AP style is the Associated Press Stylebook's set of rules for grammar, punctuation, abbreviation and usage in American news writing. Newsrooms, broadcasters and public relations professionals follow it so that dates, titles, numbers and datelines are written the same way across organizations.
The AP Stylebook is published by the Associated Press as a guide to American English grammar, punctuation, capitalization and abbreviation for news writing. Wikipedia dates its internal origins to 1909, with a public edition following in 1953 and a modern edition from 1977. It is used far beyond AP's own reporters: journalists, broadcasters, magazine publishers, marketing departments and public relations professionals commonly adopt it as a shared standard.
For press releases, AP style governs many small but visible choices: writing numbers one through nine as words and 10 and above as figures, abbreviating most months when paired with a specific date, spelling out dates without 'st', 'nd' or 'th' endings, and using specific state abbreviations that differ from two-letter postal codes. It also sets rules for datelines and for how job titles are capitalized before or after a name.
Following AP style is not a legal requirement, but it lowers friction with journalists who already read and write in it every day. A release that mixes styles, invents its own date format, or capitalizes titles inconsistently reads as less professional and can distract from the news itself.
How to: 1) Get the current edition of the AP Stylebook or its regularly updated online version. 2) Apply it consistently to numbers, dates, titles and datelines in every release. 3) Keep a short in-house style note for anything AP does not cover, such as your own product names. 4) Recheck style whenever the Stylebook publishes an update, since specific rules do change over time.
QUESTIONS
What is AP style?
It is the style guide published by the Associated Press covering grammar, punctuation, capitalization and abbreviation for American news writing. It is the de facto standard used by most U.S. newsrooms and by many public relations teams.
Why do press releases use AP style?
Because journalists read and write in it daily, so a release written the same way is easier to trust and to lift directly into a story. It also standardizes details such as dates, numbers and datelines across every release an organization sends.
Is AP style the same as Chicago style or MLA style?
No. Each style guide serves a different audience: AP for news writing, Chicago for books and academic publishing, MLA for academic humanities papers. They differ on details such as number formatting, so a document written for one should not simply be relabelled for another.
Where can I check current AP style rules?
The Associated Press publishes the Stylebook in print, updated every couple of years, and online with continuous updates. Because small rules change, check the current edition rather than relying on an old copy or a secondhand summary.
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