the media and may be closed only when it is necessary to protect some interest that outweighs the interest in access. A trial judge must articulate findings, on the record, to support any closure. This decision marked the first time in the nation’s history that the right to find out what a branch of government is doing had been afforded direct and specific constitutional protection. In 1982, in Globe Newspapers v. Superior Court, the Supreme Court recognized that the constitutional right of access to criminal trials applies even with respect to a sex-offense trial involving a victim who is a minor. The court struck down a statute mandating closure in such cases. While it said that the states have a significant interest in protecting minors who are victims of sexual assault from the trauma of testifying in open court, the Supreme Court held that trial judges must determine on a case-by-case basis whether this interest outweighs the presumption of openness and stated that any closure order must be “narrowly tailored to protect that interest” without unduly infringing on First Amend- ment rights. The Supreme Court further held in 1984 in Press-Enterprise v. Superior Court that the constitutional right of access to criminal trials encompasses the right to attend jury selection. 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 374

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In 1986, in a second case, called Press-Enterprise v. Superior Court, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment right of access attaches to preliminary hearings in a criminal case unless specific findings are made on the record to demonstrate that closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest. If the interest asserted is the defendant’s right to a fair trial, the preliminary hearing may not be closed unless there is a “substantial probability” that the right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity that closure would prevent and that reasonable alternatives to closure cannot adequately protect the right to a fair trial. The AP has distributed the following statement to be read in court by its reporters when confronted with an attempt to close a criminal proceeding. The statement allows the reporter, when permitted to address the court, to state the basic press position and to seek time for counsel to appear to make the legal argument. The following statement can be read verbatim, although if any parts are not applicable to a specific case, they can be changed or omitted.

May it please the Court, I am (name) of The Associated Press (or newspaper). I respectfully request the opportunity to register on the record an objection to the motion to close this proceeding to the public and to representatives of the news media. The Associated Press (or newspaper) requests a hearing at which its counsel may present to the court legal authority and arguments that closure in this case is improper. The United States Supreme Court has now firmly held that the press and the public have a constitutional right to attend criminal trials and pretrial proceedings and may not be excluded unless the court makes findings on the record that closure is required to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve those values. There is, therefore, a presumption of openness which is firmly rooted in the Con- stitution and essential to proper functioning of the criminal justice system. The Associated Press (or newspaper) takes the position that the defendant should be required to make the following showing in order to prevail on a motion to close this proceeding: First, the defendant must demonstrate that by con- ducting this proceeding in public the defendant’s right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity which closure would prevent. The defendant must demonstrate therefore that disclosures made in this hearing will prejudice the case and that these disclosures would not otherwise be brought to the attention of potential jurors. Second, the defendant must demonstrate that none of the alternatives to an order closing this proceeding would ef- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 375

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fectively protect the right to a fair trial. Among the alternatives available to protect the defendant’s rights are: a careful and searching voir dire, continuance, severance, change of venue, peremptory challenges, sequestration and admonition of the jury. Third, the defendant must demonstrate that closure will be effective in protecting the right to a fair trial. In the present case there has already been substantial publicity concerning the facts. The defendant must demonstrate that any prejudice to the right of a fair trial would result from publicity given to disclosures made in this proceeding, and not to previously published facts or allegations. Finally, the defendant must establish that reasonable alternatives to closure cannot adequately protect the defendant’s fair trial rights. The Associated Press (or newspaper) believes that there has been substantial public interest generated by this case. The public has a right to be informed of future developments, and the court should avoid any impression that justice is being carried on in secrecy. The public has a right to know how the court system is handling criminal matters, what kind of deals may be struck by prosecutors and defense lawyers, what kind of evidence may be kept from the jury, and what sort of police or prosecutorial acts or omissions have occurred. For these reasons, The Associated Press (or newspaper) objects to the motion for closure and respectfully requests a hearing in which it can present full legal arguments and authority. Courtrooms - Civil Proceedings The Supreme Court has never addressed the question of whether there is a First Amendment right of access to civil trials and pretrial proceedings. Several federal appeals courts, employ- ing the reasoning of the Supreme Court’s criminal trial access decisions, have ruled that both civil trials and pretrial proceedings are presumptively open to the press and public. Court Documents Both the First Amendment and state and federal common law also provide a right of access to various court documents, like the complaint, the answer, motions and legal briefs. There are, however, reasons that a judge may legitimately WITHHOLD a particular court document from the public. What is important to remember in this context, however, is that the presumption is that the press and the public have the right to access the document. In the absence of a statute directing that the document be kept confidential (as in most matrimonial actions), the Court must have a legitimate reason for keeping the document confidential. 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 376

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2. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) The federal Freedom of Information Act, originally passed by Congress in 1966 and amended periodically since, allows any citizen or any foreign national resident in the United States to request any records from the executive branch of the federal government. It does not cover Congress or the federal courts or state or local governments. All Cabinet agencies, independent agencies, regulatory commissions and government-owned corporations are covered. The president and his immediate staff are exempt but the Exec- utive Office of the president and the Office of the Management and Budget are covered. Records include all documents, papers, reports, and letters in the government’s possession. The term “record” also has been ruled to cover films, photographs, sound recordings and computer tapes, but not physical objects that cannot be reproduced. A 1996 law expanded the FOIA to require federal agencies, whenever possible, to share data in a specific format, such as on computer diskette or CD-ROM. The Electronic FOIA also broad- ened citizen access to government by placing more information online. There are nine exemptions in the act that agencies may — but are not obliged to — claim as a basis for withholding records. Those exemptions have generated voluminous litigation. Different agencies have responded in different ways to FOIA requests based on issues ostensibly already settled in court. If you want an item, ask for it. Let the government decide whether it has any grounds or willingness to deny your request. Even an exempt document can be released at the government’s discretion. Because of the various exemptions and a lack of manpower assigned to implement the act, there are often long delays in getting documents, which often contain large blacked-out portions. Here are a few elementary steps, among many available, that might help avoid those problems: —Call the public information office of the federal agency you believe has the records before filing your request to make sure you have the right agency and the right address for filing it. Ask them whether they will release what you are seeking without FOIA request. —Be as specific as possible about what you want. Give the dates, titles, authors and addresses for document and letters if you know them. In your letter, provide your telephone number and offer to supply any other information which might help narrow the search. —Even if you are using the letterhead stationery of a news organization, state specifically that you are a reporter for that organization and plan to use the material in news stories. The act does not require you to state your purpose, but disclosures in the pub- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 377

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lic interest are eligible for fee waivers, exemption waivers and in some cases expedited handling. —Request a waiver of search and copying fees. In case the waiver is denied, set a limit on the amount you will pay, such as $100, without the agency’s obtaining your prior, specific consent. —If you want field office files checked as well as those at headquarters, be sure to specifically request that. Some agencies, such as the FBI, will not do that unless asked. —Request that the agency cite specific exemptions for each item or portion of an item if it decides to deny any part of the requested release. —If your initial request is denied, file an administrative appeal. Some agencies take a very different view on appeal. The denial letter will specify to whom the appeal must be sent. —In appeal letters, argue the case for public benefit from disclosure; several exemptions request a balancing effort between privacy and public interests, and appellate reviewers may be more likely to exercise their right to waive an exemption if a good case is made. These are only a few examples of the steps that will improve your chances of success. You may want to consult FOIA experts or manuals before proceeding. An FOI Service Center is maintained by The Reporters Commit- tee for Freedom of the Press, 1735 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 504, Washington, D.C. 20006. The committee publishes a 32-page pamphlet with sample FOIA letters and appeal forms as well as analyses of the act. (On the Web: http://www.rcfp.org/foiact/index.html) The committee also maintains a toll-free hotline (1-800-F-FOI-AID), 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with attorneys available to provide FOIA advice. The U.S. Department of Justice publishes an annual “Freedom of Information Case List” which reviews recent cases, contains up- to-date copies of the relevant statutes and, most important, the “Justice Department Guide to the FOIA,” which gives the current government understanding of what is covered and not covered by each exemption. This document, published each September, is available for purchase from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (On the Web: http://usdoj.gov/04foia/index.html) Another view of current law on each exemption as well as a step-by-step guide to the process, with sample request and appeal letters, is contained in “Litigation Under the Federal Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act,” 14th edition, edited by Allan Adler and published by The American Civil Liberties Union Foun- dation. Individual copies are available for $40 from: Publications Department, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, 122 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. It is advisable to check on specific state freedom of information laws. Each individual state also has its own freedom of information laws that apply to state and local government agencies. 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 378

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Chapter 12 THE RIGHT OF PRIVACY

The right of privacy is a doctrine that has been developing in the past century. Its roots are often traced to an article entitled, “The Right to Privacy,” which appeared in the Harvard Law Review in 1890, and was co-authored by Louis D. Brandeis, who later became a Supreme Court justice. The article asserted, “The press is overstepping in every direction the obvious bounds of propriety and decency.” The article argued that these excesses ought to be deterred through the recognition of a distinct cause of action that would protect the individual’s “right of privacy.” As a Supreme Court justice, Brandeis later wrote: “The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man’s spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone — the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.” (Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 478, Brandeis, J. dissenting.) Since the writing of the article, innumerable legal commentators have debated whether such a cause of action ought to be recognized at all. From this debate, four distinct forms of the “right of privacy” cause of action have arisen: (1) misappropriation of name or likeness for commercial purpose; (2) public disclosure of private facts; (3) unreasonable intrusion upon seclusion; and (4) false light in the public eye. In recent times, these causes of action have taken on significance to the press as plaintiffs have attempted to avoid the heavy burdens of proof placed on the libel plaintiff by alleging an invasion of a form of the right of privacy, instead. 1. Misappropriation of Name or Likeness The first form of invasion of privacy recognized by the courts was misappropriation of the name or likeness of a living person for purposes of trade or advertising without that person’s consent. In recent years, some states have included voice as well as name or likeness. The First Amendment does provide for at least some exceptions to such a right of privacy — as where a candidate for public office includes his opponent’s name and likeness in campaign advertisements. 2. Public Disclosure of Private Facts Generally speaking, a claim for public disclosure of private facts complains about (1) publicity, (2) which the reasonable person would find highly offensive, (3) concerning private information 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 379

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about the plaintiff. Some states also require that the information published not concern or relate to a legitimate public interest. The states that recognize this cause of action generally make exceptions for public figures and for persons involved in matters of public concern. In 1967, however, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment “command[s] nothing less than that states may not impose sanctions for the publication of truthful information contained in official records for public inspection.” (Cox Broadcast- ing Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469, 1975.) So, at least to the extent that the private facts are a matter of public record, no cause of action for public disclosure will lie. 3. Intrusion Upon Seclusion A claim for unreasonable intrusion upon seclusion alleges that a defendant intentionally committed an unreasonable and highly offensive intrusion upon another’s interest in solitude or seclusion, either as to the plaintiff’s physical person or the plaintiff’s private affairs or concerns. Intrusion claims commonly arise in three contexts: (1) surreptitious surveillance; (2) trespass of property, and (3) instances where consent to enter a private setting for one purpose has been exceeded (as where a reporter gains access to information under false pretenses). Although plaintiffs have often complained about a picture of them that was taken, if the picture was taken in a public place, there will generally be no cause of action for intrusion. If the picture is taken in or around the plaintiff’s home, however, the plaintiff may have a cause of action for intrusion. This cause of action has been raised recently and with increasing frequency by plaintiffs who are photographed or videotaped by news agencies accompanying on-duty police officers. Recently, the family of a health care corporation executive successfully obtained an injunction against the elaborate efforts of a particular news organization to obtain information about the family. In this case the court held, “[c]onduct that amounts to a persis- tent course of hounding, harassment and unreasonable surveillance, even if conducted in a public or semi-public place, may nevertheless rise to the level of invasion of privacy based on intrusion upon seclusion.” 4. False Light A claim for false light basically complains about publicity that places the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye. Some states hold that the publicity must be of a kind that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. One form in which such a claim occasionally arises occurs where an opinion or utterance is falsely attributed to the plaintiff. In another version of the claim, plaintiff’s picture is used to illustrate an article to which he has no reasonable connection, as where the picture of an honest taxi driver 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 380

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is used to illustrate an article about the cheating propensities of cab drivers. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in January 1967 that the constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press are applicable to claims for invasion-of-privacy by false light involving reports of newsworthy matters. The ruling arose out of a reversal by the Supreme Court of a decision of a New York court that an article with photos in Life magazine reviewing a play, “The Desperate Hours,” violated the privacy of a couple who had been held hostage in a real-life incident. In illustrating the article, Life posed the actors in the house where the real family had been held cap- tive. The family alleged violation of privacy by false light in the public eye, saying the article gave readers the false impression that the play was a true account of their experiences. Life said the article was “basically truthful.” The court said: “The line between the informing and the entertaining is too elu- sive for the protection of [freedom of the press]. Erroneous statement is no less inevitable in such case than in the case of comment upon public affairs, and in both, if innocent or merely negligent, it must be protected if the freedoms of expression are to have the ‘breathing space’ that they ‘need to survive.’ “We create grave risk of serious impairment of the indispensable service of a free press in a free society if we saddle the press with the impossible burden of verifying to a certainty the facts associated in a news article with a person’s name, picture or por- trait, particularly as related to non-defamatory matter.” The court added, however, that these constitutional guarantees do not extend to “knowing or reckless falsehood.” A newspaper still may be liable for invasion of privacy if the facts of a story are changed deliberately or recklessly, or “fictionalized.” As with The New York Times and The Associated Press decisions in the field of libel, “The Desperate Hours” case does not confer a license for defamatory statements or for reckless disregard of the truth. 5. State Recognition of the Right to Privacy States vary widely both in terms of their acceptance of any of these right to privacy claims and in terms of the rules governing any such claims. Of the four forms of the “privacy” cause of action, New York only recognizes the claim for misappropriation of name or likeness for commercial purposes. Texas recognizes claims for intrusion upon seclusion, public disclosure of private facts and misappropriation of name or likeness for commercial purposes. The California state constitution recognizes the right of privacy and California therefore recognizes all four forms of the right of privacy cause of action. Although there is some disagreement among Illinois courts regarding whether to recognize the tort of in- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 381

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trusion upon seclusion, it can be generally said that Illinois, too, recognizes all four forms of the right of privacy. In light of the development of the right of privacy, it can be generally said that when people become involved in a news event, voluntarily or involuntarily, they forfeit the right to privacy. Similarly, a person somehow involved in a matter of legitimate public interest, even if not a bona fide spot news event, normally can be written about with safety. However, this is different from publication of a story or picture that dredges up the sordid details of a person’s past and has no current newsworthiness. Paul P. Ashley, then president of the Washington State Bar Association, said in a talk on this subject at a meeting of The Associated Press Managing Editors Association: “The essence of the wrong will be found in crudity, in ruthless exploitation of the woes or other personal affairs of private individuals who have done nothing noteworthy and have not by design or misadventure been involved in an event which tosses them into an arena subject to public gaze.” 6. Examples Here are details of a few cases brought in the name of right of privacy: —In a case against a Chicago newspaper, an Illinois trial court held that a mother had stated a cause of action for invasion of privacy where she alleged that she told the newspaper reporter that she did not want to make any public statement about her son’s death and where the reporter nevertheless remained in the private hospital room with the mother, recorded her grief-stricken last words to her son and subsequently published a picture of the son’s dead body and the mother’s “last words” to her son. —A leading case centering on publication of details of a person’s past concerned a man who, as a child prodigy in 1910, had attracted national attention. In 1937, The New Yorker magazine published a biographical sketch of the “child prodigy” in his adult years. He alleged invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts. The court said “he had cloaked himself in obscurity but his subsequent history, containing as it did the answer to the question of whether or not he had fulfilled his early promise, was still a matter of public concern. The article ... sketched the life of an unusual personality, and it possessed considerable popular news interest.” The court said further: “We express no comment on whether or not the newsworthiness of the matter printed will always constitute a complete defense. Revelations may be so intimate and so unwarranted in view of the victim’s position as to outrage the community’s notions of decency. But when focused upon public characters, truthful comments upon dress, speech, habits, and the ordinary aspects of personality will usually not transgress this line. Regrettably or not, the mis- fortunes and frailties of neighbors and ‘public figures’ are subjects 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 382

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of considerable interest and discussion to the rest of the population. And when such are the mores of the community, it would be unwise for a court to bar their expression in the newspapers, books, and magazines of the day.” —The unsavory incidents of the past of a former prostitute, who had been tried for murder, acquitted, married and lived a re- spectable life, were featured in a motion picture. She sued for invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts. The court ruled that the use of her name in the picture and the statement in advertisements that the story was taken from true incidents in her life violated her right to pursue and obtain happiness. Some courts have ruled that a person who is recognizable in a picture of a crowd in a public place is not entitled to the right of privacy, but if the camera singled him out for no news-connected reason, then his privacy might be invaded. Another example of spot news interest: A child was injured in an auto accident in Alabama. A newspaper took a picture of the scene before the child was removed and ran it. That was spot news. Twenty months later a magazine used the picture to illustrate an article. The magazine was sued for public disclosure of private facts and lost the case, the court ruling that 20 months after the accident the child was no longer “in the news.” In another case, a newspaper photographer in search of a picture to illustrate a hot weather story took a picture of a woman sitting on her front porch. She wore a house dress, her hair in curlers, her feet in thong sandals. The picture was taken from a car parked across the street from the woman’s home. She sued, charging invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion and public disclosure of private facts. A court, denying the newspaper’s motion for dismissal of the suit, said the scene photographed “was not a particularly newsworthy incident,” and the limits of decency were exceeded by “surreptitious” taking and publishing of pictures “in an embarrassing pose.” Chapter 13 COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES

Copyright is the right of authors to control the reproduction and use of their creative expressions that have been fixed in tangible form. The types of creative expression eligible for copyright protection include literary, graphic, photographic, audiovisual, electronic and musical works. In this context, “tangible forms” range from film to computer disks to material posted on the Inter- net. Personal letters or diaries may be protected by copyright even 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 383

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though they may not have been published and may not contain a copyright notice. Not all uses of copyright material constitute infringement. The broadest limitation on the reach of copyright law is that ideas and facts are never protected by a copyright. Rather, the copyright per- tains only to the literary, musical, graphic or artistic form in which an author expresses intellectual concepts. This page can show the distinction between protected expression and nonprotected ideas and facts. Despite the copyright protecting this page, a subsequent author is free to report the facts it contains. The subsequent author may not, however, employ the same or essentially the same combination of words, structure, and tone, which comprises the expression of those facts. While copyright generally prohibits the use of another’s protected expression, the doctrine of “fair use” permits, in certain circumstances, the use of copyright material without its author’s permission. To determine whether a particular use is fair, courts are required to evaluate and balance such factors as: (1) the purpose of the use; (2) the nature of the copyright work that is used; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyright work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential value of the copyright work. News reporting, criticism, and comment are favored purposes under the fair-use doctrine, but “scooping” a copyright holder’s first use of previously unpublished material is not. Note, though, that “purpose” is only one of the fair-use factors. Thus, a use for a proper purpose may nevertheless constitute an infringement if other factors weigh against that use’s being fair. Here are some general guidelines: First, fair use is more likely to be found if the copyrighted work is informational rather than fictional. Second, fair use is more likely to be found if the copyrighted work is published as opposed to unpublished. Third, the greater the amount of the copyrighted work used, the less likely that a court will characterize the use as fair. The use of an entire copyrighted work is almost never fair. Size alone, however, is not decisive; courts have found uses not to be fair when the portion used was small but so important that it went to the heart of the copyrighted work. Fourth, uses that decrease any potential market for the copyrighted work tend not to be fair. For instance, if a literary critic re- produces all five lines of a five-line poem, the potential market for the poem will be diminished because any reader of the critic’s piece can also obtain a copy of the poem for free. The First Amendment provides no greater right to use copyrighted materials than those provided by the copyright law. More- over, proper attribution cannot transform an infringing use into a fair one. In using copyright material in a news story or column, writers should make sure that no more of a copyrighted work than is nec- 351-394_LAW.qrk 3/3/03 11:47 AM Page 384

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essary for a proper purpose is used, and that the work is not used in a way that impairs its value. It is always possible to obtain permission from the copyright holder. Reporters and editors having questions about whether their use in a news story or column of copyright material is a fair use should review these factors. No mathematical formula can yield the answer. 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 385 PHOTO CAPTIONS

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386 — PHOTO CAPTIONS PHOTO CAPTIONS Nearly all AP captions follow a simple formula: * The first sentence of the caption describes what the photo shows, in the present tense, and states where and when the photo was made. It must ALWAYS include the day and date the photo was made (e.g., Friday, Jan. 29, 2003). * The second sentence of the caption gives background on the news event or describes why the photo is significant. * Whenever possible, try to keep captions to no more than two concise sentences, while including the relevant information. Try to anticipate what information a newspaper editor or reader will need. Non-publishable information in the body of the caption should be set off by dual asterisks (**) as in the examples below. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE STANDARD AP CAPTION:

The Mississippi River flows through a hole in the Sny Island, Ill., levee, flooding farmland and homes 10 miles south of Quin- cy, Ill., Sunday, July 25, 1993. About 2,000 people were evacu- ated from the 44,000 acres that flooded. (AP Photo/Bill Waugh) DO NOT use DESCRIPTIVE OVERLINES such as:

1. SAFE AT SECOND—For a baseball play at second base, or PRESIDENT ADDRESSES WOMEN—For a presidential speech to a women’s group. Regular captions have NO overlines. INSTRUCTIVE OVERLINES will be used in the following cases:

1. For FILE PHOTOS the word FILE will be the OVERLINE, set off by twin asterisks.

Example: **FILE** New York Knicks’ Patrick Ewing is bowled over by Charlotte Hornets’ Larry Johnson in this May 12, 1993, file photo during the NBA playoffs in New York. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)

2. For ADVANCES the OVERLINE is the word ADVANCE and the RELEASE DATE. Do not use story slugs or writer’s name in the OVERLINE.

Example: **ADVANCE FOR MAY 15-16** Sean Smith, a fish culturist at Vermont’s new fish hatchery in Grand Isle, Vt., one of the Lake Champlain islands, moves young rainbow trout on May 4, 1993, to a new tank. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

3. For SPECIALS the OVERLINE should be the word SPECIAL and the name of the publication. Do not use the authorizing editor in the OVERLINE. Also, if the city is not part of the formal title of 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 387

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the publication’s name, add it. Put SPCL in the subcategory field of the NAA/IPTC header.

Example: **SPECIAL FOR THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER** Diana Holmes participates in the second day of the 66th annual National Spelling Bee in Washington Thursday, June 3, 1993. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

4. For EMBARGOED photos the OVERLINE should be the word EMBARGOED with the RELEASE TIME and DATE. Also, add HFR (Hold for Release) in the SUPPLEMENTAL CATEGORY field of the NAA/IPTC header for embargoed photos for same day release.

Example: **EMBARGOED UNTIL 9 P.M. EDT, June 1, 1993** Jan Smith, right, leaves the courtroom at the Travis County courthouse with friends Tuesday, June 1, 1993, in Austin, Texas, after her assailant William Johnson was found guilty of assault. (AP Photo/Austin American Statesman, Chuck John- son)

If the date is unknown, state ‘date of photo unknown’ in the body of the caption and in the INSTRUCTIONS field of the NAA/IPTC header.

The SIGNOFF for an AP staffer or stringer is, in parentheses, AP Photo followed by a slash and the name of the photographer. Don’t use str or stf. Example: (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer). If the name of the photographer is not known or needs to be withheld, the signoff is: (AP Photo).

MEMBER PHOTO SIGNOFF: (AP Photo/USA Today, Anne Ryan). Put MBR in the BYLINE TITLE field of the NAA/IPTC header.

HANDOUT PHOTO SIGNOFF: (AP Photo/General Motors, HO). If photographer is known: (AP Photo/General Motors, John Smith, HO).

POOL PHOTO SIGNOFF: (AP Photo/Bill Waugh, Pool). For pool photos, do not name the newspaper or agency that shot for the pool in the caption signoff. However, put the name of the organization that shot the pool in the BYLINE TITLE field of the NAA/IPTC header.

SPECIALS PHOTO SIGNOFF for photo shot by AP: (AP Photo/Al Smith). If made by member’s own photographer: (Chicago Tribune Photo/Bill James).

FILE PHOTO SIGNOFF: (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File). If the name of the photographer who shot the file photo is not known the signoff should be: (AP Photo/File) 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 388

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AP GRAPHIC SIGNOFF: (AP Graphic/Karl Tate).

HANDOUT GRAPHIC SIGNOFF: (AP Graphic/AccuWeather, HO).

TV FRAMEGRAB PHOTO SIGNOFF: (AP Photo/CNN)

MANDATORY CREDITS, OUTS, CORRECTION INFORMATION and EDITOR’S NOTES should only appear in the caption box in unusual cases, such as when a source demands, and should be set off by twin asterisks. They also appear in the INSTRUCTIONS field of the NAA/IPTC header. When necessary in the caption box, they appear AFTER the signoff.

HANDOUT PHOTOS should be marked NO SALES in the IN- STRUCTIONS field of the NAA/IPTC header with two exceptions: Do NOT put NO SALES on federal government (such as NASA, FBI, NOAA, military, etc.) handouts or POOL images.

CAPTION CORRECTIONS, ADDITIONS, ELIMINATIONS

An AP captions CORRECTION is moved when a simple and non- libelous error occurs in a caption. Examples would be a misspelled name, wrong hometown, sports score or slug. The procedure AP uses to file a caption correction form on PhotoStream is to point out the information that is being corrected in the INSTRUCTIONS field of the NAA/IPTC header and write a corrected caption in publishable form. The word CORRECTION and the original photo’s TRANS REFERENCE number are added to the OBJECT NAME field in the NAA/IPTC header. The form is followed by the photo again with a corrected publishable caption noting so in the INSTRUC- TIONS field of the NAA/IPTC header. The same procedure is followed for an AP caption ADDITION. An AP caption ADDITION is moved when the original caption is incomplete but otherwise accurate. An AP caption ADDITION may add the name of someone in the photo or other important background information. An AP caption ELIMINATION is moved for an acceptable photo that has a caption field that misrepresents the photo or is in bad taste. When this occurs, an AP caption ELIMINATION form is moved alerting members. Then the photo is rerun with the corrected caption using procedures for an AP caption CORRECTION transmission. 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 389

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PHOTO KILLS AND ELIMINATIONS An AP photo KILL is moved on PhotoStream and DataStream for a photo that is objectionable and calls into question the threat of legal action, libel or copyright infringement. Photo KILLS move in consultation with the New York Photos desk supervisor and senior photo management.

An AP photo ELIMINATION is moved on PhotoStream and DataStream for a photo that carries no threat of legal action but is objectionable for other reasons, such as error, poor taste or inac- curacy. When these occur, either an AP photo KILL or ELIMINA- TION is moved in consultation with the New York Photos desk supervisor and senior photo management, alerting members. TEXT WIRE FORMATS (Clear with General Desk supervisor before sending)

PHOTO ADVISORIES — For routine notifications to members on major stories. Slug: [ BC-PHOTO ADVISORY-School Siege ] Eds. note: [ Editors: Photos on the Arizona school siege will move within 30 minutes. ] The AP

PHOTO WITHHOLDS — For recently moved photos about which a question has been raised. Slug: [ BC-PHOTO WITHHOLD-Blind Cyclist ] Eds. note: [ Editors: AP Photo BUF108 of Oct. 24, 2000, Blind Cyclist, from Buffalo, N.Y., has been withheld. Questions have been raised about whether the bicycle rider is blind. ] The AP

CAPTION CORRECTIONS — For significant corrections that should be pointed out on text wires, e.g., misidentification or other serious error. Slug: [ BC-CAPTION CORRECTION-Blind Cyclist ] Eds. note: [ Editors: A correction, NY107, has moved on photo circuits to AP Photo BUF108 of Oct. 24, 2000, Blind Cy- clist, from Buffalo, N.Y. The cyclist had been riding for 5 miles, not 50 miles. ] The AP 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 390

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PHOTO ELIMINATIONS — For major factual errors, poor taste or other circumstance that would require removing a photo from the report and archives. Slug: [ BC-PHOTO ELIMINATION-Blind Cyclist ] Eds. note: [ Editors: AP Photo BUF108 of Oct. 24, 2000, Blind Cyclist, from Buffalo, N.Y., has been eliminated. The bicycle rider is not blind. Ensure that the photo is eliminated from your archives and is not published. The photo will not be retransmitted. ] The AP

CAPTION ELIMINATIONS — For captions on otherwise acceptable photos that misrepresent the photo or present problems with bad taste or sensitivity. Slug: [ BC-CAPTION ELIMINATION-CEO Resigns ] Eds. note: [ Editors: The caption on AP Photo BUF112, CEO Resigns, from Buffalo, N.Y., has been eliminated. Smith did not resign during his speech. The photo will be retransmitted with a corrected caption. ] The AP

PHOTO KILLS — For photos that present potential legal problems. Slug: [ BC-PHOTO KILL-School Standoff ] Eds. note: [ Editors: AP Photo GLE122 of Oct. 24, 2000, School Standoff, from Glendale, Ariz., has been killed. The person in the photo is not under arrest. A kill is mandatory. Make certain the photo is not published. The photo will not be retransmitted. (Or: The photo will be retransmitted with a corrected caption). ] The AP

PHOTO CORRECTIVES — These are publishable stories designed to aid members that might have published a photo that was killed. In addition to the Corrective itself, we need to move an advisory. Use both formats below, as separate items. Slug: [ BC-School Standoff, PHOTO CORRECTIVE ] Eds. note: [ Editors: Members who used AP Photo GLE122 of Oct. 24, 2000, School Standoff, from Glendale, Ariz., showing police and a handcuffed man outside a school, are asked to use the following story. ] GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) _ The Associated Press reported erro- neously in a photo caption Oct. 24 that John Doe, shown in the accompanying photograph, had been arrested. Doe had not been arrested. Slug: [ BC-PHOTO CORRECTIVE-School Standoff, Advisory ] Eds. note: [ Editors: Please note a0444, BC-School Standoff, PHOTO CORRECTIVE, which corrects an error in the caption on AP Photo GLE122 of Oct. 24, 2000, School Standoff, from Glen- dale, Ariz. ] The AP 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 391

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NAA/IPTC HEADER FIELDS Byline: The Byline field lists the name of the person who made the photo. Byline Title: The Byline Title field lists the title of the person who made the photo. Caption: The Caption field is the text that accompanies the photo, containing the who, what, when, where and why information. Caption Writer: The Caption Writer field lists the initials of all the people who wrote or edited the caption, header fields or image file. This includes toning and pixel editing. Category: The Category field lists codes that aid in a more detailed search. (See category definitions in this section.) City: The City field lists where the photo was originally made. For file photos, do not use the transmission point’s city. Country: The Country field lists the three-letter country code where the photo was originally made. For file photos, do not put the transmission point’s country. Create Date Time: The Create Date Time field is the date the photo was originally made. For file photos, use the date the photo was originally made, if known. If the complete date is not known, Leafdesk 8.3 software will allow the field to be left blank. The field will not accept a partial date. The time is not needed. Credit: The Credit field is the name of the service transmitting the photo. Headline: The Headline field lists keywords to aid in a more detailed search for a photo. Instructions: The Instructions field lists special notations that apply uniquely to a photo, such as file photo, correction, advance or outs. Object Name: The Object Name field lists the story slug associated with a photo. For photos without a story, Associated Press photographers or photo editors will make up a logical slug to aid in a search and note it as a “stand-alone photo” in the INSTRUC- TIONS field of the NAA/IPTC header. If a related story moves on DataStream, the photo will be retransmitted with the appropriate OBJECT NAME to match the story. Routing: The Routing field is used by The Associated Press to route photos on to PhotoStream. Source: The Source field lists who is the original provider of a photo, such as: AP, an AP member, pool photo provider or handout photo provider. State: The State field lists the state where the photo was originally made. Use U.S. postal code abbreviations. For file photos, do not use the transmission point’s state. Supp Categories: The Supplemental Categories field lists codes that aid in a more detailed search for a photo. (See supplemental categories definitions in this section.) 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 392

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Trans Reference: The Trans Reference field lists a call letter/number combination associated with a photo. It includes an originating transmit point’s call letters and picture number from that point’s sequence of offerings for a given day. Example: NY105.

SUPPLEMENTAL CATEGORIES GENERAL: ADV Advance APN APNewsfeatures ENT Entertainment, celebrities (don’t use the word people) FEA Feature pictures of a non-news nature FILE File photo HFR Hold for Release (embargoed photos for same day release) MAP Map or graphic NAT National Geographic package OBIT Obituary PM Internal filing code used to batch-move photos at beginning of daily cycle. SPF Special Features package SPCL Special WEA Weather NEWS EVENTS: CVN National political conventions ELN For election cycles only XGR State legislatures SPORTS: BBA Professional baseball (American League) BBN Professional baseball (National League) BBO Professional baseball (minor league or related to neither league) BBC College baseball BKN NBA basketball BKC Men’s college basketball BKW Women’s college basketball BKO Other basketball including high school and semipro BOX Boxing CAR Racing (car, speedboat or motorcycle) FBN NFL Football FBC College football FBO Other football including high school and semipro GLF Golf GYM Gymnastics HKN NHL hockey HKC College hockey HKO Other hockey including high school and minor league OLY Olympics RAC Racing (animals) RUN Track and Field SKI Skiing SOC Soccer TEN Tennis 395-403_PHOTO.qrk 3/3/03 3:05 PM Page 393

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AP Caption and NAA/IPTC Header Quick Reference Guide 404-410_FILEWIRE.qrk 3/5/03 12:57 PM Page 394 FILING THE WIRE FILING THE WIRE 404-410_FILEWIRE.qrk 3/5/03 12:57 PM Page 395

FILING THE WIRE — 395 FILING THE WIRE These guidelines are intended to help editors handle copy easily and efficiently. Codes in the heading of a story tell the computer where to send it, how quickly it should be moved out, and in what format.

See: Coding Requirements File Name Priority Codes Category Codes Format Identifiers Keyword Slug Line Version Section Reference Number Section Filing the Wire: Coding Requirements

The file name received by newspaper members consists of a letter of the alphabet and four numbers. The letter is called the Service Level Designator and shows the type of service the file belongs to. Usually stories are numbered in sequence. But some stories or fixtures — digests, advances and AP Photo and Graphic Updates, for example — are given predetermined numbers. The first AP News Digest of the new cycle, for instance, is always a9000 on a-level DataStream.

These are the letters and types of service most common in nationwide transmissions: a — Spot news. B — AP Basic services b — Advances. c — Weekly Features service. f — News designed primarily for financial pages. s — Sports copy. Other letters used by the AP include: h — Special sports report for smaller newspapers. p — Limited DataStream service. r — Race report. t — Sports, special packaging. u — Special stock and markets package. 404-410_FILEWIRE.qrk 3/5/03 12:57 PM Page 396

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Priority codes are used by the AP to assure that stories are sent in the order of their urgency. At newspapers, the codes can be used by computer systems to determine the order in which stories come to an editor’s attention. The principal priority codes, in order of urgency, and their use: f — Flash, highest priority, used for flashes only. b — APNewsAlerts, bulletins, kill notes. u — Urgent, high-priority copy, including all writethrus containing corrections. It must be used on all items that carry an UR- GENT slug. It also may be used on items that lack this slug but must move on an urgent basis. r — Stories of a routine nature. d — Deferred priority: Used on spot copy that can be delayed. a — For weekday advances designed for use more than 12 hours after transmission. (Hold-for-release material sent for use less than 12 hours after transmission carries a spot news priority.) s — For Sunday advances designed for use more than 12 hours after transmission.

Category codes help newspapers sort copy into various categories. For example, domestic stories may go in one place in the queue, Washington stories in another, and foreign stories somewhere else. The principal category codes and their uses: a — Domestic, non-Washington, general news items. b — Special events. d — Food, diet. For use primarily on standing advance features on food, recipes and the like. Frequently used with stories on c- level DataStream. e — Entertainment features, reviews, fixtures and coverage of scheduled entertainment events. Spot general news involving the entertainment industry or people carries the a category. f — News copy, regardless of dateline, designed primarily for use on financial pages. When a major story of financial interest moves as part of the general news service it should have a regular category code such as a. If it has also moved on a financial wire, editors should be advised that the same story has been routed to both financial desks and general news desks. i — International items, including stories from the United Na- tions, U.S. possessions, and undated roundups keyed to foreign events. j — Lottery results only. (Stories about lotteries or lottery winners carry standard news category codes.) k — Commentary. Material designed primarily for editorial and op-ed pages; editorial roundups. l — Selected ‘lifestyle’ copy. n — Stories of state or regional interest under domestic datelines. If a regional item has a Washington dateline, use the w category. If a regional item has an international dateline, use the i category. If a regional item is designed primarily for financial pages 404-410_FILEWIRE.qrk 3/5/03 12:57 PM Page 397

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use the f category and if it is designed primarily for the sports pages, use the s category. o — Weather tables and forecast fixtures. Do not use on weather stories. p — Political copy. Generally used in months before an election. q — Use only for result or period score of a single sports event. The code is designed to help newspaper computer systems build a list of scores or ignore individual scores and wait for transmissions that group them. s — Sports stories, standings, results of more than one event. t — Travel copy. v —Advisories about stories that may carry any of the category letters. This code is also used for news digests and news advisories. w — Washington-datelined stories. Change to the a or i category code if a subsequent lead shifts to a different city.

The format identifier is comprised of two letters, which appear after the category code. Use bx if the item is intended to be set in body type or standard text. Use bt if the item is intended to be set in body type and contains even one tabular line. Use at if the item is intended to be set in agate type and contains even one tabular line. Use ax if the item is intended to be set in agate type but contains no tabular lines.

Slug: [ BC-Budget Surplus ]

Slug: [ BC-BKN—Celtics-Knicks, Box ]

Special note to members: Format Identifiers on DataStream

The letters bx, at, etc., shown in the examples above do not appear on DataStream. However, they help generate non-printing characters that are sent in this location to convey the same information about whether the item is meant to be set in agate or body type and whether it contains tabular material. 404-410_FILEWIRE.qrk 3/5/03 12:57 PM Page 398

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Filing the Wire: Keyword Slugline

Every news item in the AP report has a keyword slugline. Every keyword slug line must have at least a keyword section. Up to three other sections, as shown in the examples that follow, are used when necessary. The commas that appear in the examples are critical for operations of many AP computers.

The keyword section of the line consists of a cycle designator, a hyphen and a keyword or keywords. A comma marks the end of the section. Because the keyword section provides the basic identification of a story for automatic linkup routines, it must be repeated in exactly the same form on all subsequent leads, adds, inserts, subs, etc. filed for a story. The cycle designator is always BC-, to indicate that the story may be used by morning or afternoon newspapers.

The keyword (sometimes more than one word) clearly indicates the content of the story. The keyword or keywords should not total more than 21 characters. (Rule of thumb: If you have to count the letters, the keyword is too long.) Use of easily recognized abbreviations and acronyms, such as Scotus for the Supreme Court of the United States and Xgr for legislature, is encouraged. (Also, the keyword of an item sent on a state service contains the postal code for the state of origin.) Some computer systems automatically add a word count at the end of a line; in U.S. bureaus, the word count must be added manually. 404-410_FILEWIRE.qrk 3/5/03 12:57 PM Page 399

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The version section of the keyword slug line is designed to give editors and computer systems a quick indication of whether to place an item at the top, bottom or middle of previous takes sent under the same keyword. The terms that follow are the only ones that should appear in the version section of a keyword slug line. When more than one term is necessary, separate them with a hyphen. Use figures as indicated.

The version vocabulary is broken into two lists. Do not use more than one of the items from this first list in a keyword slug line. If a term from the second list is needed, it must follow any term from this list: 404-410_FILEWIRE.qrk 3/18/03 9:33 AM Page 400

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Bjt 1st Ld, 2nd Ld, 10th Ld, etc. Adv 01, Adv 31, etc. Advisory HFR (Hold for Release) KILL WITHHOLD ELIMINATION CORRECTIVE CLARIFICATION

A term from the second list may stand alone in the version section if no term from the first list is needed. Some stories require two terms from the second list. If that is the case, the order in which the terms appear is not critical, but they must be separated by a hyphen. The second list:

2 Takes, 3 Takes, etc. 1st Add, 2nd Add, etc. Writethru Box (Sports only)

Story-type Identifiers: BC-APN (Special Newsfeatures package) BC-BRF (Briefs) BC-ELN (Election) BC-ENT (Entertainment) BC-EXP (Explorations Package) BC-LOT (Lottery) BC-PRI (Primetime Package) BC-Scotus (Supreme Court of the United States) BC-SPE (Special Edition) BC-TRV (Travel) BC-WEA (Weather) BC-WKD (Weekend) BC-XGR (Legislature) FILING PRACTICES BC FILING FILING PRACTICES FILING Just because there is a single BC numbering sequence from Keeping copy fresh For U.S. members, if a story is developing strongly beyond mid- For U.S. members, if a story is developing Slug: [ BC-Town Burns ] Slug: [ BC-Town BC-Block BurnsEds. note: [ Eds: Incorporates ] AP news moves in a 24-hour cycle. For U.S. papers, the cycle in a 24-hour cycle. For U.S. papers, AP news moves lead se- on a ‘24-hour’ basis, with a single Each story is filed to retain the same basic On a developing story, it’s important midnight to midnight doesn’t mean an important story should remain the same in approach. The new BC story moving after midnight should take a different approach to the copy that moved in time for AMs. The version of the story moving in late afternoon - the story aimed at AMs — should take a different approach to what PMs papers have published. night and still needs to be updated for late AMs papers, the lead night and still needs to be updated the start of the new cycle. In the sequence can be continued past be BC-Fire, 12th Ld-Writethru by example above, the story might by 2 a.m. Each post-mid- 1 a.m. and BC-Fire, 13th Ld-Writethru newspapers should say ‘Eds: night lead intended for morning AMs papers are no longer pub- AMs.’ When it’s late enough that begin the new-cycle sequence, lishing (about 4 a.m. Eastern time), PMs papers as BC-Fire. In such sending the new story for use by subsequent leads in PMs time a case, the story for PMs and all below: Filing Practices: ‘Eds: will carry an ‘Eds: PMs’ label (see AMs’ and ‘Eds: PMs’). begins at midnight Eastern time on national wires, and usually at Eastern time on national wires, begins at midnight wires, the on state wires. On World Service midnight local time GMT. cycle starts at midnight after midnight to midnight. The first story quence from midnight As the for example, might be slugged BC-Fire. on a major fire, Ld-Writethru by 8 might be slugged BC-Fire, 1st story develops, it 6th Ld- Ld-Writethru by 1 p.m., BC-Fire, a.m., BC-Fire, 4th by 11 p.m. and BC-Fire, 10th Ld-Writethru Writethru by 6 p.m. be simply BC- new-cycle story will once again After midnight, the Fire. possible from cycle to cycle. slug (‘BC-Fire’ in this case) whenever ‘BC-Fire’ to ‘BC-Inferno.’ If a slug Don’t switch, for example, from of the story, start a new num- must change because of the nature and make reference to the ear- bering sequence with the new slug lier series: 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 401 Page 8:44 AM 3/4/03 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 402

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Many PMs papers aren’t publishing after 4 p.m. Eastern time, but the leads moved before that time with PMs in mind should continue to be updated even after that hour for Web and broadcast needs, until the version of the story aimed at AMs papers is ready. Day of the week BC style is to use the day of the week in spot copy, rather than say ‘today.’ However, if a spot story is something of a feature, it makes sense to lower the time element to the second graf to make the story more useable for both AMs and PMs papers. Corrections and clarifications Stories can be written through for the purpose of correcting them only in the same 24-hour cycle in which they originally moved. (Exception: If a developing story is continuing to be written through with a running lead sequence past the midnight hour, it can still be written through.) If, say, at 5 a.m., a significant error is discovered in a story that moved at 8 p.m., do a new BC- story, noting in an ‘Eds:’ note that it corrects an error in the version of the story moved in the previous cycle. There may also be a need, in AMs time, for a corrective to the original story. The same approach applies to clarifications. See also the Procedures section of the Briefing on Media Law. Refiling Sunday copy for Monday PMs Some U.S. state bureaus refile, for Monday PMs papers, a number of stories that moved Saturday for Sunday and Sunday for Monday. Under BC filing they can still be refiled, with a note saying ‘Eds: Originally moved for Sunday AMs.’ They may, of course, be modified slightly to lower the time element or make updates. (In such a case, say ‘Eds: A version moved for Sunday AMs.’) 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 403

FILING PRACTICES - 403

ADDS In filing an add, place below the keyword slug line a slug that lists: —The name of the datelined community followed by a colon. (Use UNDATED if the item does not have a dateline. The name of the community usually is adequate; include the state or country name only if needed to avoid confusion.) —The last two words of the previous take. Slug: [ BC-Air Fares, 1st Ld-1st Add ] Pickup line: [ WASHINGTON: this year. ] ADVANCE SLUGS Stories transmitted in advance on nationwide services require a minimum of two additional slugs. The first allows the computer systems to key on the item. Use the notation Adv followed by the two-digit release date shown in the keyword line. The second slug line specifies the release date in more detail. To send an advance, do not simply type the format shown here. Use the template in Reporters Workbench to format it precisely. This is essential for archive and other purposes. To use the template, click Templates, then click Insert Field, then click Advance. Slug: [ BC-New Team, adv15-2 Takes ] Adv date: [ Adv15 ] Adv/HFR note: [ For release in AMs newspapers of Monday, May 15 ]

When filing a series use a consistent keyword but differentiate the parts by use of a Roman numeral. BC-Regulators I, adv10-3 Takes BC-Regulators II, adv11-3 Takes

For weekend or two-day advances: Slug: [ BC-CA—Balance of Power, Adv09-10,930 ] Adv date: [ Adv09-10 ] Adv/HFR note: [ For release weekend editions of May 9-10 ]

Do not add such designations as End Adv or End Advance at the bottom of the story.. Even though AP files news in a 24-hour cycle for use by AM or PM newspapers, advances can still be targeted if desired for AM or PM newpaper use. ADVISORIES AND DIGESTS Advisories include a wide range of items, from the news digests or budgets to one paragraph items saying a certain story or photo is in the works or has moved. All advisories carry the v category code. Most advisories have the word Advisory in the version field, separated from the keyword by a comma. Some fixture advisories also have a three-letter identifier in the keyword line to make them easier to find. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 404

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Spot news advisories with information on a particular story should have a keyword the same as the story. General information advisories may simply use BC-Advisory in the keyword. Slug: [ BC-Airfares, Advisory ] Headline: [ ] EDITORS: The embargo on BC-Airfares has been broken. The story is available for immediate use. The AP Bjt TAGS Use the ‘Bjt’ tag the first time a budgeted story moves in the 24-hour cycle. Do not use on subsequent versions, except for the first ‘Eds: AMs’ version of a budgeted story, which does require a ‘Bjt.’ Slug: [ BC-Fire, Bjt, 4th Ld Writethru ] Headline: [ Fire destroys six city blocks. ] Eds. note: [ Eds: AMs ] BOLDFACE SYMBOL Some terminal screens display the symbol for boldface with a

character that looks like this: ➞ Others use a character that looks like this: ^ BULLETINS A decision on whether to designate a story bulletin or urgent rests with the supervisor. The bulletin slug always must be used judiciously. A bulletin should be kept short — usually, one or two publishable sentences. A bulletin should not carry a byline, photo or graphics slug or editor’s note. Include a very brief headline.

Slug: [ BC-Fire, Bjt, 4th Ld ] Headline: [ ] Urgent [ BULLETIN ]

An undated bulletin should carry a byline or By The Associated Press in the Reporters Workbench ‘Byline’ field. A bulletin is always preceded by an APNewsAlert. (See NewsAlerts entry.) An URGENT slug, with an urgent priority, is adequate for adds to a bulletin. BYLINES Except for prefixes such as Mac, Mc, Le, or De (writer’s preference) and Sr. or Jr., a writer’s name is entirely in capital letters. The standard underline for full-time AP employees is Associat- ed Press Writer. Abbreviate Associated Press to AP for specialty underlines such as AP Sports Writer and AP Special Correspondent. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 405

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Byline: [ By H. JOSEF HEBERT ] Bytitle: [ Associated Press Writer ]

Byline: [ By RICHARD N. OSTLING ] Bytitle: [ AP Religion Writer ]

Byline: [ By CHARLES J. HANLEY ] Bytitle: [ AP Special Correspondent ]

For undated stories when a writer’s name is not used:

Byline: [ By The Associated Press ]

For dual bylines, put the word and on a separate line between the names. To do this, type ctrl-enter after the first author’s name and again after ‘and.’

Byline: [ By SAMPLE AUTHOR and EXAMPLE WRITER ] Bytitle: [ Associated Press Writers ]

When a story has been written by someone who is not an AP employee, a byline without an underline is sometimes used. When a writer works for a newspaper, use the byline with the name of the newspaper:

Byline: [ By NEWSPAPER WRITER ] Bytitle: [ Hometown Citizen-Times ] CENTERING SYMBOL Some terminal screens display the symbol with a character that looks like this: <-> Others use a character that looks like this: = CHANGING DATELINES The designation of 2nd, 3rd, 4th Ld, etc. continues in sequence even if the dateline changes on a story. If a new lead does shift the dateline, note the change in the editor’s note: Slug: [ BC-Airfares, 6th Ld-Writethru ] Eds note: [ Eds: Changes dateline from WASHINGTON ] CLARIFICATIONS For a full explanation, see Procedures section of the Briefing on Media Law. The format:

Slug: [ BC-Airfares, CLARIFICATION ] Eds. note: [Eds: Members who used BC-Airfares of May 8 may wish to use the following, which explains that not all fares on domestic flights are subject to change.] 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 406

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WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a story May 8, The Associated Press reported that fares on domestic flights will increase beginning in April. Fares will increase for flights in the continental Unit- ed States, but not for flights to Hawaii or Alaska.

For clarifications on undated stories, use By The Associated Press To send a clarification, do not simply type the format shown here. Use the template in Reporter’s Workbench to format it precisely. This is essential for archive and other purposes. To use the template, open the story for which you are doing a clarification, click Templates, click Kill or Correct This Story and select what you want to do. CORRECTIONS When a story is still live, use a writethru with an editor’s note explaining specifically the location of the correction and what it is. For a full explanation, see the Procedures section of the Brief- ing on Media Law. The format:

Slug: [ BC-Airfares, 2nd Ld-Writethru ] Eds Note: [ Eds: SUBS 20th graf, ‘The company ...’, to COR- RECT airline from American to TWA. Pickup 21st graf, ‘Joe Smith ...’ ] WASHINGTON (AP) _

In corrections on undated stories, use By The Associated Press and no dateline. Always give the reason for a correction. Be specific. Do not use vague phrases such as to correct a figure — give the correct figure and the one it replaces. If correcting a typo, say, for instance, ‘to correct spelling of adequate.’ The objective is to let editors who may be on deadline know the severity of the error without having to go back to the original copy. Use this format to correct an APNewsAlert (if a kill or elimination is not necessary):

Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert, CORRECTION ] NEW YORK _ State legislator John Smith charged with eight counts of perjury. (Corrects APNewsAlert that said he had been charged with five counts.) CORRECTIVES For a full explanation, see of the Procedures section of the Briefing on Media Law. The format: Slug: [ BC-Fed-Indictments, CORRECTIVE ] Eds. note: [ Eds: Members who used BC-Fed-Indictments, sent Oct. 22 under a New York dateline (or with no dateline), are asked to use the following story. ] NEW YORK (AP) _ In an Oct. 22 story about federal indict- 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 407

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ments of city officials, The Associated Press reported erro- neously the name of one of those indicted. The correct name is Joseph Arnold, not John Arnold.

For correctives on undated stories, use By The Associated Press in the Reporters Workbench ‘Byline’ field, and no dateline. To send a corrective, do not simply type the format shown here. Use the template in Reporter’s Workbench to format it precisely. This is essential for archive and other purposes. To use the template, open the story for which you are doing a corrective, click Tem- plates, click Kill or Correct This Story and select what you want to do. CREDIT LINES Use credit lines at the end of a story to note staffers who contributed significantly to the story other than the byliner. Place them under an indented three-underscore line. Do not begin them with ‘Editor’s Note:’ ___ Associated Press writers John Jones and Susan Smith in Omaha, special correspondent Jane Brown in Paris and re- searcher Jim Doe contributed to this report. DASH LINES Use an indented line of three underscores to separate individual items sent within the same story file, such as several datelined stories in a package of briefs. DISREGARDS For a full explanation, see the Procedures section of the Brief- ing on Media Law. Use disregards to advise of routine material sent on the wire in- advertently, including old stories, duplicate stories and copy not meant for the wires. The disregard should say why the material should be disregarded. The form:

Slug: [ BC-Turkey-Quake Survivors, DISREGARD ] Headline: [ ] EDITORS: Disregard BC-Turkey-Quake Survivors. The story moved in a previous cycle. The AP

Use this format for disregarding an APNewsAlert: Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert, DISREGARD ] WASHINGTON _ Disregard the APNewsAlert on the House spending vote. The House is still voting. The measure has not been approved. The AP 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 408

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Do not simply type the format shown here. Use the template in Reporter’s Workbench to format it precisely. This is essential for archive and other purposes. To use the template, open the story to be disregarded, click Templates, click Kill or Correct This Story and select what you want to do. ’Eds: AMs’ and ‘Eds: PMs’ Slugs The movement of the new version of a developing story aimed at AMs or PMs should be pointed out to editors in two ways: — On a digest and/or a Package Advisory, if the story is mentioned there. — With an ‘Eds: AMs’ note or ‘Eds: PMs’ note on the story itself. The ‘Eds: PMs’ note is used only in early PMs time (usually around 1-6 a.m.). It’s used to designate the version of a story aimed at PMs papers when the AMs story has been led beyond the midnight cycle divide, or when a story broke very soon after midnight and the earlier copy was likely to have been used by AMs papers. Example of a story developing over the midnight barrier: The wire carries BC-Fire, 9th Ld-Writethru at 11 p.m., BC-Fire, 10th Ld-Writethru at 2 a.m. and the desk is ready at 3 a.m. to send the new story for PMs. Include ‘Eds: PMs’ on the 3 a.m. story with the PMs approach (and on all subsequent leads aimed at PMs):

Slug: [ BC-Fire, Bjt ] Headline: [ Fire destroys three city blocks ] Eds. note: [ Eds: PMs ]

(There’s no writethru number because this is the start of a new lead sequence. The previous sequence was carried over, past the midnight barrier, from the previous cycle.) Example of a story developing shortly after midnight: BC-Fire, a new and important story, moves at 12:30 a.m. It is led with BC-Fire, 1st Ld-Writethru at 1 a.m., BC-Fire, 2nd Ld- Writethru at 2 a.m. and the desk is ready at 3 a.m. to send the new story for PMs. Include ‘Eds: PMs’ on the 3 a.m. story with the PMs approach (and on all subsequent leads aimed at PMs):

Slug: [ BC-Fire, Bjt, 3rd Ld-Writethru ] Headline: [ Fire destroys three city blocks ] Eds. note: [ Eds: PMs ]

(The 3 a.m. story will be BC-Fire, 3rd Ld-Writethru. The story started entirely in the current cycle so a single lead sequence is used throughout the cycle.) The ‘Eds: AMs’ note is used only in AMs time, usually late afternoon. It’s used to designate the version of a story aimed at AMs papers when the story has been developing during PMs time. Sup- pose, for example, that BC-Fire, 3rd Ld-Writethru moves at 6 a.m., BC-Fire, 7th Ld-Writethru moves at 4 p.m. and the desk is ready 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 409

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at 5 p.m. to send the new story for AMs. Include ‘Eds: AMs’ on the 5 p.m. story with the AMs approach (and on all subsquent leads aimed at AMs):

Slug: [ BC-Fire, 8th Ld-Writethru ] Headline: [ Fire destroys three city blocks ] Eds. note: [ Eds: AMs ]

‘Eds: AMs’ should be used only when making a substantial change in the approach or content of a story. If a story runs at 9 a.m. and is written through at 5 p.m. to add minor information, the writethru should not carry ‘Eds: AMs.’ Use precisely the formats ‘Eds: AMs.’ and ‘Eds: PMs.’ The notes should be letter-perfect for archive systems to identify them. The notes should go ahead of other matter in Eds: notes:

Eds. note: [ Eds: PMs. Updates with court testimony. ]

On a very fast-moving story, in order to make clear that newspapers on deadline can go to bed, use a separate advisory to highlight the change in approaches. Example:

Slug: [ BC-Governor’s Illness, Advisory ] Editors: BC-Governor’s Illness, 7th Ld-Writethru will stand for AMs. Upcoming is a new story for PMs papers, BC-Gover- nor’s Illness. ELIMINATIONS For a full explanation, see the Procedures section of the Brief- ing on Media Law. The format:

Slug: [ BC-Practical Joke, ELIMINATION ] Headline: [ BULLETIN ELIMINATION ] BOSTON—Eliminate the BC-Practical Joke story. It cannot be confirmed. The AP

On print wires, but NOT on online wires, follow the BULLETIN ELIMINATION immediately with an advisory. State whether a substitute story is planned:

Slug: [ BC-Practical Joke, ELIMINATION Advisory ] Editors: The BOSTON story slugged BC-Practical Joke has been eliminated. It cannot be confirmed. A sub story will be filed shortly. (Or: No sub will be filed.) The AP 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 410

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Use this format for eliminating an APNewsAlert:

Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert, ELIMINATION ] Headline: [BULLETIN ELIMINATION ] NEW YORK — Eliminate the APNewsAlert that moved on the pope’s arrival. The material is from last week and moved in error.

Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert ] Urgent: [ FLASH ] Headline: [ ] SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON _ Man lands on the moon.

(See NewsAlerts) FLUSH LEFT SYMBOL Some terminal screens display the flush left symbol with a character that looks like this: <- Others use a character that looks like this: < GLANCES Glances are brief listings of information that accompany a story, although some may occasionally stand alone. Glances and other layering devices, such as biographical boxes, chronologies, lists and highlights, are always undated and carry a line referring to the main story.

Slug: [ BC-Budget-Dollar-Glance ] Headline: [ Where the money comes from, and where it goes ] Sidebars: [ With BC-Budget, Bjt ] Byline: [ By The Associated Press ]

Where the federal government gets a typical dollar and where it goes: Layering devices provide expanded detail, give editors a way to dress up a page and serve as points of entry for readers. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 411

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They should be listed with related stories on digests and advisories. HOLD-FOR-RELEASE SLUGS All embargoed copy contains HFR (Hold for Release) in the version field of the keyword line. Place the necessary cautions about release on a second slug line immediately under the keyword slug line. For example:

Slug: [ BC-State of the Union, HFR-4 takes ] Adv/HFR note: [ HOLD FOR RELEASE, expected noon EST ]

Do not simply type the format shown here. Use the template in Reporters Workbench to format it precisely. This is essential for archive and other purposes. To use the template, click Templates, then click Insert Field, then click Hold for Release. INSERTS Make inserts with writethru leads, with an editor’s note saying what is being updated. INTERNET CITATIONS Place them at the ends of stories, under an indented three-underscore line. Example: ___ On the Net: http://www.whitehouse.gov/report

If there is other material to put at the end of a story, such as the names of other staffers contributing, put the Internet citation last. (See Nontransmitting Symbols.) KILLS For a full explanation, see the Procedures section of the Brief- ing on Media Law. The format:

Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL ] Headline: [ BULLETIN KILL ] NEW YORK _ Kill BC-Smith Charged. Smith was charged with robbery, not murder. The AP

If only part of a story is killed, it should be followed by a writethru, eliminating the offending paragraph. The form for a partial kill is: Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL ] Headline: [ BULLETIN KILL ] NEW YORK _ Kill graf 7 of BC-Smith Charged. Smith was not convicted last year of armed robbery. The AP 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/18/03 9:29 AM Page 412

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On print wires, but NOT on online wires, follow the KILL immediately with an advisory. State whether a substitute story is planned:

Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL Advisory ] EDITORS: The New York story BC-Smith Charged has been killed. Smith was charged with robbery, not murder. A kill is mandatory. Make certain the story is not published. A substitute story will be filed shortly. (Or: No substitute story will be filed.) The AP

Repeat the kill advisory approximately 12 hours later:

Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, KILL Advisory ] EDITORS: The New York story BC-Smith Charged, filed Monday, has been killed. Smith was charged with robbery, not murder. A kill is mandatory. Make certain the story is not published. A substitute story was filed, slugged BC-Smith Charged, 2nd Ld-Writethru. (Or: No substitute story was filed.) The AP

Slug: [ BC-Smith Charged, 4th Ld-Writethru ] Eds: SUBS 7th graf pvs, which was killed, to CORRECT that Smith was charged last year with armed robbery but was not convicted. No pickup.

Use this format for killing an APNewsAlert:

Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert, KILL ] NEW YORK _ Kill the APNewsAlert saying John Smith was charged in the murder. Smith was charged with robbery, not murder. The AP 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 413

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LEADS With the exception of urgent series, all leads should be writethrus with editor’s notes saying what is being updated. File a new lead to a story whenever developments warrant. Pro- vide a nonpublishable editor’s note explaining the reason for the lead:

Eds. note: [ Eds: SUBS 2nd, ‘The ... said,’ to UPDATE figures. ]

The designation of 2nd, 3rd, 4th Ld, etc., continues in sequence even if the dateline changes. See the Changing Datelines entry. LOGOS Follow the dateline by the AP logo enclosed in parentheses without spaces. Put spaces on both sides of the underscore that follows:

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ An earthquake struck the city today.

Logos are not used in digest and advisory lines. MORE LINES A MORE indication, if needed at the conclusion of a take of copy, should begin with an upper rail: ^MORE< NEWSALERTS A one-line, nonpublishable headline that briefly reports a development about to move as a bulletin or urgent. If an APNewsAlert is filed, do not also file a similar advisory. An APNewsAlert must be followed quickly by a bulletin or urgent. APNewsAlerts should have a b priority and an a, f, i, s or w category code, depending on the desk of origin. They should always carry the simple slug: BC-APNewsAlert. The text should include a dateline. It should also include attribution in cases where it is appropriate to clarify the source of the information. A sample: Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert ] WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush signs Iraqi war resolution.

In cases in which the APNewsAlert is undated, use this format: Slug: [ BC-APNewsAlert ] (AP) _ Text. NONPUBLISHABLE EDITOR’S NOTES Editor’s notes not intended for publication should begin flush left. Do not precede a nonpublishable editor’s note with a paragraph symbol. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 414

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Eds. note: [Eds: UPDATES 2nd graf with new figures] See also Publishable Editor’s Notes. NONTRANSMITTING SYMBOLS The following are symbols that should not be used in standard AP wire transmissions. Some of the symbols can be sent and received by some computers but are not generally used because they are not available throughout the newspaper industry or may act as control characters to make a computer perform a function rather than print a character. accent marks Do not use them; they cause garbled copy in some newspaper computers. asterisk * Rarely translates and in many cases cannot be sent by AP computers or received by newspaper computers. at sign @ Does not exist. In computer addresses, use (at). Ex- ample: president(at)whitehouse.gov. brackets [ ] Rarely translates and in many cases cannot be sent by AP computers or received by newspaper computers. Use parentheses. bullets • Do not use because they cannot be transmitted without causing problems with some newspaper computers. Use dashes instead. cent ¢ Does not exist. Spell out. equals = This is the control symbol for centering. In some computers it can be translated and printed but it is best spelled out. percent % Rarely translates and in many cases cannot be sent by AP computers or received by newspaper computers. pound sign £ or # Frequently a control character. Rarely translates and in many cases cannot be sent by AP computers or received by newspaper computers. tilde ~ Do not use the symbol. If necessary for Internet addresses, write out the word and put it in parentheses. underscore _ Do not use the symbol. If necessary for Internet addresses, write out “underscore” and put it in parentheses. Others: Symbols and combinations of characters and symbols used by languages other than English generally can be transmitted or received only by AP and newspaper computers programmed for those languages. Leave the symbols off or use generally accepted equivalents. For example, German umlauts are represented using two regular letters when they are needed: In “Goethe,” the “oe” is the “o” with an umlaut. Typesetting symbols such as tab-line-indicators, tab-field-indicators, en, em, thin should only be used to set tabular copy. Spell out when used in text. They may or may not print and might confuse a computer. Typefaces such as bold and italic cannot be sent on AP news wires. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 415

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PACKAGE ADVISORIES If a story is strongly developing with many elements, use a Package Advisory to keep members and subscribers up to date. Package Avisories also provide a place to tell members about how AP is covering a story; to advise on coverage plans; and to draw attention to exceptional AP work. Example:

Slug: [ BC-Nasdaq 5,000, Package Advisory ] EDITORS: Our package for AMs newspapers:

MAIN STORY: NEW YORK _ It started 29 years ago as a way to measure the progress of fledgling companies too small or weak for the presti- gious New York Stock Exchange. On Thursday, the Nasdaq Stock Market’s composite index soared to its first close above 5,000, ce- menting its role as the top-performing and fastest-growing barom- eter of the U.S. stock market. Slug BC-Nasdaq 5,000, 4th Ld-Writethru, version for AMs papers. Sent as a0861. 600 words. By AP Business Writer Jane Doe.

SIDEBAR: BC-Nasdaq-Chronology, milestones in the Nasdaq composite index. 250 words.

GRAPHIC: NASDAQ 5000, Chart shows percentage change in the Dow and Nasdaq since February 1971.

PHOTO: AP Photo NYR114, interior view of Nasdaq’s Market Site showing 5,000. The AP PREVIOUS-CYCLE COPY Top copy from the previous 24-hour cycle should be repeated after the new cycle begins at midnight, unless a new-cycle version has been written. Use this format to repeat a story without change from the previous cycle:

Slug: [ BC-Terminal Tower ] Eds. note: [ Eds: Also moved in previous cycle ] PUBLISHABLE EDITOR’S NOTES Publishable editor’s notes should be placed in the Pub. eds. note field. They should begin with EDITOR’S NOTE in all caps, followed by a space, an underscore and a space, followed by the text of the note. The Pub. eds. note field is also the place for designations such as “An AP News Analysis,” “An AP Member Exchange,” etc. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 416

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Pub. eds. note: [ EDITOR’S NOTE — This is the second installment of a three-part series on governmental agencies. ] SUMMARY LINES All stories should have summary lines giving the essence of what a story is about. A summary line should be no more than one line in length and should be placed in the Headline field. However, wires that feed wireless messaging headline services, like A-level Datastream, should use longer summary lines of 76-94 characters. Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. Follow story style in spelling out numbers, but use single quotes for quotation marks.

Slug: [ BC-Airfares ] Headline: [ Air fares going up ‘dramatically’ at Hopkins airport ] TABLES The construction of tables is an art that is often laborious and time-consuming. The following rules are designed to help build simple stories: I. Every story or file that has even one line of tabular material in it must have a tabular format identifier in the priority-category code line. The identifier may be bt for body-tabular or at for agate-tabular, but it MUST be there. Examples: rnbt, rnat. II. Every tabular line must begin with a tab line indicator symbol called a tli. III. Immediately before the first character of the first tabulated column there must be a tab field indicator symbol represented by a tfi. There must be at least one space between the last character of the first column following the tli and the tfi preceding the first tabbed column. Example: tliReagantfi000 000 00 tliVerylongnametfi000 000 00 IV. The number of the columns and the width of the entire format are restricted by how they will fit in a newspaper and not by the margin of the services on which they are being sent. A good rule of thumb is to use as many abbreviations as possible while keeping the table understandable. The basic rule for AP tables is that a line in an agate table may not exceed 392 units and lines in a body type table cannot exceed 293. Each letter and number has a unit count. By totaling the units of all of the characters you will find whether the table will fit. The unit count is fixed and does not change for the various newspaper type fonts. Theoretically it will fit all. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 417

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Here are the counts: A -14 a -11 T -13 t -7 B -14 b -11 U -15 u -11 C -13 c -13 V -14 v -11 D -15 d -11 W -18 w -15 E -15 e -10 X -15 x -11 F -14 f -7 Y -15 y -11 G -15 g -11 Z -12 z -9 H -15 h -11 I -8 i -6 0 -9 1 -9 J -11 j -7 2 -9 3 -9 K -15 k -11 4 -9 5 -9 L -13 l -6 6 -9 7 -9 M -18 m -18 8 -9 9 -9 N -15 n -11 , -6 . -6 O -14 o -10 P -14 p -11 EM18 Q -14 q -11 EN9 R -15 r -9 Thin6 S -11 s -9 Fractions18 As you can see from the above table, all characters are not 18, nine or six units, but vary. However, you can use em, en and thin symbols to get within one unit of a character’s width. By figuring out how to set the line with the most characters, you can get the basic table width and all other lines should fall properly into place. You can put in the em, en or thin symbols manually but frequently the standard AP computer will do it adequately once the file is stored in the system. URGENTS A decision on whether to slug a story URGENT rests with the supervisor. A story with an urgent slug should always have an urgent priority code. The urgent priority code also may be used if an item is not urgent but needs to be moved on an urgent basis. The slugging of a typical urgent:

Slug: [ BC-Quake ] Urgent: [ URGENT ]

For the first break on an urgent story, the initial urgent should be no more than three or four paragraphs, followed by subsequent takes to form an urgent series. Subsequent urgent-caliber developments on the story should also be filed as an urgent series, or as a short, urgent lead picking up into the previous story. Writethrus adding other significant developments on a major story may also be slugged urgent, and need not be broken up into takes. But use care in using the urgent slug on long writethrus. The material may well call for a new, short urgent. 411-428_FILEPRACT.qrk 3/4/03 8:44 AM Page 418

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WITHHOLDS For a full explanation, see the Procedures section of the Brief- ing on Media Law. The form for a WITHHOLD is:

Slug: [ BC-Gold Find, WITHHOLD ] Headline: [ WITHHOLD ] DENVER _ Withhold BC-Gold. Authorities say the miner’s story has been questioned. The AP

Slug: [BC-Governor’s Illness, 2nd Ld-Writethru, a0584] Eds. note: [ Eds: Combine a0579, a0581 and a0582, adds new comments. ] 429-430_PROOF.qrk 3/1/03 1:40 PM Page 419

419 PROOFREADERS’ MARKS

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ABOUT THE AP

On an early morning in May 1848, 10 men representing six New York City newspapers sat around an office table of the New York Sun. They had been in session for more than an hour and all that time they had been in stubborn argument. At issue was the costly collection of news by telegraphy. The newly in- vented telegraph made transmission of news possible by wire but at costs so high that the resources of any single paper would be strained. David Hale of the Journal of Commerce argued that only a joint effort among New York’s papers could make telegraphy affordable and effective- ly prevent telegraph companies from interfering in the newsgathering process. To get news from the west and from abroad, Hale argued, newspapers had to work together if the public was to be served with increasingly wider coverage of the United States and the world. Although reluctant at first, the six highly competitive papers agreed to the historic plan, and The Associated Press was born. The Associated Press assumed its modern legal form in 1900 when AP incorporated as a not-for-profit cooperative under the Membership Corpo- ration Law of New York state. The AP membership elects the board of directors, AP’s governing body. Today the not-for-profit cooperative (www.ap.org) is the world’s largest news organization, providing coverage of news, sports, business, weather, entertainment, politics and technology in text, audio, video, graphics and photos to 15,000 news outlets with a daily reach of more than one billion people around the world. Its services are distributed by satellite and the Internet to more than 120 nations. AP is also a leader in developing and marketing newsroom technology. AP’s news services, with headquarters in New York City, have 242 bureaus worldwide and more than 3,500 employees. AP’s main news departments include: General Desk General Desk supervisors oversee the minute-to-minute coordination of all of AP’s news operations. National News The National Desk is responsible for the AP’s spot national news report. The National News department also includes the National Reporting Team, the Arts and Entertainment staff, the Computer-Assisted Reporting staff, the West and South regional wires, AP Weekly Features and the State Summaries desk. Washington The Washington bureau is responsible for coverage of the federal government and national issues. With a staff of 150, it is AP’s largest domestic bureau. Business News The AP’s business news department covers major business developments including economic indicators, industry regulation, earnings and mergers. It is also looking for good reads on how people and companies make money and workplace trends. A special unit covers technology. 431-437_ABOUTAP.qrk 3/1/03 1:41 PM Page 422

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Newsfeatures The mission of Newsfeatures writers and editors is to produce high- quality national and international enterprise stories; participate in coverage of major spot stories; and to produce and direct AP’s religion coverage and much of its science and medical coverage. Sports To meet a growing demand for expanded sports coverage, AP in 1946 established the first news agency wire dedicated entirely to sports. By 1977 the media devoted so much editorial space and air time to sports that AP was operating a l,050-word-a-minute sports wire around the clock and also publishing a widely circulated annual AP Sports Almanac. Today, the sports wire and all other wires move at approximately 9,600 words a minute. International Desk In 1849, Daniel Craig established the AP’s first foreign bureau in Hali- fax, Nova Scotia. That one-man AP foreign staff has grown into a global network numbering more than 500. The International Desk directs all international news coverage. It edits world news for U.S. members and sends news, sports and financial copy to more than 8,500 World Service subscribers abroad. It relies on U.S. bureaus for fast coverage of World Service-interest stories. World Services AP’s World Service distributes news and photos to more than 8,500 international subscribers and translates the report into four languages. AP is part of a joint venture with Dow Jones & Co., publishers of the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and the Dow Jones News Services to publish Dow Jones Newswires, which are marketed and sold outside the United States to banks, brokers, and other businesses, as well as major media. The DJ Newswires draw on the combined editorial resources of AP, Dow Jones and a specialized staff of reporters and editors. Graphics The Graphics Department provides maps, charts, diagrams and graphic art for newspaper and Web use. The department’s coordinators and artists work closely with reporters and editors, and also do their own research — which can often help a reporter. The Graphics Department is broken up into beats: international, national, sports, business and features/enterprise. The beats are covered by a coordinator and an artist. News and Information Research Center The News and Information Research Center offers AP reporters everything from news articles to complete dossiers on people or businesses. Many resources are available online 24 hours a day. NIRC staff members will research more complicated requests. Elections and Polling The AP is a leading force in U.S. polling and elections. AP conducts its own pre-election polls and trains staffers to assess polls. On election nights, AP offers the most extensive voting results and delivery systems in the nation and its own exit poll analysis. Editorial Training The editorial training department works to enhance the news and writing skills of AP newspeople and supervisors. 431-437_ABOUTAP.qrk 3/1/03 1:41 PM Page 423

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State News The state news department guides the organization and structure of bureaus in the United States. Photos In 1927, AP started a fledgling news picture service. Today, AP operates the most sophisticated picture collection distribution system of any news organization. The classic film and chemical photo process has been replaced by the process of digital picture handling. With a worldwide staff of more than 400, AP Photos provides images to illustrate AP stories and Web presentations, stand-alone photos, photo enterprise packages and a variety of special services. Most photos moved on AP circuits are digital photos. AP’s photo archive offers ready access to past photos. The AP Photo Archive holds some 700,000 photos. Any user anywhere in the worId can enter the archive via the Internet, browse the picture file by using search criteria and download selected pictures in a matter of minutes. Broadcast Between 1933 and 1941, AP supplied written news to radio stations owned by newspaper members only when the news was of ‘transcendent importance.’ In 1941, the AP launched a separate broadcast wire, making the company the first news organization to operate a broadcast news circuit 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That development has led to such contemporary broadcast services as AP Network News, All News Radio, Associated Press Television News (APTN), Sports Network Televison (SNTV), AP GraphicsBank and the Electronic News Production System, a computer system for television newsrooms around the world. APTN and SNTV are based in London. The bulk of AP’s other broadcast services and the administrative staff are housed at the Broadcast News Center in Washington, D.C. The BNC puts out a scripted national broadcast report used by thousands of stations. Around the United States, broadcast editors based in the AP’s control bureaus parallel that national effort with written state reports. Today, 4,500 television and radio stations depend on AP’s information technology, text stories, audio, video, graphics, and photo services for their on-air and online products and services. Communications From the establishment of the first permanent leased news wire in 1875 to satellite transmission of the news to development of the digital darkroom, AP’s technical staff has pioneered services that have repeatedly advanced technology in the news industry. Its worldwide staff of 500 is based in New York with technical centers that serve as a technological backbone in Kansas City, Mo., and in Cranbury, N.J. Cranbury includes a research and development unit. Financial Markets The AP has provided stock tables to the newspaper industry since the early 1920s. More than 900 newspapers now publish stock prices supplied by The Associated Press through AP’s Grand Central Stocks or StocksExpress services. Membership The Newspaper Membership department, based at New York headquarters, oversees relations with newspaper members in the U.S. Broad- 431-437_ABOUTAP.qrk 3/1/03 1:41 PM Page 424

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cast Services in Washington, D.C., does the same for television and radio stations. AP’s Nontraditional Businesses Changes in the newspaper and broadcast industry challenge AP to stay ahead in the race to provide information to members and to their readers, listeners and viewers. As services to newspapers and broadcast stations have matured, AP has found nontraditional revenue sources to support further expansion of its worldwide newsgathering operations. AP’s Business Development department serves as an umbrella for nontraditional services. Its Information Services unit sells to clients such as governments and corporations, offering regular news services and a group of subject-specific news wires tailored to each client’s industry and news needs. AP also supplements its newsgathering operations from the sale of photos to nonmembers through AP’s Wide World subsidiary. Another subsidiary, AP Telecommunications, provides members and non-members data and network communication technologies. AP’s AdSEND group speeds advertisements from agencies and retailers to newspapers in hours, and even minutes when needed. Ads created on computer are sent by modem or satellite using AP AdSEND software and technology to major newspapers around the United States and abroad. In response to publishers’ increasing interest in the Internet and the World Wide Web, AP in 1995 formed the Multimedia Services department to develop The WIRE, a multimedia news site that AP members can inte- grate into their own Web sites. AP packages news, photos, graphics, audio and video of the day’s top news stories into compelling presentations for use online. Multimedia Services operates in tandem with AP Digital, a division created in 2000 to provide news and information to Web sites, wireless operators and other new media applications. AP Digital is the company’s conduit to the Internet. It brings together The WIRE, AP Online and MegaSports to provide a variety of linked Internet products and tickers for members and commercial subscribers.

HEADQUARTERS The Associated Press 50 Rockefeller Plaza New York, N.Y. 10020 (212) 621-1500 Following are telephone numbers for frequently called departments and desks at the AP’s headquarters in New York City. The area code is 212. AP Enterprise 621-1830 New York City Bureau 621-1670 Business News 621-1680 Photo Desk 621-1900 Digital Stocks 621-1540 Race Desk 621-1638 General Desk 621-1600 Service Desk 621-1595 Graphics Desk 621-1905 Sports Desk 621-1630 International Desk 621-1663 World Service 621-1750 431-437_ABOUTAP.qrk 3/1/03 1:41 PM Page 425

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U.S. Bureaus

Following are telephone numbers for AP bureaus in the United States. 750 West 2nd Ave., Suite 102 News Building Anchorage, Alaska 99501 605 Kapiolani Blvd. (907) 272-7549 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 (808) 536-5510 505 N. Third St., Suite 120 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 10 S. Wacker Drive, Suite (602) 258-8934 2525 Chicago, Illinois 60606-7407 10802 Executive Center Dr., (312) 781-0500 Suite 100 Little Rock, Arkansas 72211- 251 N. Illinois St., Suite 1600 4377 P.O. Box 1950 (501) 225-3668 Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 (317) 639-5501 221 S. Figueroa Los Angeles, California Insurance Exchange Building 90012-2501 505 Fifth Ave., Suite 1000 (213) 626-1200 Des Moines, Iowa 50309- 2315 303 Second St., Suite 680 (515) 243-3281 San Francisco, California 94107 Courier-Journal Building (415) 495-1708 525 West Broadway Room 407-A 1444 Wazee St., Suite 130 Louisville, Kentucky 40202 Denver, Colorado 80202- (502) 583-7718 1395 (303) 825-0123 1515 Poydras St. New Orleans, Louisiana 55 Farmington Ave., Suite 402 70112 Hartford, Connecticut 06105- (504) 523-3931 3711 (860) 246-6876 218 N. Charles St. Baltimore, Maryland 21201 2021 K. St., N.W., Suite 606 (410) 837-8315 Washington, D.C. 20006-1082 (202) 776-9400 184 High St. Boston, Massachusetts 9100 N.W. 36th St. 02110 Miami, Florida, 33178 (617) 357-8100 (305) 594-5825 300 River Place, Suite 2400 One CNNCenter, South Tower Detroit, Michigan 48207 Atlanta, Georgia 30303-2705 (313) 259-0650 (404) 522-8971 431-437_ABOUTAP.qrk 3/1/03 1:41 PM Page 426

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Business and Technical Center 50 Rockefeller Plaza 511 11th Ave. South, Suite 460 New York, New York 10020 Minneapolis, Minnesota (212) 621-1670 55415 (612) 332-2727 4020 West Chase Blvd. Raleigh, North Carolina Capitol Towers 27607 125 Congress St., Suite 1330 (919) 833-8687 Jackson, Mississippi 39201- 3311 1103 Schrock Road, Suite 300 (601) 948-5897 Columbus, Ohio 43229 (614) 885-2727 215 West Pershing Rd., Suite 221 Kansas City, Missouri 64108- Central Park One 4300 525 Central Park Drive, Suite 202 (816) 421-4844 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 Room C West Building (405) 525-2121 1300 Cedar St., P.O. Box 5810 Helena, Montana 59604-5810 121 S.W. Salmon St., Suite 1450 (406) 442-7440 Portland, Oregon 97204-2924 (503) 228-2169 909 N. 96th St., #104 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 1835 Market St., Suite 2000 (402) 391-0031 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 5 Blake St. (215) 561-1133 Concord, New Hampshire 03301 1311 Marion Street P.O. Box 1200 P.O. Box 101101 Concord, New Hampshire Columbia, South Carolina 03302-1200 29201 (603) 224-3327 (803) 799-6418

50 West State St., Suite 1114 330 N. Main Ave., #303 Trenton, New Jersey 08608 Sioux Falls, South Dakota (609) 392-3622 57101-1125 (605) 332-2111 The Journal Center 5130 San Francisco Road NE, 215 Centerview Dr. Suite A Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 Albuquerque, New Mexico (615) 373-9988 87109-4640 (505) 822-9022 4851 LBJFreeway, Suite 300 Dallas, Texas 75244-6002 645 Albany-Shaker Rd. (972) 991-2100 P.O. Box 11010 Albany, New York 12211- 30 E. 1st South, Suite 200 0010 Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 (518) 458-7821 (801) 322-3405 431-437_ABOUTAP.qrk 3/1/03 1:41 PM Page 427

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700 East Main St., Suite 1380 Richmond, Virginia 23219- 2684 (804) 643-6646

201 Boren Ave. North P.O. Box 2144 Seattle, Washington 98109 (206) 682-1812

500 Virginia St. East, Suite 1150 Charleston, West Virginia 25301-2135 (304) 346-0897

Journal Square 918 N. Fourth St. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203- 1596 (414) 225-3580 438-440_ORDER.qrk 3/1/03 1:42 PM Page 428

AP PUBLICATIONS

AP STYLEBOOK The journalist’s “bible.” AP member newspapers, broadcast members and journalism departments of member schools—$7.75 per copy, plus postage. A special assessment can be made for the charges to AP member newspapers. Bookstores serving AP member schools—$10.50 per copy. All others—$12.50 per copy. Payment in full must accompany these orders. For shipping and handling, add $4.00 for up to nine books, $8.00 for orders of 10 or more. AP GUIDE TO NEWS WRITING In this revised edition of what was formerly titled The Word, author Jack Cappon, AP general news editor, explains the essentials of top-quality newswriting and demonstrates techniques to give your stories clarity, precision and polish — and avoid wordiness. AP members may order the AP Guide to News Writing for $12 a copy, plus $3.50 shipping. An assessment can be made for the charges. All others may order by calling 1-800-338-3282 or accessing www.petersons.com. AP GUIDE TO PHOTOJOURNALISM This revised and updated edition of The Picture, by Brian Horton, goes beyond the basics of lenses and exposure times to offer a rare, insider's perspective on the art and craft of photojournalism. Using some 200 photographs from AP archives, he provides useful instruction on technical considerations, but also deals with the less tangible, indispensable elements of content, style, and the creative process. AP members may order the AP Guide to Photo- journalism for $12 a copy, plus $3.50 shipping. All others may order by calling 1-800-722-4726. MANUAL DE TECNICAS DE REDACCION PERIODISTICA A handbook of writing techniques designed for Spanish-language print and broadcast journalists. An important guide for anyone who writes professionally in Spanish—or wants to learn how the professionals do it— Manual de Tecnicas covers the fundamentals of journalism: writing the lead, sources and quotes, structure and connections, writing with “color,” basic vocabulary, often misused terms, use and overuse of data, and much, much more. The spiral-bound book, written in Spanish by the same rules it preaches, is a practical guide backed by AP’s long and pres- tigious experience in journalism. AP members can order Manual de Tecnicas for $11.95 a copy, including shipping. (Members can be assessed directly.) All others may order the book for $13.95, plus $2.95 shipping for up to 10 copies; $5.95 for more than 10. Prepayment is required. AP BROADCAST NEWS HANDBOOK The revised edition of the AP Broadcast News Handbook, a 476-page soft-cover book, deals with the practical aspects of writing and delivering news in all electronic media. The Handbook, by Brad Kalbfeld, provides expert guidelines on how to find, research, write, edit, produce, and deliver authoritative, accurate, and engaging news stories in the studio or from the field. It also offers indispensable advice on key technical aspects of the job, from how 438-440_ORDER.qrk 3/1/03 1:42 PM Page 429

to handle a microphone to how wire services work AP members may order the AP Broadcast News Handbook for $15 a copy, plus $3.50 shipping. All others may order by calling 1-800-722-4726. AP STYLEBOOK ONLINE The AP Stylebook is also available in electronic formats, including Web-based online access for individual subscriptions and group site licenses. The searchable PDF or HTML file is available for downloading to intranet systems for a one-time site license fee. See www.apstylebook.com to apply for a site license or request further information at www.apstylebook.com/[email protected]. The subscription service for the online version is available to individual users for $20 a year. Subscribe at www.apstylebook.com. AP member newspaper, corporate or educational site licenses for the online service are available for multi-users. This Web-based AP Stylebook provides searchable access, with real-time updates, and allows editors to add their custom style material. Reporters can view the organization's information, along with their personal style entries and notes. Visit www.apbookstore.com/onsub.html for pricing information – and a site tour.

ORDERS SHOULD BE PLACED FOR NO MORE COPIES THAN ARE NEEDED, AS THE AP CANNOT ACCEPT RETURNS. ORDERS REQUIRING PREPAYMENT MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER FOR THE FULL AMOUNT OR THEY WILL BE RETURNED AND THE ORDER DELAYED. 438-440_ORDER.qrk 3/1/03 1:42 PM Page 430

apbookstore.com

Copies of The Associated Press Stylebook and other AP reference books, maps and posters can be ordered online at http://www.apbookstore.com on a secure site. However, if you prefer to order by mail, please fill out this form and enclose your check payable to AP Books, The Asso- ciated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020. ORDER FORM

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