Some 'errors' actually newspaper style

I was checking newspaper e-mails the other day when I opened a message from a local newspaper editor complaining about a few errors in the Patriot Talon.

To be honest, the message got me a little down, but mostly I was amused because in the last sentence of the three-sentence message was a typo.

Are there errors in the paper? Of course, there are errors in the paper.

There may be an error in this column.

This is a student publication staffed with mostly full-time students who also have second jobs.

We are not perfect. We are here to learn. We don’t intentionally make mistakes.

It seems quite a few people don’t realize many of the “errors” they see are actually journalistic style.

It’s called AP Style. The “AP” stands for Associated Press. We have a 419-page stylebook full of rules, such as the correct way to write “G-string” and the proper use of and differences in the words “assassin, killer and murderer.”

I’m not kidding. G-string is in there.

Journalists have been developing this style since the first multi-cellular organism picked up a note pad and pen.

There is no clutter because, above all, we must save space.

Newspapers have a limited number of pages, and much of journalistic style hinges on that concept.

The first “AP Stylebook” came out in 1953, comprised of “thousands of suggestions and ideas, a stack of newspapers and a big dictionary,” Tom Curley, AP president and chief executive officer, said in the “AP Stylebook” foreword.

AP Style dictates many things we write. For example, according to AP Style, it is “adviser” not “advisor.”

It wasn’t until the most recent edition of the book that “website” was changed from “Web site,” despite the fact that most dictionaries said it should be “website.”

We have our own abbreviation guide for states that differs from postal abbreviations.

The stylebook has a punctuation guide similar to “The Elements of Style” by E.B. White and William Strunk Jr., but it also differs quite a bit.

The most common example is when listing words, we never put a comma before “and.”

It would be grammatically correct to hyphenate words beginning with “anti,” but the stylebook lists 22 words beginning with “anti” that are not hyphenated like “antidepressant” and “antimony.”

There is also a list of seven “anti” words that are hyphenated in direct contradiction to the dictionary, including “anti-social,” “anti-aircraft” and “anti-bias.”

Another example is “tee shirt,” which appears first in the dictionary, while the correct AP style is “T-shirt.”

Sometimes there are grammatical errors or maybe words used incorrectly in quotations.

A lot of debate about grammatical errors in people’s quotes exists. Some journalists believe it is acceptable to correct grammar in quotations, but some do not.

Therefore, whenever a person literally says a grammatical mistake, many journalists believe it is more ethical to transcribe the mistake than change the words.

Now, maybe I’m being a little defensive here, but I think my editors deserve a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

It’s not such an easy thing to learn a new writing style with so many very specific rules. It’s even more difficult to switch back to an English style for classes because journalistic style is obviously far superior.

But, even after learning that, if you still believe we make too many mistakes, let me know. I love comments, even if they are negative and have typos.

I would like to point out, however, if you’re going to leave an angry, upset comment about all the factual mistakes and biased journalism in the newspaper, please provide a few examples and your name.