The PR World

AP style is considered the standard of the public relations and journalism field. According to Cubreporters.org, the style was developed and is maintained yearly by the Associated Press. AP style is the standard way writing anything from numerals, state abbreviations to street addresses. It is important to follow AP style because of its standard use in the PR world. A news editor is much more likely to print your press release if it is already written in AP Style. They do want to have to rewrite everything in AP Style, so your press release will most likely see the trash can if not written in standard format. Sandy Young expresses similar feelings on news editors in her blog. She states that it is unlikely, whether or not you write in AP style that you’re your press release will ever be printed verbatim. When you write in AP Style it saves editors an incredible amount of time on conversion to the standard, so it is more likely your client’s info will make the print deadline at the end of the day. If you don’t understand AP style it will be challenging for you to maintain a job in the realm of public relations, plain and simple!!! It is a must to understand it conceptually if you practice PR, and also sets apart your writing apart from those who choose not to write in AP style. According to Nancy Edwards, a professor in the University of Minnesota system, the practice of AP style adds an enormous amount of credibility to your work, showing that as a writer you just didn’t throw something together last minute. If I went into an interview for a position at a PR agency and I was asked to take an AP style quiz I wouldn’t be very surprised. These agencies expect you to understand the basic concepts of PR, AP style is one of them. Before I got involved in PR classes I did not know the PR field had a standard way of writing. I am actually excited to continue this semester by taking our quizzes because it will prepare me to be a better writer in the future.