Important AP Stylebook Update Regarding Company Names
Dec. 6, 2007 - This is an update we just received from The Associated Press.
An AP Stylebook entry has been updated:
Editor's Note: An update in AP Style to clarify the full use of company names in stories.
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company names
For a company's formal name, consult the national stock exchanges: New York Stock Exchange, www.nyse.com; Nasdaq, www.nasdaq.com; or the American Stock Exchange, www.amex.com. AP staffers may also reference an alphabetical list of all company names, with stock ticker abbreviations, at http://biz.ap.org.
Do not use a comma before Inc. or Ltd., even if it is included in the formal name.
The formal name need not be used on first reference -- for example, Wal-Mart is acceptable for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. -- but it should be contained in the body of any story in which the subject matter could affect a company's business. For example, include the corporate name in a story on an earnings report, or in a story on a plane crash that could affect the airline's stock price. However, the corporate name might be irrelevant in a story about a political candidate's appearance at a local retail outlet.
When the full corporate name is NOT in the story, it should be included in a self-contained paragraph separated from the bottom of the story by a dash: American Airlines is a unit of AMR Corp., or Disney's full corporate name is The Walt Disney Co. If more than one company is listed, each should be in a self-contained paragraph below the dash.
Generally, follow the spelling and capitalization preferred by the company: eBay. But capitalize the first letter if it begins a sentence.
Do not use all capital letter names unless the letters are individually pronounced: BMW. Others should be uppercase and lowercase. Ikea not IKEA; USA Today, not USA TODAY.
Do not use symbols such as exclamation points, plus signs or asterisks that form contrived spellings that might distract or confuse a reader. Use Yahoo, not Yahoo!; Toys R Us, not Toys "R" Us; E-Trade, not E*Trade.
Use an ampersand only if it is part of the company's formal name, but not otherwise in place of "and."
Use "the" lowercase unless it is part of the company's formal name.
See organizations and institutions.
Susanna on 12.06.07 @ 10:56 AM CDT [link]
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