McPherson College

SPECTATOR
Staff Manual and Stylesheet
I. Spectator Mission
Publisher
The mission of the McPherson College Spectator is twofold: 1) To serve and enhance the campus community by providing an informed and responsible forum for campus news and student voices and 2) To provide an experience where students can learn about the civic role of journalism and practice the range of skills required of professional journalists. The vision for the Spectator is to manifest in its journalistic practices the nine elements of journalism identified by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their landmark work, The Elements of Journalism (Three Rivers Press, 2001). The Spectator is fulfilling both parts of its statement of mission when the following statements are true:

II. Organizational Structure

Publisher
The Spectator is published by the Student Government Association of McPherson College. Its policies are determined by the Board of Publications. Modest salaries are paid to the editor-in-chief, page editors, advertising sales manager, advertising design and layout manager, and business manager, all of whom are the employees of SGA. In addition, reporters and photographers are compensated on a per-story/ photograph basis.

Editorial Staff
The Editorial Staff is the decision-making body of The Spectator. Members include all salaried editors, the business manager, the advertising managers, and the faculty adviser (without vote). Salaried staff are subject to review by the Editorial Board if they fail to perform their duties. By majority vote, the Editorial Staff may recommend to the Board of Publications the dismissal of any salaried staff member. The staff is responsible for recommending a replacement for a vacated position. When questions concerning the publication of controversial material, the coverage of sensitive stories or the editorial position in the lead editorial box arise, a majority vote of the Editorial Staff will be the deciding factor. The faculty adviser may veto the decision, but the team may overrule the adviser with a unanimous vote.

The Spectators first obligation is to the truth. Its first loyalty is to students and members of the campus community. Staff members practice a discipline of verification. Staff members maintain an independence from those they cover. The Spectator remains an independent monitor of power. It must provide a public forum for criticism and compromise. It makes the significant interesting and relevant. Reporting is comprehensive and proportional. Staff members are allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

Staff Organization
Editor-in-Chief
The editor-in-chief is the administrative head of the Spectator staff. He or she is responsible for

Copy Editor
Working cooperatively with the editor-in-chief and the section editors, the copy editor works to see that the Spectator is as factually accurate and conventionally correct as possible. His or her responsibilities include

managing the Spectator office space all communication regarding staff meetings planning and conducting staff meetings handling concerns of reporters, photographers, and page editors about matters that affect the satisfactory and timely production of the paper.

The editor-in-chief works closely with section editors, the copy editor, the photography editor, the online coordinator and the multimedia editor in all phases of paper and online production, including

planning stories to be covered for each issue assigning writers, photographers, and multimedia journalists to specific stories editing copy designing pages selecting and cropping photos writing headlines and cutlines submitting the final publication to the printer transferring news to the online Spectator offering suggestions and feedback on multimedia productions.

seeing that copy conforms to the house style outlined in this stylesheet seeing that copy conforms to Associated Press style in all matters not covered in this stylesheet correcting all errors of spelling, grammar, usage, punctuation and other conventions of standard English Checking all questionable statements or figures and double checking spelling of names, improving leads, tightening sentences and improving copy flow, especially in news and sports stories Tightening sentences and improving copy flow, but without eliminating the personal voice in columns and feature stories When possible, reviewing page proofs to proofread cutlines, headlines, briefs or other copy that might have been introduced on the page without going through the usual copy editing workflow.

Section Editors
The Spectator staff includes four section editors: the news editor, opinions editor, campus life editor and sports editor. Section editors carry lead responsibility for two pages per issue, including:

The editor-in-chief carries the authority to make final decisions concerning the acceptability of any component of the Spectator. The editor-in-chief may but is not required toconsult the faculty adviser on difficult or controversial decisions. It is assumed that the editor-in-chief will frequently contribute writing to the Spectator, especially in the areas of news analysis and opinion (although personal interest can dictate the kind of writing contributed). In addition, the editor-in-chief oversees the business aspects of the Spectator. He or she

works with the advertising sales manager to ensure the sale of adequate ads for each issue works with the advertising design manager to ensure the appropriate and timely completion of ads for each issue works with the business manager to ensure financial records are accurately maintained, subscriptions promptly filled and accounts professionally handled.

planning stories and photos for their section assigning reporters to stories copy-editing stories designing pages writing headlines and cutlines producing pages in Adobe InDesign consulting with the photography editor concerning photo assignments and sizes for planned layout.

It is also assumed that section editors will occasionally contribute articles to their pages. Section editors, in consultation with the editor-in-chief, decide the acceptability of any components of their pages, but final authority and responsibility lie with the editor-in-chief (in consultation as requested with the faculty adviser).

Photography Editor
The photography editor has responsibility for all aspects of producing photographs for the Spectator, including

the sale of advertisements. The major responsibilities are

managing all aspects of the photography equipment owned by the Spectator planning photo shoots in consultation with the section editors giving photographers assignments taking photos developing film cropping photos digitally editing and preparing photos for print.

caring for all matters related to subscriptions, including selling and billing subscribers and labeling and mailing subscribers' papers billing advertisers and collecting on bills receiving bills and submitting them to the college Business Office for payment keeping the books maintaining records of writers' and photographers' strings for payment requesting string payments from the college Business Office

Advertising Sales Manager

The ad sales manager is the Spectator's representative in the McPherson business community. He or she is responsible for soliciting enough advertising to keep the Spectators agency account solvent. Responsibilities include

Staff Writers and Photographers

Staff reporters and photographers are extremely important and fully accountable members of the Spectator staff. Their writing load may vary from issue to issue (and depending upon whether they are enrolled for academic credit). Some flexibility in assignments is possible when arrangements are appropriately made in advance with section editors and/or the editor-in-chief. Editors will try to give staff members the types of assignments they prefer; however, both reporters and photographers can expect to receive a wide range of assignments. Whether or not they are enrolled for credit, staff reporters and photographers are expected to

distributing display advertising contracts at the beginning of each semester to all potential advertisers, either in person or by mail soliciting the required quota of advertising for each issue through contracts and periodic sales calls clearly and effectively communicating advertisers' ideas and needs for display ads accurately and on time to the advertising design and layout manager providing advertisers with proofs, as requested.

Advertising Design and Layout Manager

The ad design and layout manager, in consultation with the editor-in-chief and the faculty adviser, carries creative control over all Spectator advertising. His or her major responsibilities include

Attend all staff meetings Satisfactorily complete stories or photo shoots by the assigned deadline Satisfactorily cover any assigned beats Follow the Spectator Stylesheet and AP Stylebook Prepare copy in the manner prescribed in this manual.

meeting the requests of advertisers for their display ads preparing proofs of ads as requested for advertisers to approve before publication planning with the ad sales manager and the photography editor the photos needed for upcoming display ads preparing digital files ready for placement on desktop publisher pages and transferring those ads to the editor-in-chief.

Staff members who are enrolled in an EN 315 Journalism Practicum must confer with the faculty adviser about additional requirements.

Publication Adviser
The faculty adviser for the Spectator is an educator appointed by the dean of the faculty in cooperation with the Department of English. Her role is to provide an ethical, encouraging environment where students learn and practice sound journalistic principles. One way advisers fulfill their educational responsibility is by serving as a resource that students can consult. This advisory role, however, is precarious because it can easily conflict with students right to free

Business Manager
The business manager cares for the financial records and all business matters of the Spectator except for

expression. The student press carries all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities granted by the First Amendment, and prior review is unconstitutional. The critical factor here is that the students must initiate the dialogue; an adviser may offer suggestions when her input is overtly sought. The adviser must teach without censoring, editing, designing, directing or producing. Thus, a prickly reality in student journalism is that much of the learning derives from lessons learned from mistakes. This is uncomfortable because journalism is a relatively unforgiving profession and news readers are unforgiving consumers. It is these same high expectations, however, that make post-publication learning experiences so effective. Publication critiques are another way advisers meet their obligations as educators. A more detailed discussion of the advisers role can be found at College Media Advisers Code of Ethics (http://www.collegemedia.org).

III. Staff Manual

What Is News?
News is a fresh report of events, facts or others opinions that is important or helpful for readers to know.

News Has Impact and Relevance

Probably the biggest problem faced by the staff of a biweekly paper is providing its readers the fresh reports. A staff can employ two tactics to fight this problem:

Spectator Office
The Spectator office is located in Beeghly Hall 204 at the far south end of the second-floor hallway. The office is locked, but keys are issued to each editor and manager. Reporters who need access to the Spectator office may contact any of the paid-position staff. The editor-in-chief is in charge of the office, and editors and reporters and other staff members share in the responsibility of keeping the office a productive place to work.

Load the issue with advances instead of reports about past events. Students already know about what last weeks Mohler said. They can be truly informed, however, by an article about next week's Religious Heritage lecturer and perhaps have their interest piqued enough to look forward to the speech. Assess past events or actions to determine their current or future impact. Then, feature this impact prominently in the story's lead. Compare the following leads, for example: Miller Library installed new software for its online catalog over the summer. The system was installed during the final weeks of August and was up and running by the time classes started on Aug. 28. Library staff and returning students are praising the new, user-friendly software they are now using to access the librarys on-line catalog. "Students really seem to appreciate the faster search returns and the new look, said Susan Taylor, director of library services, earlier this week. The screen is now a professionallooking interface that is much easier to use than the old system, she said. Last year, I felt like I was trying to use a system that was way outdated, said Riley Miller, sr., Rocky Ford, Colo. This looks and feels like the best search engines on the Web. That is the news--the fresh report that emphasizes the impact for our readership.

The Spectator and Academic Credit

Students may receive one hour of academic credit per semester for their work on the Spectator. Students who desire credit may enroll for any of the EN 315 journalism practica, which include reporting, editing, design and layout, advertising management, and photojournalism. Students enrolled for credit have slightly more stringent requirements than those outlined in this manual. For additional expectations, see the practica syllabi.

Sports stories are especially susceptible to recounting outdated events. Unless a recent game was a victory or loss of particular importance, leads in sports stories should usually feature the upcoming match(es) or the next game of real magnitude.

News Is Accurate and Unbiased

No obligations of the journalist are more important than accuracy and truth telling. Every staff member bears responsibility for seeing that information printed in the Spectator is correct and fairly represents the truth. The following practices constitute a discipline of verification that can assure the most accurate stories possible.

information for stories. Many subjects will respond to email questions, but that should be reporters last resort: the quotes you get will be more carefully worded, more canned, and crafted to avoid giving real answers to your questions. But perhaps the biggest drawback of an email interview is that you are less likely to get answers to the follow-up questions that naturally evolve in a face-to-face or telephone interview. It is important to follow the guidelines below when you interview persons: By telephone:

Confirm with sources any quotation that is controversial or about which there is any question of accuracy. Double-check copy against documentary information; or, when documentary evidence does not exist, confirm facts with two independent sources. Strive to get all sides of an issue, no matter how difficult or controversial. Dont cover events or activities that you are involved in. (For example, an SGA member shouldnt cover a story about SGA.) Avoid quoting friends. Make every effort to interview those who rarely if ever appear in the Spectator.

Be sure you know what you want to ask before you call. Make a list. Talk from notes if this will help. Be sure you identify yourself in a business-like way to whoever answers. Tell them what you are doing, and what you want: Hello, my name is Laurina Hannan, and I'm writing an article for the McPherson College Spectator on the college's fall enrollment figures. While I have the numbers, I need some information on how these numbers compare to previous years. I'd like to talk to Karlene Tyler about this. Is she in?

Guidelines for Writers

Responsibility to Staff
Nothingabsolutely nothingis more critical to the success and morale of a news organization than staff writers who will do what it takes to get a good story and turn it in by deadline. Conversely, nothing demoralizes a staff more than writers who fail to do justice to the assignment and who submit copy late. Editors pay a huge emotional and physical price for the irresponsibility of others. Reporters must do whatever is necessary to get a story rightinterview people they dont know, make phone calls at nights or on weekends, revise copy more times than they want, and practice the discipline of verification described above. You will not only make your editors happy; you will make yourself happy. You can be satisfied with a job well done and reap the appreciation of your subjects and your readers.

Even if your deadline is urgent, respect your subjects time and ask them, Is this a good time to talkor could I call back/could we make an appointment for a better time? Then get that appointment for a better time, right then.

In person:

Interviewing
Interviews are an essential part of getting any story, and your interviewing skills will have a direct influence on the quality of your reporting. While interviewing subjects face-to-face is more desirable, do not forget that the telephone is a quick way to get accurate

Write your questions in a notebook to be used especially for interviewing. You might write one question at the top of a blank page and then write answers below. When interviewing feature story subjects, especially, be aware of unspoken information. Keep notes on your subjects appearance and mannerisms and on the interview setting. Be open about taking notes. The subject wants your piece to be correct. If you wish to record the interview, ask your subjects permission. Do not assume they are comfortable with being recorded. It is illegal to record an interview secretly If there is something you do not understand, ask for an explanation.

Do not rush from question to question. If you pause deliberately, your subject may continue to talk, providing you with your best information and best quotes. End every interview with the question, "Is there anything I didn't ask that I should have?" You will be surprised at what this can elicit, and it gives the subject the feeling that you have been thorough.

See the "Libel Manual" in The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual for a complete treatment of libel.

Covering Beats
Many if not most staff members will be assigned beats. Beats may change from semester-to-semester, but important beats will generally remain the same. They include Presidents Office Provost/Academic Dean Advancement Business Office Admissions Facility Management Campus Ministry/ Counseling Faculty Student Government Student Activities Board Theatre Auto Restoration Music Business Club Student Services Creative Arts Society Friendship Art Exhibits

Off-the-Record: What Does It Mean? If anyone ever makes a comment in an interview with the request that it be "off the record," STOP the interview and find out what your source means. Does she mean:

Your source never wants to see that comment or information in print? You can report the information if you can keep the source's identity out of the story?

Once you give your word the material will be "off the record," you must keep your promise. Never accept information off the record when it belongs on the record. Remarks made at a public meeting such as Student Government, for example, are always on the record. As a policy, the Spectator does not publish unattributed quotes or information (except in the Shout It Out column). If the source asks to remain anonymous, explain that you cannot report information that cant be attributed to a named source.

Once you have been assigned a beat, find out all you can about it.

Avoiding Libel
Here are some general rules about libel:

You may not damage a person's reputation without the risk of paying the consequences. You may be sued if you subject a person to public scorn, ridicule, or opprobrium. You may be sued if you harm persons in their trade, occupation, or profession. It is not necessary to name persons for readers to be able to identify them. If readers can identify the person you are writing about and your statements harm her reputation, they are libelous even though you never used her name. Exception: Criticism of the arts (plays, movies, books, CDs, exhibits, etc.) is immune, as long as it is fair, based on fact, and contains no malice, and as long as it limits itself to the work, rather than criticizes the man or woman who created the work.

Go to the source of information suggested, introduce yourself, and tell that person you have his/her beat for the semester and want to know all you can about their functions. Learn whos in this office/department. (Secretaries are often the best sources of information.) Get any handbooks or information that office puts out. Ask to be put on the distribution list for agendas, minutes, announcements, or policies that the office produces. Find out the best time to talk with the sources and touch base with them at that time on a regular basisperhaps during the week after publication of an issue of the Spec. Discuss any potential stories with your section editor or the editor-in-chief to confirm that you should pursue the story or that it should be assigned to another staff writer.

Preparing Copy
Reporters should prepare copy on a word processor, preferably Microsoft Word. If you are using some word processor other than Word, save your work as an RTF file. (Every word processor has an RTF, or Rich Text Format, mode.) Reporters may submit stories to their section editor as an email attachment. Keep a backup copy of the file in case it becomes corrupted in the process of being forwarded to the editor. Please follow these guidelines in preparing copy:

At the top your story, type a two- to four-word slug that indicates the content of your story. Under the slug, type your name exactly as you want it to appear in your byline. (Page editors and the editor-in-chief make the final determination on whether the byline appears with the story.) Turn on double-spacing. (Its easier for you and your editor to proofread.) Keep paragraphs short. Journalistic paragraphs average two sentences and almost never exceed three sentences. Do not split (hyphenate) words at the ends of lines. If your word processor automatically divides words, disable the feature. Omit commas before the conjunction in a series of three or more sentence elements. Do not use tabs to indent paragraphs. Editors must strip them out before placing them into the desktop publisher. This consumes precious time during production and introduces errors. Space only once after periods at the end of sentences. Extra spaces must also be stripped from copy by editors. On matters of style, writers should be guided first by this stylesheet (see section IV) and second by the AP Stylebook. Meet all deadlines, or explain to your editor 48 hours in advance why your deadline will not be met.

Newswriting is lead writing. The lead is not only the first paragraph of a news story, it is the essence of what you know about that event, written crisply and tightly. There are always several good ways to write a lead, but usually one best way for each storythe way that gets the most interesting or the most important news into the first few words of the lead. (See the entry under leads in the stylesheet.)

Writing Features
What is a feature story? Whatever works. Many features are based on dramatic situations, such as the football player with the career-ending injury. Others are based on the unique, such as the student with a pet boa constrictor in his dorm room. Others are based on overlooked, common occurrences, such as cleaning the bathrooms in the dorms, students who go home on weekends, etc. There is no feature "formula," as there is in straight news writing (and, to a lesser extent, editorial writing). A feature is a longer article, usually 500 words or more, that tells the facts truthfully, but in which the story is in the telling as much as in the facts. The greatest danger in a feature is that its emphasis upon the way the story is written will lead the writer to use florid phrases, clichs and generalities. The success of a feature depends upon the quality of information gathered; attention to word choices; understated, detailed descriptions and anecdotes; and, an organization of materials that effectively moves the reader to an informed viewpoint about the subject.

Writing Straight News

The inverted pyramid is the basic design for most straight news stories. The most important facts are blurted out in the first paragraph (the lead), and the reporter works his way down to and through the least important information. The purpose of the inverted pyramid is to put the facts in order of decreasing importance. Thus, if the reader reads only the first few paragraphs of a story, chances are she has read the most important parts of the story. The inverted pyramid is also a tool for your page editors. Occasionally, they will have to cut copy as they design their pages. When reporters effectively use the inverted pyramid, page editors can cut the last paragraphs of a story, knowing these are the least important parts of a report. News writing consists of the five Ws and the H: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW Each news story must answer as many of the five Ws and the H as possible.

Writing Editorials
An editorial is a brief essay, usually 300 words or less, expressing a carefully reasoned position or opinion on a recent issue. Ideally, a Spectator editorial will inform and lead student opinion. It will interpret current campus news to students and point out its significance. Editorialists can take at least four different approaches: teaching, attacking, defending, or praising. In its most basic form, the editorial follows a rather predictable pattern.

The editorial writer first establishes the news peg, that is, the timely information or issue on which the editorial is based. The problem or situation posed by the news peg is explained, and the writer's position clearly stated.

An analysis of the situation follows, examining the facts and details in a way that reveals the reasoning behind the editorialist's opinion. The editorial usually re-emphasizes the writer's position and then offers a solution, backed with arguments suggesting the rightness of the solution. The editorial always ends with a strong statementoften the strongest statement in the piece. Editorials need not always be serious. With a lighter touch, one can entertain at the same time he or she teaches, criticizes, praises, or defends.

IV. Stylesheet
Spectator staff members should always refer first to the guidelines in this stylesheet. If the relevant guidelines are not listed here, defer to the AP Stylebook. Entries followed by [AP] are fully consistent with AP style. All others entries represent guidelines unique to the Spectator. abbreviations, organizations On first reference, use an organization's full name. Do not follow it with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes. If an abbreviation or acronym is not clear on second reference, do not use it. abbreviations, classes In student identifications (see identification, student entry), use the abbreviations fr., soph., jr. and sr. In all other situations, spell them out. See also entries under days of the week, months, states, Student Council, times, titles attributions Always clearly identify the source of quotations (and paraphrased quotations) in your copy. In general, the verb said is the best verb of attribution. It is not weakened by repetition. In straight news stories, be especially careful that synonyms of attribution such as admitted, disclosed, conceded, offered, explained, etc., do not give a quotation an editorial tone. As a rule, attributions should follow quotes or paraphrases and be in subject-verb order; however, in the case of first-reference sources that require an identifying appositive, the attribution is best in verb-subject order. On first reference, for example, "Students really seem to appreciate the faster search returns and the new look, said Susan Taylor, director of library services. But on second reference, "Students really seem to appreciate the faster search returns and the new look, Taylor said. When quotes exceed a single sentence in length, attributions should be placed at the end of the first sentence: Last year, I felt like I was trying to use a system that was way outdated, said Riley Miller, sr., Rocky Ford, Colo. This looks and feels like the best search engines on the Web.

Letters to the Editor Policy

The Spectator's editorial pages provide a public forum for student opinion. Through letters to the editor, students may air concerns, opinions, and suggestions. The following policy guides the publication of all letters to the editor and should be printed in full in the first issue of each semester.

All letters will be handled by the editors. The Spectator does not publish letters to which authors will not attach their names except in the extraordinary circumstances where the writers safety or privacy is endangered. Editors reserve the right to edit letters to correct inaccuracies, excessive wordiness, unnecessary vulgarity or poor taste, and potentially libelous statements. If changes of any consequence are made, editors will notify the writer to see if he or she prefers to withdraw the letter. Letters to the editor may be attached in e-mail to spectator@bulldog.mcpherson.edu or dropped in campus mail addressed to the Spec. The final deadline is Monday before the Fridays on which a paper is published.

As a matter of practice, the opinions editor or the editor-in-chief must confirm the authorship of all letters submitted for publication.

buildings In the first reference, use the campus building's full name. (Exception: Center for Sport and Physical Education, which may be referred to as the Sport Center on first reference.) On second reference, Hall may be properly dropped from a name, or a building may be referred to generically, for example, the union or SU, the gazebo, the stadium. The correct first references and spellings of campus buildings are Beeghly Hall Bittinger Hall Brown Auditorium Dotzour Hall Heaston Gazebo Hess Fine Arts Center Hoffman Student Union McPherson Stadium Melhorn Science Hall Metzler Hall Miller Library Mingenback Mall Mingenback Theatre Mohler Hall Morrison Hall Sport Center Templeton Hall Coach / coach Coach is frequently used in sports stories as a courtesy title before the names of persons who direct athletic teams. In such cases it is capitalized: Coach Joe Betasso, Coach Swartzendruber, Coach Rolfs. Do not capitalize coach when it is modified in any way or set off from a name by commas: defensive coach Mike Silva; the coach, Cy Rolfs, was charged with a technical foul. In stories not on the sports pages, college personnel who are coaches should be referred by their academic titles. See the entry identification, faculty & staff. college When referring to McPherson College generically, use the college with lowercase "c." commas Omit the comma before and or or in a series. For example, The Spectator lab includes eight computer stations, two scanners and a large-format printer. Use commas around years only a month and date are given, for example, on Feb. 12, 2005, SGA; but, in February 1955, SGA.

See the entry commas in the AP Stylebook for additional help. course titles See titles, course cutlines In general, write the first sentence of a cutline in present tense. Write all other sentences in the past tense. If student subjects in a photograph are identified in an accompanying story, class and hometown identification is not needed. However, follow the identification style for students outlined in the entry identification, students if they are not identified elsewhere. days of the week [AP] Capitalize them. Do not abbreviate, except in tabular format. See also time elements. full-time Hyphenate it. headlines In general, news story headlines should contain a verb. Use the present tense for headlines about past events. Avoid splitting a phrase or idea between lines on multiple line headlines. Feature story heads (and some soft news stories packaged in "display") need not necessarily contain verbs. The Spectator's headline style is down; that is, all words except the first word in the headline and proper nouns begin with a lower case letter, not a capital letter. Homecoming / homecoming Capitalize it when used in conjunction with a specific year, e.g., Homecoming 2011. Otherwise, use lowercase. identification, faculty & staff On the first or second reference to a faculty or staff member, identify them by the job title listed in the annual academic catalog or the online faculty/staff directory. Ed Barr, assistant professor of technology, said and Tim Bruton, senior maintenance and safety technician, said On all references after fully identifying the faculty or staff member, use the last name only. Do not insert courtesy titles such as Dr., Prof., Ms., etc. identification, students On the first or second reference to a McPherson College student, identify students by class and hometown. Abbreviate the class. Abbreviate the state if appropriate (see states entry). If the hometown is in Kansas, omit the state unless it is necessary to avoid confusion. For example,

John Johansen, sr., Pittsburg, Kan., claims . . . but Michelle Dalton, soph., Wichita, claims. . . . Exception: Do not fully identify students in sports stories. If it is important to identify the athlete, do so in an appositive phrase, for example, Jamie Sims, a sophomore from McPherson, scored the first basket. inclusive language Be sensitive at all times to gender in language. Seek to be concise and neutral. The greatest difficulties arise in matters of personal pronoun agreement with singular, indefinite antecedents, which have traditionally taken the masculine singular pronoun. For example, Each person has to face his own destiny. Possible solutions, in order of preference are: 1) Change the antecendent so that it can take a plural, neuter pronoun: All persons have to face their own destiny. 2) Rewrite the sentence to avoid the personal pronoun altogether: Each person must face the future; or Each person must face destiny. 3) Alternate the use of the feminine pronoun with the masculine pronoun to agree with the singular, indefinite antecedent: Each person has to face her own destiny. 4) Use he or she (or his or her.) Each person has to face his or her own destiny. Interterm / interterm When used in conjunction with a specific year, capitalize it: Interterm 2007. Otherwise, use lowercase. leads Strive to make the first three or four words in a lead the most important words in the story. Avoid using dates, and times at the beginning of leads. Do not clutter leads with too many details. For example, identification of a student can wait for the second reference. McPherson College When referring to McPherson College generically, use the college (lowercase "c"). midterm Lowercase, no hyphen.

months [AP] Always spell months with five letters or less. Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. when used with a specific date. Spell out every month when used alone or with a year alone. When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. newspaper name [AP] Do not place name in quotes. Capitalize the in a newspapers name if that is the way the publication prefers to be known. numerals [AP] In general, spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures or 10 and above. Thus, Spell out a numerals at the beginning of a sentence. If necessary, rewrite the sentence. There is one exceptiona numeral that identifies a calendar year. AP style for the use of numbers is complicated. If in doubt, check the numerals entry in the AP Stylebook. President / president [AP] President is Michael Schneider's formal title when it precedes his name and is capitalized. Do not capitalize it, however, when it follows his name. Thus President Michael Schneider said . . . but Michael Schneider, president College, spoke about . . . of McPherson

semesters When used in conjunction with a specific year, capitalize fall and spring: Fall 2011, Spring 2012. Use lowercase when the reference is generic: fall semester, spring semester. See also interterm. states [AP] The names of eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Use the listed AP abbreviation in conjunction with the name of a city or town. The exception is cities or towns in Kansas that readers will not confuse with a town or city in another state. Thus, Kansas City, Kan., and Pittsburg, Kan. However, Hesston, Salina, Great Bend, etc. Ala. Ariz. Ark. Calif. Colo. Md. Mass. Mich. Minn. Miss. N.Y. Okla. Ore. Pa. R.I.

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Conn. Del. Fla. Ga. Ill. Ind. Kan. Ky. La.

Mo. Mont. Neb. Nev. N.C. N.D. N.H. N.J. N.M.

S.C. S.D. Tenn. Vt. Va. Wash. W.Va. Wis. Wyo.

Be careful to avoid redundancy in time expressions. For example, 7 p.m. Thursday, not 7 p.m. Thursday evening. titles, academic faculty & staff See the entry identification,

Place one comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name, unless ending a sentence. Student Government Association Spell it out in first reference in story. The short form is acceptable in headlines and on second reference. terms, academic See the entries for semesters and interterm. time elements The day a news event occurs usually belongs in the lead, but not at the beginning. In general, the best placement is as soon as possible after subjects and simple verbs: The Board of Trustees voted Thursday to begin construction of a new dorm next fall. For clarity and grace, however, the time element should sometimes be moved back (note that the second time element above follows the object) or preceded by on: The Board of Trustees postponed on Thursday college plans to begin construction of a new dorm next year. In verb forms with auxiliary verbs, the time element usually works best between the auxiliary and the main verb: The time element should sometimes be moved back or preceded by on. Never use both the day and the date. For events less than one week in the past or the future, use the day. Do not write yesterday or tomorrow, or last Monday or next Monday. The tense of the verb will convey past or future. For events more than one week in the past or future, use the date. times [AP] Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use the abbreviations a.m. and p.m. and a colon to separate hours from minutes: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. Do not use constructions with o'clock.

titles, books and compositions [AP] Use quotation marks to indicate book titles, movie titles, play titles, poem titles, song titles, television program titles, and titles of lectures, speeches and works of art. Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Exception: Do not use quotation marks around the word Bible or the titles of books that are primarily reference works. See AP Stylebook for examples. titles, course Capitalize (without quotation marks) course titles only when they are used as proper nouns and match the course titles listed in the academic catalog or line schedule; for example, He enrolled in CM315A Journalism Practicum: Reporting. or More freshmen enroll in Principles of Biology than College Biology I. Courses or disciplines referenced generically are not capitalized: Allan Ayella, professor of biology, teaches nutrition and zoology. tomorrow, yesterday Do not use these time elements. Use the appropriate day of the week. Given our Friday publication, that means Saturday or Thursday. See also the entry time elements.
Partially revised 19 September 2011

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