Tuesday, November 29, 2016

AP Guidelines for Use of Term "Alt Right"

The Associated Press is the standard bearer of all journalistic norms in this country. Even those who howl about "biased media" trust the Associated Press to be a fair arbiter.

So that's why this definition of the term of "Alt Right" is making me a little queasy. Here's their actual definition...
[The alt-right] emphasizes preserving and protecting the white race in the United States in addition to, or over, other traditional conservative positions such as limited government, low taxes and strict law-and-order.

And we will have the guy who popularized the "Alt Right" (Steve Bannon) in the White House beginning in January, and there's nothing we can do about it because it's a position that doesn't need Senate confirmation.

To view how to use the term "Alt Right" correctly in your reporting, click here.

Here's an example...

The proper way to do it, AP-style, is to put the term in quotes while concurrently calling it like it is: “‘an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism,'” or, more simply, ‘a white nationalist movement.'”

Nothing to see here. Everything is completely normal.