Looking at the Latest Edition of the AP Stylebook
By John Elsasser
June-July 2024
Our summer season got underway in (AP) style on May 23.
That day, we were pleased to find a box with the 57th edition of The AP Stylebook waiting for us at the PRSA office.
AP publishes the spiral-bound guide every other year in the spring. (And we have a collection of photos of Managing Editor Amy Jacques happily showing off the latest Stylebooks through the years!)
The big news of this edition is that The AP Stylebook has made its first primary dictionary change in decades, now adopting Merriam-Webster as its official reference for terms not listed in the guide.
“Merriam-Webster is updated far more frequently to reflect new terms, evolving usage and other developments,” Stylebook Editor Paula Froke told the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in April. “We have long consulted Merriam-Webster to help guide our decisions, even when it wasn’t our official dictionary.”
The Stylebook has also introduced several updates:
• Climate change terminology: Expanded guidance includes the term “climate crisis” and new entries such as community solar, geothermal, lithium ion, energy transition and hydrogen.
• Bulleted lists: Revised rules to omit periods after single words or phrases in bulleted lists but to include periods at the end of complete sentences.
• Prefixes and suffixes: Consolidated entries for commonly used prefixes and suffixes. No hyphens are generally used with the prefixes out-, post-, pre- and re-.
By the way, PRSA members receive a 20% discount on one single-user subscription to The AP Stylebook Online each year and one registration for The AP Stylebook Workshop. Find more details here: apstylebook.com/prsa.
Learning more about the newly created agency Burson
This past Jan. 25, WPP announced the merger of its two largest communications agencies, Hill & Knowlton and BCW, to form Burson. The new consultancy will have more than 6,000 employees in 43 markets worldwide.
The name honors Harold Burson, APR, Fellow PRSA, a pioneer and founding figure of modern public relations and strategic communications. Burson, a PRSA member for over 70 years, died in January 2020 at age 98.
Corey duBrowa, currently CEO of BCW, will serve as global CEO of Burson, which begins operations on July 1.
In July, Corey will also be my guest on Strategies & Tactics Live on LinkedIn. Save the date for July 25 at 1 p.m. ET.
Commemorating Pride Month
During June, PRSA is providing a variety of professional development and educational resources to honor and support the LGBTQ+ community within and outside the communications profession.
These resources, available on the PRSA website, include webinars, presentations, toolkits and editorial content. Follow PRSA’s social media platforms throughout the month to stay updated and explore new features.
Starting Your Day With Issues & Trends
As a summertime reminder: Don’t forget to open the Issues & Trends e-newsletter delivered to your inbox each weekday morning. PRSA’s award-winning editorial team curates this collection of the latest headlines, information and best practices for communicators.
Start your day with this must-read PRSA member benefit. Please update your email preferences at MyPRSA to ensure receipt.
In addition, the online edition of Strategies & Tactics includes some bonus content you won’t find in the paper, including video interviews. Visit prsa.org/SandT for more.
Meanwhile, enjoy your summer — we’ll see you back with our August issue.
