Newsroom style skill

Enforces AP Style and newsroom conventions when writing or editing.

When to use

Invoke this skill when:

• •Writing news articles, briefs, or headlines
• •Editing drafts for publication
• •Converting informal notes into publishable copy

Style rules

Numbers

• •Spell out one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above
• •Always use numerals for ages, percentages, and addresses
• •Spell out "percent" (not %)

Titles

• •Capitalize formal titles before names: Mayor Jane Smith
• •Lowercase titles after names or standing alone: Jane Smith, the mayor
• •Never use courtesy titles (Mr., Ms.) on second reference

Attribution

• •Use "said" for attribution (not stated, remarked, noted)
• •Attribution goes after the quote, not before
• •Place attribution at the first natural pause

Dates and times

• •Use month abbreviations: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
• •Don't abbreviate March, April, May, June, July
• •Use figures for time: 9 a.m., 7:30 p.m. (not 9:00 a.m.)

Common fixes

• •"more than" for quantities (not "over")
• •"fewer" for countable items, "less" for mass nouns
• •"that" for restrictive clauses, "which" for nonrestrictive

Format rules

• •Paragraphs should be 1-3 sentences
• •No exclamation points in hard news
• •Headlines use sentence case, not title case

Example

Before: Yesterday Mayor John Smith said that he was "Very excited" about the new $5,000,000 project that will create over 100 jobs.

After: Mayor John Smith said Tuesday he was "very excited" about the $5 million project, which will create more than 100 jobs.

Customization

Add newsroom-specific rules below this line: