AP STYLEBOOK

The Associated Press Stylebook, often referred to as the "journalist's bible", is the first and foremost guide of style and usage for journalists. Developed by the Associated Press, almost every newspaper in the United States subscribes to the basic tenets of "AP Style." The book, which had more than 400 pages in its 2002 edition, covers a variety of topics, including:

• Basic questions about grammar, punctuation and spelling, some of which are unusual. For example, AP says teen-ager always takes a hyphen, an exception to most American dictionary usage; and it frowns on the widespread use of a serial comma before the last item in a list - that is, AP writes "red, white and blue" whereas many Americans write "red, white, and blue".
• Style guides for writing news stories, such as whether to convert foreign times to local times (generally not) and when to put "Dr." in front of a person's name (only for certain medical titles, although it may be used for a non-medical Ph.D. if the subject matter is relevant to the topic).
• Quick background information on a wide variety of topics, such as the Public Broadcasting Service ("not a network, but an association of public televisions stations organized to buy and distribut programs selected by a vote of the members") and the state of Hawaii ("comprises 132 lislands about 2,400 miles southwest of San Francisco.")
• Terminology and other items specific to sports reporting, such as how to present league standings.
• Terminology and other items specific to business reporting, such as the fact that f.o.b. is acceptable on first reference for free on board.
• A briefing on American media law.
• Material specific to working with AP, such as how to file photo captions.