When journalists discuss style, they aren’t talking about the latest fashion craze found in glitzy magazines. In newsrooms, style refers to usage, how stories are written and edited, how they are punctuated, whether phrases such as “quick-witted” should be hyphenated, whether the preferred term is “blacks” or “African-Americans.”
Sometimes, readers are baffled by what they see in the newspaper. They complain it isn’t the way they learned it in school. A reader recently asked why The San Diego Union-Tribune used parentheses instead of brackets to show information that had been inserted in a quotation. “It’s a matter of style,” I told her and explained that the newspaper uses the AP Stylebook in the interest of consistency and accuracy. The manual, which The Associated Press has compiled for 50 years, is used by newspapers throughout the world.
When I checked the 2002 print edition, I found an explanation for why brackets will not be found in most newspapers. In a chapter on punctuation, the stylebook points out that brackets cannot be transmitted over news wires. Reporters and editors are advised to use parentheses “or recast the material.”
The same explanation was in the computerized version of the style manual that contains 3,796 items, including 357 developed by the Union-Tribune to reflect local preferences. Style isn’t just about punctuation and spelling. Many items address usage and set a standard for sensitivity.
The online stylebook shows the Union-Tribune has its own style for items ranging from “aka” to “zoo.” The “aka” listing indicated that it should be lowercased with no periods and notes this is a change for the Union-Tribune. Under “zoo,” it said the word is capitalized when used as part of a full name but not when it stands alone even when the reference is to the San Diego Zoo.
There also were entries for items that reflect local sensitivity. Union-Tribune style calls for using “black” on first reference. “African-American” may be used as a synonym. The AP manual says “black” is preferred.
Under “accent marks” was this explanation: “The Union-Tribune uses accent marks on appropriate Spanish words. This includes using accent marks on Spanish names of Latin Americans and, on request, on names of people in the United States. But we will not impose accent marks on Americans with Spanish surnames who have been living for years without such accent marks.”
There is a separate detailed listing for Latino names, explaining that Latin Americans traditionally have three names, the given name, the father’s last name and then their mother’s family name. It explains that “the father’s family name is the more important name and is the equivalent of a last name for most U.S. citizens.” There is also an entry for Chinese names.
Some AP Stylebook entries are supplemented with expanded guidelines developed by the Union-Tribune. For example, under “abortion” there are two entries, one by AP and the other elaborating Union-Tribune style. The AP entry says: “Use anti-abortion instead of pro-life and abortion rights instead of pro-abortion or pro-choice. Avoid abortionist, which connotes a person who performs clandestine abortions; use a term such as abortion doctor or abortion practitioner.” The Union-Tribune entry takes it to another level: “We use neutral terms. Preferred: Abortion opponents, opponents of abortion, abortion foes on the one side. On the other side: abortion rights advocates, supporters of legal abortion and the like. Except in directly quoted matter, do not use pro-life or pro-choice. The term pro-abortion is a misleading simplification.”
Some entries are unique to the Union-Tribune. While the AP Stylebook does not contain guidelines about language to use for adoption, Union-Tribune usage states: “An adopted child has two sets of parents the adoptive parents and the birth or biological parents. Do not use the term natural mother or father, which implies that the adoptive parents are somehow unnatural.
“It is seldom necessary, except when adoption is a point of the story, to identify a child as adopted. The law makes no distinction between children born into a family and those adopted into it; need we?”
Sometimes, the Union-Tribune and the AP Stylebook disagree. Union-Tribune style calls for capitalizing “area” when referring to the San Francisco Bay Area, even when “Bay Area” stands alone. The AP Stylebook calls for “Bay area.”
Other local entries include a listing of the ethnic community organizations in San Diego County (there are 15), point out that the Cabrillo Bridge is in Balboa Park and is known informally as the Laurel Street Bridge, and that Diamond Vision (two words) is the name of the large TV screen in the scoreboard at Qualcomm Stadium. Also, the Medical Examiner’s Office is no longer called the Coroner’s Office in San Diego County and deputy coroners are now known as medical examiner’s investigators.
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Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619) 293-1525. Send e-mail to: readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
