The Associated Press Stylebook 2009 (Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law)

Within each section, entries are alphabetized, and searching for an answer is a fairly simple process. Tricky words--those that can be hyphenated (know-how) or not (jukebox), homonyms, nonstandard spellings (mo-ped)--are given their own short entries. Larger categories, such as religions, military titles, the Internet, and datelines, have multiple pages devoted to their explanations, but detail and clarity are brought nicely together in each listing. Many entries concern brand names and trademarks--never again will you question whetherpingpong or Ping-Pong should be used in the flier for your table-tennis tournament.

While a few sections of this book--the ones concerning media law, photo captions, filing the wire, and proofreading marks--will most likely be used by professional and student journalists and editors, the majority of this book is an excellent tool for anyone who ever has to write for the public. Whether it's a newsletter for your badminton league, a training manual for your employees, or a press release detailing your company's quarterly earnings, this stylebook will help you turn out well-written copy that gains the approval of every English teacher you've ever had. --Jill Lightner

Product Description

The style of the Associated Press is the gold standard of news writing. With The AP Stylebook in hand, you can learn to write with the clarity and professionalism for which the Associated Press is famous. Fully revised and updated, this new edition contains more than 3,000 A to Z entries—including more than 200 new ones—detailing the AP’s rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation and word and numeral usage. New entries include anti-spyware, high-definition, iPhone, outsourcing, podcast, text messaging, social networking, snail mail, WMD and Wikipedia.

You’ll also find answers to such widespread questions as:

• How should bankruptcy and mergers and acquisitions be covered?
• When should the names of government bodies or businesses be spelled out and when should they be abbreviated?
• What are the general definitions of the major religious movements?
• Which companies do the big media conglomerates own?
• Who are all the members of the British Commonwealth?
• What constitutes “fair use”?
• How should box scores for baseball games be filed, and how should sports terms like minicamp and wild card be used
• What exactly does the Freedom of Information Act cover?

With invaluable additional sections on the unique guidelines for business and sports reporting and on how you can guard against libel and copyright infringement, The AP Stylebook is the one reference that all writers, editors and students cannot afford to be without.