STYLES OF EDITING

REUTERS Reuters is an international news agency headquartered in New York, United States, and a division of Thomson Reuters. Until 2008, the Reuters news agency formed part of an independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data. Since the acquisition of Reuters Group by The Thomson Corporation in 2008, the Reuters news agency has been a part of Thomson Reuters, forming part of its financial and risk division. It transmits news in French, English, Arabic, Spanish, German, Italian,Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese. Reuters has a strict policy toward upholding journalistic objectivity. This policy has caused comment on the possible insensitivity of its non-use of the word terrorist in reports, including the 11 September attacks. Reuters has been careful to use the word terrorist only in quotes, whether quotations or scare quotes. Reuters global news editor Stephen Jukes wrote, We all know that one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter, and that Reuters upholds the principle that we do not use the word terrorist. The Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz responded, After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and again after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Reuters allowed the events to be described as acts of terror. But as of last week, even that terminology is banned. Reuters later apologised for this characterization of their policy,[9]although they maintained the policy itself. The 20 September 2004 edition of The New York Times reported that the Reuters global managing editor, David A. Schlesinger, objected to Canadian newspapers editing of Reuters articles by inserting the word terrorist, stating that my goal is to protect our reporters and protect our editorial integrity.[10]

ASSOCIATED PRESS AP style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles. Learning AP style is certainly not the most exciting or glamorous aspect of a career in journalism, but getting a handle on it is absolutely necessary. Why? Because AP style is the gold standard for print journalism. Its used by the vast majority of newspapers in the U.S. A reporter who never bothers to learn even the basics of AP style, who gets into the habit of submitting stories filled with AP style errors, is likely to find himself covering the sewage treatment board beat for a long, long time. Here are some of the most basic and commonly used AP style points. But remember, these represent only a tiny fraction of whats in the AP Stylebook, so dont use this page as a substitute for getting your own stylebook. Numbers One through nine are generally spelled out, while 10 and above are generally written as numerals. Example: He carried five books for 12 blocks. Percentages Percentages are always expressed as numerals, followed by the word percent. Example: The price of gas rose 5 percent. Ages Ages are always expressed as numerals. Example: He is 5 years old.

Dollar Amounts Dollar amounts are always expressed as numerals, and the $ sign is used. Example: $5, $15, $150, $150,000, $15 million, $15 billion, $15.5 billion Street Addresses Numerals are used for numbered addresses. Street, Avenue and Boulevard are abbreviated when used with a numbered address, but otherwise are spelled out. Route and Road are never abbreviated. Example: He lives at 123 Main St. His house is on Main Street. Her house in on 234 Elm Road. Dates Dates are expressed as numerals. The months August through February are abbreviated when used with numbered dates. March through July are never abbreviated. Months without dates are not abbreviated. Th is not used. Example: The meeting is on Oct. 15. She was born on July 12. I love the weather in November. Job Titles Job titles are generally capitalized when they appear before a persons name, but lowercase after the name. Example: President George Bush. George Bush is the president. Film, Book & Song Titles

Generally these are capitalized and placed in quotation marks. Do not use quote marks with reference books or the names of newspapers or magazines. Example: He rented Star Wars on DVD. She read War and Peace.

AP Style: CAIRO - Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square and Egypt exploded with joy and tears of relief after pro-democracy protesters brought down President Hosni Mubarak with a momentous march on his palaces and state TV. Mubarak, who until the end seemed unable to grasp the depth of resentment over his three decades of authoritarian rule, finally resigned Friday and handed power to the military. Note the way the AP goes with a two-sentence lede in this case, something reserved for the biggest stories. And see how the writer included some description as well - fireworks bursting over the square, tears of relief from protesters. Reuters: A furious wave of protest finally swept Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. Indeed, the Reuters story hints at something else; if a pro-democracy fervor sweeps across the Middle East, reporters there will be crafting many more first drafts of history in the days and weeks to come.