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The AP Stylebook 2016

Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2016 at 11:16 PM

Rounding up the most noteworthy changes in the new edition.

On June 1, the Associated Press released the 2016 edition of its Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. There's more to this new edition than just style changes; according to the AP's press release, the new edition features "the first interior page redesign in decades." Overall, the new edition features over 250 entry updates and additions, as well as 50 new or updated terms.

Making the biggest ripple is a minor, but controversial, change: Effective June 1, the AP began lowercasing "internet" and "web," breaking with years of tradition. (According to an April 2 tweet from the AP Stylebook announcing the change, World Wide Web will continue to be capitalized.) News of the style update reverberated through the media universe, drawing mixed reviews. A sampling of headlines:

--TechCrunch: "The death of 'Internet'" (April 2)
--Washington Examiner: "AP demotes the Internet: Lowercase 'internet,' 'web'" (June 1)
--Quartz: "The Associated Press is trying desperately to keep up with the Internet -- er, the internet" (June 1)
--Arizona Daily Star/Tucson.com: "Internet goes down" (June 3)

Elsewhere, Poynter.org has highlighted new and updated terms worth mentioning, including "emoji," "normcore," and "kombucha."

According to the AP's press release, the new stylebook is available in print, via online subscription, and as an ebook.

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