Facebook News Team Stylebook Updated: March 2015 The Facebook News Team Stylebook is a reference document to help ensure headlines written for Trending adhere to consistent style and tone. See the Headline Writing Guidelines for specific details on how to construct your headlines. Abbreviations Do not shorten words to save space. Write around those issues. Shorten names of organizations to acronyms ONLY when they are very well known. Don’t put periods between U.S., U.N., etc. Some acceptable acronyms: ● Federal Aviation Administration –> FAA ● Federal Bureau of Investigation –> FBI ● Centers for Disease Control –> CDC ● Central Intelligence Agency –> CIA ● Republican Party –> GOP ● Major League Baseball –> MLB ● National Football League –> NFL ● National Hockey League –> NHL ● National Aeronautics and Space Administration –> NASA ● National Transportation Safety Board –> NTSB ● North Atlantic Treaty Organization –> NATO ● United Nations –> UN ● United States –> US ● World Trade Organization –> WTO ● Food and Drug Administration — > FDA Appositives Familiarize yourself with the AP article titled “essential phrases, nonessential phrases” to ensure that we’re all following the same rules on when to use commas to separate an appositive from the rest of the description. ● Correct: (GB) Tony Bennett - Lady Gaga and fiancé Taylor Kinney ask singer to perform at their wedding ● Correct: (GB) Tony Bennett - Lady Gaga and her fiancé, Taylor Kinney, ask singer to perform at their wedding ● Correct: (US) Al Rosen - Former Cleveland Indians third baseman, who was a 4-time All-Star and 1953 AL MVP, dies at 91 ● Correct: (GB) Pharrell Williams: Singer and Moby offer to perform at party for man who was cyberbullied for his weight Attribution Apply a healthy dose of journalistic skepticism to everything you encounter. Develop a sense for when information needs to be qualified or attributed. Base these decisions on how publications have gathered their information (officials sources, anonymous sources, public records, unstated). Use “reportedly,” “reports say” or “report says” for information that comes from unnamed sources or if you have any doubt that the information in question is something we want to convey as fact. Attribute information that could reasonably be disputed, particularly with crime stories.  ● Example: Vanilla Ice - Rapper arrested in connection with residential burglary in Florida, police say ● Example: Robyn Lawley - Model said to be 1st plus-size woman featured in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue ○ Many outlets wrote that she’s the first, but none said how they knew this info. Not quite reportedly but also something that’s hard to present as a fact we could confirm. Betrothals  Use accent marks over fiancée (female) and fiancé (male). Collective Nouns Be familiar with AP’s entry on collective nouns with regards to subject-verb agreement and pronoun usage. Here are some common examples of the types of collective nouns that use singular versus plural verbs and pronouns. ● Sports teams: The rules differ depending on how you refer to the team. In general, team’s nick names (Canucks, Lakers, Wildcats, Magic) are treated as plural, team’s locations or universities (Vancouver, Los Angeles, Rutgers) are treated as singular and words like team or club are also treated as singular. ○ The Vancouver Canucks are losing their lead ○ The Canucks are losing their lead ○ Vancouver is losing its lead ○ Los Angeles is losing its lead  ■ Still treat this one as a singular noun even though the name of the location is plural ○ ● ● The team is losing its lead Band names: Go by whether the band’s name is singular or plural ○ The Jonas Brothers have ended their tour ○ Muse has ended its tour ○ The band has ended its tour Company names: Generally treat company names like singular nouns, even if they are plural ○ H&M is liquidating its inventory ○ Brooks Brothers is liquidating its inventory ○ The company is liquidating its inventory. Commas to replace “and”  Use the word “and” instead of a comma when space allows and it makes the headline easier to read. Particularly, use the word “and” instead of a second comma when writing a list of three. ● Example (US) Ashley Judd — Actress and Kentucky Wildcats fan gets kiss on the lips from ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale ● Example: (US) Boston — City remains hampered by heavy snow with roads, public transit and schools affected Contractions Use contractions when it feels appropriate, per both AP and Facebook’s content standards. ● Example: (US) Ryan Reynolds — Actor says he won’t reveal daughter’s name out of fear she’ll ’make him pay’ for it Dates and Times Always spell out month if no day specified. ● Example: December 2014 Abbreviate the following months if a day is included: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Never abbreviate March, April, May, June or July. ● Example: Dec. 4, 2014 Set month-date-year off with a comma in a sentence. ● Example: The party will be held on Dec. 4, 2014, at the restaurant. (From AP) Use Monday, Tuesday, etc., for days of the week within seven days before or after the current date. After seven days, use the month and a figure where appropriate. (From AP) Avoid such redundancies as “last Tuesday” or “next Tuesday.” The past, present or future tense used for the verb usually provides adequate indication of which Tuesday is meant. (Ex. He said he finished the job Tuesday. She will return Tuesday.) Use numerals for decades and no apostrophe. ● Example: the 1920s; the ’80s Use periods for a.m. and p.m. ● Example: 8 a.m.; 2-5 p.m. Death tolls For disaster stories, be wary of using exact numbers for death tolls, especially when the news is first breaking. These counts can often vary between publications. Use terms like “at least,” “dozens” and “scores” (since a score is 20, the toll would have to be at least 40 for us to use scores) if there isn’t accord over the exact number. Be sure to include an attribution for any number presented, such as “officials say” or “reports say.” Direct quotes Don’t use quoted text in description unless the description also references who said the quote. ● Example of Bad Description: Urban Outfitters: Store sells tapestry ’eerily reminiscent’ of clothing worn in concentration camps ● Fix: Store sells tapestry said to resemble clothes worn in Nazi concentration camps Future events Use “to” instead of “will” before the verb for future events. “Will” is acceptable before verbs when it’s in reference to someone saying something she or he intends to do. ● Example: Snapchat - Photo-sharing company to seek additional funding and $19 billion valuation ● Example: Usain Bolt - Olympic champion sprinter says he will retire after 2017 World Championships in London Go viral Don’t use any version of the phrases “goes viral” or “achieves online fame.” Everything that has made it to Trending has done so in some sense. Aim to be more descriptive of what has happened and/or the subsequent reaction. ISIS vs. Islamic State (Update: March 20, 2015) Use ”the Islamic State group” in all headlines and summaries that reference the militant group. (Update: Nov. 11, 2014): AP has updated its style guidelines and is now using ”Islamic State” to refer to the militant group. We’ll do the same in our headlines. (Previous guidance) Please refer to the terrorist group as ISIS on all references and avoid using Islamic State or ISIL in headlines. Let’s also try to streamline our trends toward ISIS whenever possible. Locations in foreign scopes When referring to the name of a town or smaller city in foreign scopes, aim to put the location in context by including the province (CA), state (IN, AU) or region (GB). ● Example: (IN) Agra - Man accused of sexually harassing girls reportedly beaten to death by mob in Uttar Pradesh ● Example: (CA) Port Alberni - Multiple fire crews respond to blaze at Western Forest Products mill in British Columbia ● Example: (AU) Toowoomba - 3 found dead in shooting near Queensland town, police say ● Example: (GB) Pontardawe - Police searching for suspect in supermarket robbery in south Wales town Member of the U.S. House of Representatives When a person’s name is the topic (as is often the case), use the terms congresswoman and congressman, rather than representative, to refer to members of the U.S. House of Representatives. If you’re referring to a congresswoman or congressman within a headline, and that person is not the topic name, use use “Rep.” before the person’s name. ● Example: Aaron Schock - Congressman, R-Ill., re-elected to represent Peoria and surrounding region ● Example: Peoria, Illinois - Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., re-elected as congressman for city and surrounding region Ordinal numbers in titles Write out ordinal numbers when they’re part of a person’s title such as “first lady” or  “second baseman.” Numbers For brevity, always use numerals in descriptions. This includes 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc., No. 1. In summaries, write out numbers and ordinals less than 10.  ● Example: 9 Boston firefighters hospitalized after 3rd blaze in 6 days Spell out million and billion. Places When a state stands alone without a city or county, spell out the full state name. This includes regions, like ”northern California” or ”western New York.” Always spell out the full state name in descriptions. Lowercase the compass point of a region (central Texas) unless it’s a widely known section. ● Example: Southern California; South Florida Eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah (Those with 5 or fewer letters and those that aren’t part of the contiguous U.S.) ● Alabama –> Ala. ● Arizona –> Ariz. ● Arkansas –> Ark. ● California –> Calif. ● Colorado –> Colo. ● Connecticut –> Conn. ● Delaware –> Del. ● District of Columbia –> D.C. ● Florida –> Fla. ● Georgia –> Ga. ● Illinois –> Ill. ● Indiana –> Ind. ● Kansas –> Kan. ● Kentucky –> Ky. ● Louisiana –> La. ● Maryland –> Md. ● Massachusetts –> Mass. ● Michigan –> Mich. ● Minnesota –> Minn. ● Mississippi –> Miss. ● Missouri –> Mo. ● Montana –> Mont. ● Nebraska –> Neb. ● Nevada –> Nev. ● New Hampshire –> NH ● New Jersey –> NJ ● New Mexico –> NM ● New York –> NY ● North Carolina –> NC ● North Dakota –> ND ● Oklahoma –> Okla. ● Oregon –> Ore. ● Pennsylvania –> Pa. ● Rhode Island –> RI ● South Carolina –> SC ● South Dakota –> SD ● Tennessee –> Tenn. ● Vermont –> Vt. ● Virginia –> Va. ● Washington –> Wash. ● West Virginia –> W.Va. ● Wisconsin –> Wis. ● Wyoming –> Wyo. The following cities can stand alone with a state/country: Standalone U.S. cities: ● Atlanta ● Baltimore ● Boston ● Chicago ● Cincinnati ● Cleveland ● Dallas ● Denver ● Detroit ● Honolulu ● Houston ● Indianapolis ● Las Vegas ● Los Angeles (Hollywood, too) ● Miami ● Milwaukee ● Minneapolis ● New Orleans ● New York City ● Oklahoma City ● Philadelphia ● Phoenix ● Pittsburgh ● St. Louis ● Salt Lake City ● San Antonio ● San Diego ● San Francisco ● Seattle ● Washington* ● Use ‘Washington, DC,’ to differentiate this from Washington state if that’s not clear in context Standalone international cities ● Amsterdam ● Baghdad ● Bangkok ● Beijing ● Beirut ● Berlin ● Brussels ● Cairo ● Djibouti ● Dublin ● Geneva ● Gibraltar ● Guatemala City ● Havana ● Helsinki ● Hong Kong ● Islamabad ● Istanbul ● Jerusalem ● Johannesburg ● Kuwait City ● London ● Luxembourg ● Macau ● Madrid ● Mexico City ● Milan ● Monaco ● Montreal ● Moscow ● Munich ● New Delhi ● Panama City ● Paris ● Prague ● Quebec City ● Rio de Janeiro ● Rome ● San Marino ● Sao Paulo ● Shanghai ● Singapore ● Stockholm ● Sydney ● Tokyo ● Toronto ● Vatican City ● Vienna ● Zurich Political affiliations For U.S. representatives and senators, note the lawmaker’s party and the state he/she represents. For state representatives, note the state and party affiliation. Examples: ● Rep. Peter King, R-NY ● Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. ● Republican NY state Sen. Dean Skelos Punctuation Don’t put periods between U.S., U.N., etc. for descriptions but do for summaries. Use single quotes to set off quotations, artistic titles, the names of TV shows and movies in descriptions. Use double quotes for composition titles in summaries.  Do NOT include a period at the end of the description. Do NOT use the Oxford comma. (Ex. of correct style: Lions, tigers and bears are fierce) Referencing entertainers and writers Avoid referring to actors, writers, musicians and other entertainers by one of their notable works unless that work is pertinent to the descriptions. For descriptions about notable deaths, it’s acceptable to include a person’s notable works in the format below. ● Avoid: Eddie Redmayne - ’Theory of Everything’ star marries fiancée, Hannah Bagshawe, in Somerset, UK ● Fix: Actor marries fiancée, Hannah Bagshawe, in Somerset, UK ● Good: Eddie Redmayne - ’Theory of Everything’ star wins Best Actor Academy Award for Stephen Hawking portrayal ● Good: Daniel von Bargen - Actor known for roles on ’Seinfeld’ and ’Malcolm in the Middle’ dies at 64 Repeating the topic name in the description It’s acceptable to repeat the name of the topic if it helps make a description easier to parse. In particular, it’s acceptable to do so when the reference to the topic comes later in the description or if there are several proper nouns in the description. ● Example: Brook Lopez - Amid rumors of deal with Thunder, Nets keep Lopez as NBA trade deadline passes State of mind Avoid writing descriptions/summaries that state what a person is thinking or feeling. Instead, focus on what the person has said, did or in some cases what is being said about the person. ● Example of Bad description: Adam Silver: NBA Commissioner Wants to Add 4 European Teams, but ’Long Way to Go’ Before Expansion ● Fix: Adam Silver: NBA Commissioner Says He Wants 4 European Teams, but ’Long Way to Go’ Before Expansion Suicide Double-check whether the cause of death as suicide is confirmed/reported by a named source (preferably police/medical examiner or direct family). If it is, write the description and make sure to include the sourcing. Do not specify the details of the suicide; details to avoid include ”hanging,” ”self-inflicted gunshot wound,” ”intentional overdose,” among other methods. (From AP) Avoid using committed suicide except in direct quotations from authorities. Alternate phrases include killed himself, took her own life or died by suicide. The verb commit with suicide can imply a criminal act. Laws against suicide have been repealed in the United States and many other places. Do not refer to an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Refer instead to an attempted suicide. Umbrella descriptions Avoid focusing on a specific angle of a story unless that specific angle is clearly the theme of the topic. Aim to write more of an encompassing description for events that seem to be generating multiple story-lines and are being covered from multiple angles.  ● Example: (IN) #IndiasDaughter - NDTV halts programming to protest banning of documentary by Indian courts ● Umbrella version: (IN) #IndiasDaughter - Protests and debate follow decision by Indian courts to ban documentary on 2012 rape Updating descriptions A common challenge we face on a daily basis is to decide when/how to update descriptions for live topics. The goal is to balance conveying the crux of a story, which is likely the reason it trended in the first place, with the latest updates. Follow these guidelines to decide when to update descriptions. ● Always update a description if the information we have has been rendered obsolete and would be misleading to readers.  ○ Example: (All) Vladimir Putin - Kremlin declines to comment on report of Russian leader missing from Moscow ○ Update: (All) Vladimir Putin - Russian president appears in public after 11-day absence ■ In this instance, we updated the headline even though the feed was still full of articles about him being missing. We were able to write the update so it would still make sense to people who click into the feed and see the posts about him being missing. ● Always update a description if the topic feed has shifted to an updated or different storyline since the topic was posted. ●  Update a description to correct a mistake or improve upon a previous version. Upstyle (Title Case) Write descriptions for Trending upstyle, capitalizing the first letter of all major words. ● Always capitalize the first and last words of a headline. ● Capitalize prepositions of four letters or longer (With, Into, From). ● Don’t capitalize prepositions (to, on, by) shorter than four letters long ● Don’t capitalize articles (a, an, the) or coordinating conjunctions (and, or, to) unless these are the first or last words. ● Always capitalize all forms of ”to be,” even if they’re fewer than 4 letters (is, are, was, were, am). ● Capitalize: No, Nor, Not, Off, Out, So, Up, Is, Be, both parts of hyphenates (Cease-Fire, Sit-In) ● Don’t capitalize: a, as, and, at, but, by, for, if, in, of, on, or, the, to, vs, via, en (en Route),v. (legal context) ● Capitalize “little” prepositions that turn into adverbs: Mayor Drops In, Meeting Drones On