Original units always should be reported first with associated units given
in another measurement system in parentheses. For example, 400 m (440 yards if
necessary) for the Olympics. If events were run on a quarter mile track or
swum in a yard designed swimming pool then it would be 440 yards (400 m).
Similarly, reporting could be used in reporting quantity of oil: barrels vs.
cubic meters/kL or pounds vs. kg for the mass of oil.
This is straight forward reporting without a reporter/editor trying to
second-guess readers. This is even more necessary now since more reporting
and communication is done via the Internet internationally. This guideline or
procedure also would add knowledge of what original measurements were used,
including furlongs per fortnight. This is what's known as straight forward
reporting without interpretation or introducing reporter/editor bias.
Stan Doore
----- Original Message -----
From: FunkyMart.com
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 3:22 AM
Subject: [USMA:41344] Journalism & AP Guidelines
I've been thinking about the issue of the AP style guidelines that came up a
couple of weeks back, and it seems to me that we need to put our heads together
and decide what our best shot is at doing something about this. Requiring
traditional units in news stories, typically to the exclusion of metric units,
is obviously a huge obstacle to general use of metric. But it's a barrier that
doesn't require legislative action to fix, something we lack the influence
and/or money to achieve. It wouldn't be easy to change AP's mind, of course,
but it would be easier than changing Congress's mind, and would represent an
important and concrete step forward.
First, we could use our existing connections to assemble the largest
coalition of scientists, educators, journalists, etc., that we can. Through
networking, the group of signatories could grow quite large. We may need to
circulate a draft for some time, perhaps a year or more, and we should focus on
recruiting as many journalists and journalism professors as possible. Then, we
need to jointly and formally approach AP with our statement, and the angle we
should take with them, it seems to me, is objectivity. Journalistic style
guidelines should not require reporters to take sides on social issues, or to
advocate for particular political outcomes. Traditional units, we should point
out, are not the law of the land, but a social preference. And in fact, it was
the intent of Congress to initiate and encourage a voluntary transition away
from that historical social preference and toward the metric system. Should
this transition take place or not? That's a social and political question that
a journalist should not be required, as a matter of style, to take sides on.
And yet, that is just what AP is doing. It would be as if AP specified that
journalists not use the term African American in place of black. Social
preferences continually evolve on such issues, and good journalists are
witnesses, not advocates, during such transitions.
Thoughts?
