AP state name switch is a good time to address clarity issues
By Gerri Berendzen
Quick quiz: How do you spell the name of the state where the Red Sox play? Where does your mail go if the postal abbreviation is AS? Is Pennsylvania abbreviated Pa. or Penn.? *
It’s a topical quiz for copy editors in a week where the Associated Press is changing a long-time style rule about how to render state names.
Starting on May 1, the AP will change from abbreviating most states names in the body of stories to spelling those names out.
The wire service first talked about making the change in 2010 and met a lot of resistance during the inaugural Ask the AP Stylebook Editor session at the 2010 ACES national conference in Philadelphia. At the time, AP stylebook editors said it’s an issue of clarity for a diverse group of readers. People in France don’t necessarily know what Wis. means.
“International stories have long spelled out state names in the body of stories,” according to an advisory sent over the AP wire on April 23.
Of course, AP style isn’t a law. As one presenter noted during the recent ACES national conference in Las Vegas, there are no AP police waiting to knock down your door.
That means your publication or clients are perfectly free to ignore the AP’s guidance and write their own house rules.
Clarity should be the key issue when reacting to the style change. But when it comes to state names, some reader, somewhere is going to be confused by an abbreviation. (How many of you see copy where Wisconsin is abbreviated Wisc.? How many people think the postal code for Arkansas is AK?)
And these days, even if you edit for the most local publication or organization, publishing on the Internet means it’s possible someone in another country will read your work.
Whether you decide to ask writers to spell out state names to conform to the new AP style or write a house style that goes in a different direction, keep your audience in mind. A publication for retired postal workers requires a different rule than a general audience newspaper.
Think about whether your readers will be confused by state names abbreviated in some instances and spelled out in others. (AP still is calling for abbreviates in photo captions, datelines and tabular material. Perhaps your house style will say spell them out everywhere.)
Look beyond the main rule to other portions of the style. For instance, AP says, “No state name is necessary if it is the same as the dateline.” Is that the best way to go if your publication or website is directed at two or three states that have cities with similar names?
AP notes the possibility of confusion when you’re talking about Springfield — Illinois or Massachusetts? But might readers also be confused by place names such as Canton and New Canton, cities that are within miles of each other in Missouri and Illinois? Perhaps a house style that says always note the state, regardless of the dateline, would be more clear.
The change affects copy editors in different ways, depending on their job. If you edit using only the Chicago Manual of Style, it’s simply a curiosity, because you’ve been spelling out state names in running text anyway. (For a good comparison of the different style rules on state names, check out the AP vs. Chicago blog.)
If you are a freelancer editing for a client who uses AP style, then it’s time to refresh yourself on the spellings of states like Connecticut. (Or make sure you pay attention to your spell checker.)
Or maybe it’s time to convince your client to develop house style sheets.
The biggest changes are on tap for those who work at publications that use a combination of AP wire copy and local copy. No doubt reporters who have been writing Ill. and Mont. for years will slip up sometimes. You’ll probably see AP writers slip up as well.
But remember: Style shouldn’t be an immovable force. It’s intended to promote consistency and make your life easier by making sure you don’t sweat the little stuff — especially if your audience understands what you are producing.
Consistency helps the reader, but not when policing consistency means you don’t have time to address more important issues, such as accuracy and clarity.
* ANSWERS: Massachusetts, American Samoa and Pa. (or PA if you’re sending a letter).
