Coronavirus has had an effect on the Associate Press stylebook, notes Grumpy Editor.
In the past year AP’s “coronavirus topical guide” has been updated several times, says Paula Froke, AP Stylebook editor. The current version, published March 10, contains 74 entries, 43 of which are new to the stylebook.
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida, points out the guide "includes medical terms — hydroxychloroquine and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children — as well as phrases to describe the socially distant lifestyle many have adopted since the pandemic’s start. Pods, as in learning pods or social pods, get their own entry, and AP now recognizes that FaceTime, Skype and Zoom can be used as verbs.”
“The goal is to help writers and editors everywhere have a consistent approach to terminology — consistent and accurate, above all, and clear so that in this often very quickly changing and big complicated news story, editors can have some guideposts for how to lay this out most clearly for the public to understand,” Froke adds.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
FIRST ORBITAL FLIGHT REMEMBERED TODAY. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first orbital flight --- space shuttle Columbia from Orlando, Florida. It revolutionized space exploration…with its accomplishments and tragedies.
POMPEO JOINS FOX NEWS AS CONTRIBUTOR. Fox News hires former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a contributor. A frequent guest on the network, Pompeo is familiar to the network's viewers.
FOR SALE SIGN ON LOUISVILLE NEWSPAPER BUILDING. Nearly 75 years after it was built, The Courier Journal building in Louisville, Kentucky, is up for sale. The building has been largely devoid of Courier Journal staff the past year, with the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating a work-from-home schedule.
JILL BIDEN SAYS HONOR MILITARY FAMILIES. First Lady Jill Biden revives a decades-old initiative challenging Americans to do things — from mowing lawns to dropping off meals for families with loved ones in the armed forces.
TIGER WOODS CRASH INFO DRIBBLES OUT. Tiger Woods auto crash on Feb. 23 continues to make headlines with new revelations. During the week a story reveals authorities say he was driving more than 80 m.p.h.
FUN IN TH SUN. About two dozen monkeys break out of a zoo in Loeffingen, Germany, near the Swiss border before being recaptured.
MAN STEALS VAN GOGH PAINTING. Dutch police arrest a 58-year-old man suspected of stealing an 1884 painting by Vincent van Gogh last year.
U.S. POPULATION GROWTH SLOWS. America's population grew only 0.48 percent in 2019, an amount unseen since the end of World War I in 1918. Key elements in the population slowdown include fewer births, fewer immigrants and the overall graying of Americans. The birth rate and immigration have historically driven the nation's changing population dynamics.
MILITARY MEETING DEMANDS REDUCED. The Government Accountability Office finds the U.S. military's ability to meet demands has largely degraded over the past two decades, pointing out domain readiness did not meet readiness recovery goals identified by the military services."
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