*Very interesting* information. GOOD ammunition for use in the media
war. I would certainly use this when corresponding with
news/sports/feature editors regarding the use of SI in everyday reporting.
:-)
"James J. Wentworth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Subject: [USMA:8945] AP Stylebook (its metric instructions)
> Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 14:27:15 -0900
> From: "James J. Wentworth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: U.S. Metric Association <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> I have two copies of "The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel
> Manual," and
> here is what it says regarding the use of metric units (from the 1998
> edition). When you read this, you will see that most AP reporters are
> going
> against the instructions given in the AP Stylebook! Here is the full
> quotation:
> ************************************************************
> --METRIC SYSTEM-- In general, metric terms should be included in a
> story
> when they are relevant.
>
> There are no hard-and-fast rules on when they are relevant, but the
> following two guidelines have been developed to cover questions likely
> to
> arise as metric measurements gain increased acceptance in the United
> States:
>
> -- Use metric terms when they are he *primary form*
> [emphasis mine -- JJW] in which the source of a story has provided
> statistics. Follow the metric units with equivalents in the terms
> more
> widely known in the United States. Normally, the equivalent should be
> in
> parentheses after the metric figure. A general statement such as: "A
> kilometer equals about five-eighths of a mile," would be acceptable,
> however, to avoid repeated use of parenthetical equivalents in a story
> that
> uses kilometers many times.
>
> -- Provide metric equivalents for traditional forms if a metric unit
> has
> become widely known. As speedometers with kilometer markings become
> more
> prevalent, for example, a story about speed limits might list miles
> per hour
> and *provide kilometers per hour in parentheses* [emphasis mine --
> JJW].
>
> ABBREVIATIONS: The abbreviation "mm" for millimeter is acceptable in
> references to film widths (8 mm film) and weapons (a 105 mm cannon).
> (Note
> space between numeral and abbreviation.)
>
> Do not otherwise use metric abbreviations in news copy.
>
> The principal abbreviations, for reference in the event they are used
> by a
> source, are: "g" (gram), "kg" (kilogram), "t" (metric ton), "m"
> (meter),
> "cm" (centimeter), "km" (kilometer), "mm" (millimeter), "L" (liter,
> capital
> "L" to avoid confusion with the figure "1") and "mL" (milliliter).
>
> CONVERSION FORMULAS: A conversion table for frequently used metric
> terms
> follows.
>
> In addition, separate entries for "gram," "meter," "liter," "Celsius"
> and
> other frequently used metric units define them and give examples of
> how to
> convert them to equivalents in the terminology that has been used in
> the
> United States. Similarly, entries for "pound," "inch," "quart,"
> "Fahrenheit," etc., contain examples of how to convert these terms to
> metric
> forms.
>
> To avoid the need for long strings of figures, prefixes are added to
> the
> metric units to denote fractional elements or large multiples. The
> prefixes
> are: "pico-" (one-trillionth), "nano-" (one-billionth), "micro-"
> (one-millionth), "milli-" (one-thousandth), "centi-" (one-hundredth),
> "deci-" (one-tenth), "deka-" (10 units), "hecto-" (100 units), "giga-"
> (1
> billion units), "tera-" (1 trillion units). Entries for each prefix
> show
> how to convert a unit preceeded by the prefix to the basic unit.
>
> <The conversion chart is just like ones we've all seen before, so I
> won't
> reproduce it here.>
>
> Jason
n t
--
____________________________________________________________________________
Regards,
Michael G. Koerner
Appleton, WI
____________________________________________________________________________
