Stylebook 2020
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THE CHRONICLE STYLEBOOK 2020-21 This stylebook contains style guidelines specific to the Chronicle as well as commonly referenced Associated Press Stylebook entries. Always use Chronicle Style when writing for the Chronicle. If still in doubt after consulting the Chronicle and AP stylebooks, consult the copy desk or someone in management. EDITED BY Mari Devereaux, Co-Editor-in-Chief Kendall Polidori, Co-Editor-in-Chief Camilla Forte, Director of Photography Shane Tolentino, Senior Graphic Designer Ignacio Calderon, Senior Video Editor Paige Barnes, Audience Engagement Editor Jonah Ocuto, News Editor Brooklyn Kiosow, Copy Chief ADVISERS Travis Truitt, General Manager Curtis Lawrence, Faculty Adviser
ACADEMIC DEGREES
Spell out bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, etc. Avoid abbreviations such as B.A. and M.A. Use “graduate student” rather than M.F.A. or master’s student. Ex: “graduate student studying creative writing.”
AFRICAN AMERICAN
Acceptable for Black or African Americans. When possible use the preference of the source. See Black and race entries.
ALDERMANIC REFERENCES
Include ward in parentheses. Use the gender-neutral “alderperson,” and abbreviate as “ald.” Ex: Ald. Sophia King (4th Ward). Note: This is a deviation from AP style.
ALUMNA, ETC.
Use the gender neutral alum for all. Use alumni as the plural form.
AS OF PUBLICATION TIME
Use when we are awaiting to hear from a source, usually an administrator, and expect it may come after publication. Do not use “as of press time.”
AS REPORTED BY
As reported by the Chronicle (with hyperlink). Use date when necessary.
ATTRIBUTION
Use “said” when attributing to a live source. Use “according to” when attributing to an article, report or citation. Long titles should be offset by commas following the name. Ex: according to Lambrini Lukidis, assistant vice president of Strategic Communications and External Relations. In general if a title is more than three words, it should follow the name. Exceptions are made for high-ranking officials, i.e., Senior Vice President and Provost Marcella David. In most cases, the title should be separated by commas and follow the name. Ex: Cynthia Grunden, assistant vice president for Student Financial Services, said … Abbreviated titles such as “spokesperson” should be used in audio/video production.
COPYRIGHT 2020 COLUMBIA CHRONICLE
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B BANDS/TEAMS/CLUB
When referring to bands, sports teams or clubs, use the pronoun “they/their.” Use it/its when referring to corporations or other groups.
BLACK
Capitalize in all references regarding race in acknowledgement of the contributions Black people have made to the country, including, but not limited to art, culture, politics, government and overall experience. As the Associated Press stated in a June 2020 update to its stylebook, “these changes align with long-standing capitalization of other racial and ethnic identifiers such as Latino, Asian American and Native American.”
BLACK AND BROWN
acceptable when referring to the Black and Brown communities.
BIPOC
Black, Indigenous and people of color. Spell out on first reference. BIPOC is acceptable on subsequent references.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
always capitalize.
CFAC
Spell out Columbia’s part-time faculty union on first reference, but use CFAC for subsequent references.
CHICAGO
Do not use “city of Chicago,” unless it is in a quote. In this case, note that city is lowercase.
CITY COUNCIL
Use in reference to the city’s elected body of representatives.
CHICAGO REGIONS AND NEIGHBORHOODS
Use South Side, West Side and North Side when applicable. Capitalize neighborhoods and community areas. Ex: South Loop, Austin, Chatham. See directions entry in AP Stylebook for more information.
COURSE/CLASS
A course pertains to a specific subject and usually contains a number of classes. Ex: The fall course schedule was updated with a mixture of online, in-person and hybrid classes. Course names should be capitalized and put in quotation marks. (This is a diversion from AP style.)
CLUBS
for list of Columbia’s official clubs, see Columbia’s website: https://students.colum.edu/student-leadership/studentorganizations.html
COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS
Spell out full names of college or school on first reference, except for Columbia. Ex: University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference. UIC on second reference. Use the article “the” when an institution begins with “University of.”
C CAMPUS BUILDINGS
For formal names and addresses, see Columbia’s website.
CAPTIONS
All established AP/Chron style guidelines must be followed. Any photo displaying three or fewer identifiable subjects should include names and titles (when applicable). We should define the order of subjects as left to right, or clockwise, etc. Captions may describe a photograph, but must provide additional information as well. Not acceptable: Protesters raise their fists. Acceptable: Protesters raise their fists in solidarity and join in on organized chants as they march down East Jackson Boulevard during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd. In captions, dates are not used unless they are specifically used in the photo and relevant to the particular photo. (ex: If it is important to note that the photo was taken on June 19th or Juneteenth)
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When referring to multiple institutions together, lowercase colleges or universities: “DePaul, Roosevelt and Northwestern universities” THE CHRONICLE
Use “the Chronicle” when referencing ourselves in a story.
D DATES
If an event occurs within seven days of the current date, use the day of the week AND date. If an event occurs more than seven days before or after the current date, use only the date, as per AP style. If referring to an event that occurred the day prior to the articles’ publication, do not use the word yesterday. Instead, use the day of the week and the date.
FOR DATES AND YEARS, USE FIGURES
Always capitalize months and spell out the month unless it is used with a date. 5
DEAF AND DEAF CULTURE
Lowercase and use as an adjective when referring to a hearing-loss condition or to a deaf person who prefers lowercase. Capitalize for those who identify as members of the Deaf community or who were born Deaf and consider sign language to be their first language.
position or title. For example, if a person who works in the provost’s office is also linked to an academic department, we should not list them as working in that academic department. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
the state of Illinois’ legislative body, made up of the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives, also referred to informally as the state legislature. When used following a state name, Legislature is capitalized. Ex: the Illinois Legislature.
GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
Make all titles gender neutral. Ex: Use spokesperson, alderperson, congressperson, etc. Do not use spokeswoman, congressman, etc. Note: The plural of person is persons, not people.
Always ask whether or not a source prefers “deaf” to be upper or lowercase in reference to their identity. Add a note at the bottom of the story if an ASL interpreter is used. DEPARTMENTS/MAJORS
DIVERSITY IN COVERAGE
Capitalize department names. Do not capitalize majors. Ex: However, this is not unique to the Photography Department, which was quick to provide clarity to its students regarding plans for the rest of the semester. Senior commercial photography major Alie Stanton was worried when she learned that her last semester had been “put on hold” due to the coronavirus. Consult Dori Maynard’s Faultlines, as a way to make sure you’re producing a story that appeals to a diverse audience. And for more information on producing diverse and inclusive reporting, consult the Online News Association’s diversity guide.
I/L/N IMMIGRATION
Never use “illegal immigrant” or “alien.” Use “undocumented immigrant” instead. Use Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program on first reference and DACA on subsequent references. See immigration entry in the AP Stylebook for more information.
LATINX
preferred for groups of people with Latin American ancestry. Latino/a/x is used for individuals depending on their personal preference. (Hispanic should not be used unless someone identifies as such, or if it is in a quote.) Reporters should ask about an individual’s preference.
LGBTQ+
Always use LGBTQ+. Avoid terms such as “homosexual” and “transexual.” Always check with sources for pronouns and labels in reference to their sexual orientation. Ex: Gay, lesbian, bisexual.
E/F/G ENSLAVED VERSUS SLAVE
Use enslaved person or enslavement on all references (rather than slave or slavery).
FACULTY SENATE
The Faculty Senate is an officially sanctioned body within the governance structure of the College. Always capitalize. Spell out subcommittees of the Faculty Senate such as “Executive Committee.”
FACULTY TITLES
Faculty are categorized by ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and adjunct faculty member. Also note that some faculty are instructional and have similar rankings, such as associate professor of instruction, assistant professor of instruction. Be sure to double check these titles during interviews and also later verify by checking the Columbia directory. Some faculty also work in administrative departments. In these cases, we should use the person’s administrative
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Trans is the preferred term over transgender or transexual. Transgender may be used in some situations, but transexual should never be used unless explicitly preferred by the person in question. LIVESTREAM
in all uses (one word).
NAMES
Performance names If a current Columbia student, we will use both their given name and their performance name. For professional performers, we will use their stage name, unless their given name is pertinent to the story. Ex: they are an attorney performing as a drag queen for a charity event. 7
Given names: We use the person’s given/government name for Columbia students. If the person has another name they are commonly known as, we can also use that in the story. (Exception: If the person is trans and their given name is their deadname, we would use the name they tell us instead.) It’s important that reporters make clear to sources that they will use their given names in stories and that Oasis numbers are used to verify that they are Columbia students. Ex: Are you comfortable that this interview may be used online and in print and possibly in our podcast? (In addition to pronoun identification.) Exception: If we are covering a lawsuit involving a person of prominence, we will always use their legal name.
OVER/MORE THAN
P/R/S/T PRONOUNS
always ask for a source’s pronoun along with their Oasis identification at the beginning of the interview. If necessary, explain that this is done to be sure we are identifying everyone correctly and not misgendering or disrespecting anyone.
RACE AND ETHNICITY
Consult the AP Stylebook race entry.
SYSTEMIC/SYSTEMATIC
systemic: used to describe something inside a system or that affects all parts of a system / deeply ingrained in a system. Also could replace with “institutional racism” (adj) -systematic/systematically: used to describe the way a process is done / (adv and verb)
O OFF THE RECORD/DECLINED TO COMMENT
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You should assume all conversations are on the record after you have identified yourself as a Chronicle reporter. If you choose to have an off-the-record or background conversation, make sure you and your source are on the same page and that you have thoroughly discussed in specificity the terms of your conversation. There are many definitions of off the record and related terms. Following is one set of definitions from the The Missouri Group publishers: Off the record: You may not use the information. Not for attribution: You may use the information but with no reference as to the source. Background: You may use it with a general title for a source, for example, “a White House source said on background.” (Make sure you and your source have agreed to this arrangement.) Deep background: You may use the information, but you may not indicate any source. Refused/declined to comment: When using such terms, be specific and state exactly what the source refused to discuss. The source may be willing to talk, but just not on one specific issue. This must be clearly explained for your readers. Anonymous sources: Allowed only in special circumstances and only with the approval of the EIC(s). The EIC(s) must be told the name of the source.
Over generally refers to spatial relationships or to designate physical location. More than is preferred with numerals.
Ex: If a form of cancer is systemic, it’s present throughout the body, but if you’re describing how it progressed, you can say it spread systematically from organ to organ THEATRE
Always spell “theatre,” unless “theater” is part of an official title.
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