Another bad AP style edict

Editer · **Posted:** Sun Dec 02, 2012 6:33 am

Quote:

The Associated Press announced this week that its new stylebook would bar the use of the word homophobia in political or social contexts (along with Islamophobia and ethnic cleansing). AP Deputy Standards Editor Dave Minthorn told Politico that the term is “just off the mark” and “seems inaccurate”—oddly amorphous phrases for a standards editor. “We want to be precise and accurate and neutral in our phrasing,” he said.

...

Not everyone who opposes gay rights has a phobia. At a practical level, it may be wise to throw the term homophobe around less, as calling people names is generally an ineffective way to change their minds. But an important body of evidence suggests that some anti-gay sentiment is a phobia, and this phobia is the basis for anti-gay policy that blocks equality for millions because of irrational fears. In its journalistic effort to appear neutral, the AP risks being part of the problem.

The "ethnic cleansing" bar is proper, but here, as with "illegal immigrant" last year, AP stakes out a position in a domestic political debate under the guise of holy "neutrality".

J Kaufman · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 am

1. I think AP got it right, although it is waaay too late to halt the DSM-themed pop-psychology express train.

2. I see that AP has added landline, now that nobody has one any more.

3. The real question, one that no one dared to ask: Who lobbied to add froufrou to the stylebook?

Editer · **Posted:** Thu Dec 06, 2012 12:45 am

J Kaufman wrote:

it is waaay too late to halt the DSM-themed pop-psychology express train.

Um ... huh?

J Kaufman · **Posted:** Thu Dec 06, 2012 6:33 am

1. We want reporting, not mind-reading. It's hard enough for the shrinks to plumb men's souls; how is the Associated Press supposed to do it, long-distance [usually without ever even talking to the patient]?

2. "Phobia" has a meaning, in psychology; elsewhere it's just a popularized technicality for the supposed dislikes of someone the journo dislikes already.

3. DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Like that other compendium of mental disorders, the AP Stylebook, it grows fatter and more expensive with each new edition. More and more human behavior is classified in ways that allow doctors to seek reimbursement from health insurers.

4. We can never be wholly neutral, since people and their language are never neutral. Doesn't mean we give up trying. AP ain't perfect, but when you compare its reporting to everything else that passes for reportage on the Internet [and lots of that was cribbed from the AP] it still is pretty good.

Testy Copy Editors

Another bad AP style edict

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