Reuters puts stylebook (and more) online
The Reuters news service has put its Handbook of Journalism online for all to see. It includes what American editors would call a stylebook as well as general advice on reporting and editing.
Here are a few highlights:
On using Wikipedia: “Do not link to Wikipedia or similar collaborative encyclopedia sites as a source of background information on any topic. More suitable sites can almost always be found, and indeed are often flagged at the bottom of Wikipedia entries.
On covering cricket: “Correspondents should write a story at lunch (200 words) and update at tea.”
On listening to readers’ complaints: “As an underlying principle, remember throughout the process of dealing with complaints that attitude counts.”
Thanks for the resource link. I vaguely remember a distinction for “cannot”, “can’t” and “can not”, but it’s not in the Reuter’s guide and I haven’t seen a definitive source. Any ideas?
Xan Gregg
July 23, 2009 at 7:39 am
Xan,
Here’s a link that may help:
http://www.alexfiles.com/cannot.shtml
abechtel1
July 23, 2009 at 10:11 am