Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:55:43 -0700
From: "Bill Potts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [USMA:41144] RE: Associated Press Style Guide is working against us.
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Not quite true, Brian.
AP style is followed by AP correspondents and some
(or most, perhaps) newspapers and magazines (by
default, especially where AP is the source of the
story). However, most books adhere to the Chicago
Manual of Style.
Of course, AP style can be superimposed on Chicago
Style, with AP Style taking precedence where there
is a conflict. Not many book publishers (almost
none, in fact, as far as I know) indulge in such
superimposition. When I edit a manuscript, I use
Chicago Style.
The AP Stylebook is not solely about style. Its full
title is The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing
on Media Law.
There are other styles for other purposes, and they
include APA (American Psychological Association)
Style and MLA (Modern Language Association) Style.
Their use is mainly in the academic environment
(term papers, theses, dissertations, etc.). Some
publishers (e.g., McGraw-Hill) have their own style
books.
The AP Style appears to be the only one to have
anything restrictive to say about the use of SI
units.
Bill
------------------------------------------------
Bill Potts
Roseville, CA
http://metric1.org [SI Navigator]
------------------------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 21:27
To: U.S. Metric Association
Cc: U.S. Metric Association
Subject: [USMA:41141] RE: Associated Press Style
Guide is working against us.
Everyone has. Well, anyone who does publishing
for a living. Certainly, it's time for the AP to
change their guides.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [USMA:41140] RE: Associated Press Style
Guide is working
against us.
From: "Carleton MacDonald"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Mon, June 16, 2008 9:20 pm
To: "U.S. Metric Association"
<[email protected]>
Who made the AP the dictator of writing style?
Carleton
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
Of Michael Palumbo
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 18:20
To: U.S. Metric Association
Subject: [USMA:41135] Associated Press Style
Guide is working against us.
I met a nice young lady over the weekend who is
a reporter for the
Burlington County Times in southern New Jersey.
She informed me, during
the course of our discussion, that she must
write in English/Customary
units, as metric is not allowed by the AP style
guides.
I asked if she could send me some text of it,
here's what I just
received from her.
"Hey Mike,
This is from the 2007 AP stylebook, you have to
be a member to search
the online version:
For U.S. members, use metric terms only in
situations where they are
universally accepted forms of measurement (16 mm
film) or where the
metric distance is an important number in
itself: "He vowed to walk 100
kilometers (62 miles) in a week."
Seems even if reporters wanted to write in
metric, they couldn't, or
their editors would have to change it to get it
run by the AP.
Ideas?
-Mike
