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Vote: AP Style vs. Post Office Style
Published: June 16, 2008 at 3:17 PM (MST)
One element I've loved to include on all my websites is a reader vote.
Yes, I am a stats geek, and take a hard line against the use of garbage polling in news reporting. But this entry isn't so much a news report as an opportunity for an online discussion. A reader vote provides a quick and simple way for readers to see, graphically, what other discussion participants think about a question. We've had a lot of fun with votes on Theme Park Insider and on Violinist.com. (And, yes, I did some on OJR, too.) So I am planning to continue the tradition on Sensible Talk. Here's our initial vote, then. I thought of it when Tom Grubisich sent OJR his most recent column on hyper-local news websites. He had used U.S. Postal Service abbreviations for several states, and I, reflexively, changed the abbreviations to reflect AP style. Examples: California - "Calif." (AP) - "CA" (USPS) Florida - "Fla." (AP) - "FL" (USPS) Indiana - "Ind." (AP) - "IN" (USPS) Then I stopped. Why did I do that? Okay, I'm a journalist and quite used to AP style, both as a reporter and a long-time news reader. But millions of Americans use the Post Office abbreviations daily. Shouldn't we, as journalists, be writing to accommodate the greatest possible understanding? Why not use the Post Office abbreviations online? So here's your chance to decide what SensibleTalk.com's style will be: Tell us, in the comments, why you picked the one you did. Robert Niles also can be found at http://www.themeparkinsider.com From Scott Ruecker on June 16, 2008 at 4:50 PMI wish I could agree with the previous poster but I cannot. Even though they are right that, that is the way its been done for a long time but if AP style was as prolific as we all wish then the post office would be using AP style, but they are not.Not everyone knows, or even cares if something is in AP style or not, especially if you are not interested in grammar or writing. But everyone has mailed a letter or letters and had to get the state abbreviations correct in the address. Mess up a state abbreviation just once on a letter and I will promise you that you will get it right the second time. AP? I'll get it right and wrong in the same sentence and not remember it. From a reader at 24.14.215.72 on June 16, 2008 at 5:19 PMI picked the AP style because ALL CAPS postal designations could be confused as stock ticker abbreviations. Yeah, I know, I know, context matters. But it makes sense in my head.From a reader at 24.117.95.254 on June 16, 2008 at 8:25 PMI picked AP style because it's what I'm used to reading in a news context. Seeing the postal codes would jar me while I'm reading.From Adam Javurek on June 16, 2008 at 11:50 PMI picked AP style. I'm sure a lot of OJR readers were from outside of US. AP style is more understandable for them (- at least for me ;-)).From a reader at 193.60.133.201 on June 17, 2008 at 5:36 AMI also plumped for AP because I'm not in the US. That said, I can see an advantage for geotagging/semantic web/database journalism in using 'CA' - although I'm sure they could also cope with Calif.Paul Bradshaw, Online Journalism Blog From a reader at 70.21.127.178 on June 17, 2008 at 9:05 AMAP Style looks better ... it's less jarring ... it shows the writer actually cares about style and grammar and took the time to craft her piece or post. Anybody can address an envelope.
From mario Tedeschini-Lalli on June 17, 2008 at 9:11 AMBeing the third in a line of "foreign" contributors, it would be no surprise to know that I, too, voted for AP. But let me add a little learned bit to the discussion.Exactly 60 years ago, George Mikes - the most "English" of british writers (himself being, as a matter of fact, Hungarian)- published his "How to Scrape Skies - The United States Explored, Rediscovered and Explained", where he as an any sensible "alien" poked fun at state abbreviations, expecially when it comes to the M states, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana being among his most egregious examples. Had he thought about AP Style, his book would have been less funny -- but he would still have marvelled at why on earth, even AP would have MO stand for Missouri! From Robert Niles on June 17, 2008 at 11:24 AMActually, for search engine purposes, I am mulling a third option - not abbreviating at all!From Bradley Martin on June 17, 2008 at 8:33 PMWhile there's something to be said for the AP way of abbreviating state names, there are other aspects of AP style that are simply illiterate. The most egregious example that comes to mind is making the possessive of a word that ends in s by adding simply an apostrophe. There's no excuse for this now that we don't use teletype any more and an extra key stroke doesn't cost anything. AP should take another look at such eccentricities or risk being replaced as the industry standard.From a reader at 56.0.163.15 on June 18, 2008 at 11:58 AMI picked Post Office style because I work for the Post Office.This journal entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments. |
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From a reader at 69.8.247.233 on June 16, 2008 at 3:46 PM
I think a lot has changed in journalism over the years but AP style provides consistancy. Why fix something that isn't broken?