"Love it or loathe it, The Associated Press Stylebook is the lingua franca of written journalism. It's why we say adviser, not advisor; protester, not protestor; and why the Oxford comma remains persona non grata. Many journalists are so fluent in AP style that we correct numbers in our sleep - digits over nine are safe as numerals even in dreams."
"There are "rules" you think are in AP style that simply aren't. Here are six of them as we roll into 2026. And before the indignant replies roll in: Yes, bigger issues exist than quibbling over a sometimes arbitrary set of guidelines. But what a year (erm, decade?) it's been for journalism. Surely we've earned five minutes of affectionate, old-school style-nerdery."
"You know what it looks like: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The World Health Organization (WHO). The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). It looks official. It feels tidy. It seems like something AP style would recommend. It doesn't. AP style explicitly advises against following an organization's full name with an abbreviation in parentheses unless the abbreviation will be clear and useful on second reference. And if it won't be clear, that's usually a sign you shouldn't use the abbreviation at all."
The Associated Press Stylebook governs common newsroom choices such as adviser over advisor, protester over protestor, and avoiding the Oxford comma. Many journalists internalize AP conventions to the point of instinct, including treating numbers over nine as numerals. Several widely held beliefs about AP style are misconceptions; some so-called 'rules' do not actually exist in the stylebook. AP guidance discourages following a full organization name with an abbreviation in parentheses unless that abbreviation will be clear and useful on second reference. Widely known acronyms like FCC, IRS, and FBI can be used without explanation. Using obscure acronyms often hinders reader comprehension rather than saving time.
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