KDHX online writing style

Overview

KDHX.org web properties are a volunteer produced information and entertainment outlet designed for consumption by a diverse, primarily English-speaking audience. In order to best focus on our content, our editorial guidelines define consistent and reader-friendly standards based on the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook 2011, with a few exceptions. Hat tip to Purdue OWL's condensed AP Style guide, notably for the clear text on state abbreviations.

Plagiarism, in any form, is not acceptable. If you use more than two words (an original phrase) from another source, you must use quotation marks and cite the source.

Standards

KDHX Specific

• DJs not programmers.
• 314-664-3955, ext. 355
• Generally, do not capitalize “the” for program shows and bands in the middle of a sentence or headline: Drea brings you the Other One. Los Lobos perform at the Sheldon Concert hall. I love the Beatles. Same rule applies to the Riverfront Times. However, composition titles are different: My two favorite CDs are "The Essential Leonard Cohen" and "The Beatles."

Common Word Groups

• rock 'n' roll
• a cappella
• hip-hop
• Genres are not capitalized, with the exception of Americana, R&B, Tex-Mex, Southern rock and a handful of others. There's a reason for such exceptions. E-mail roy at kdhx dot org for clarification.
• website and email and Internet and Web and online
• Collective nouns: Nouns that refer to a single unit or group take a singular verb (and pronoun): The crowd was excited. The audience is large. The team was proud. The band features three exceptional singers. A musical group that has a singular name takes a singular noun and pronoun: Coldplay is returning to St. Louis. Boston is a classic-rock band, but it has made a mark on contemporary music. Bands that have a plural name, take plural verbs and pronouns: The Beatles are the greatest band in pop history. The Antlers are coming to St. Louis; they have just released a new album.

Proper Nouns

St. Louis (Note: Unlike many cities, St. Louis is one that can stand alone, without state abbreviation, in copy. See following list for other examples: http://wordwise.typepad.com/blog/2010/02/you-bet-djibouti-updates-to-ap-style-part-ii.html)

Geographic

• When using ZIP code: St. Louis, MO 63130
• USA and U.S. in text. In headlines, USA and US
• Spell out state names when they stand alone. Abbreviate state names when a city and state are coupled (except for Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah). Examples: He came from Lafayette, Ind. The peace accord was signed in Dayton, Ohio. The wildfire began in California and moved east toward Carson City, Nev. Source: Purdue OWL.

State abbreviations in AP style differ from the two-letter ZIP code abbreviations (see above). Here are the proper abbreviations when using city and state together without a ZIP code:

Ala.	Neb.
Ariz.	Nev.
Ark.	N.H.
Calif.	N.J.
Colo.	N.M.
Conn.	N.Y.
Del.	N.C.
Fla.	N.D.
Ga.	Okla.
Ill.	Ore.
Ind.	Pa.
Kan.	R.I.
Ky.	S.C.
La.	S.D.
Md.	Tenn.
Mass.	Vt.
Mich.	Va.
Minn.	Wash.
Miss.	W.Va.
Mo.	Wis.
Mont.	Wyo.

Dates and Times

• Times: 2 a.m. or noon or midnight
• Central standard time is CST. However, to simplify and avoid confusion about daylight saving time, all times, when targeted at a non-local audience, should be indicated with the word Central: 7 a.m. Central
• To indicate sequences or inclusive dates or times, use an en dash (or a single hyphen, with no spaces) instead of “to:” Apply here May 7-9, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Numerical dates like 1/11/10 are not technically AP Style, and should be avoided in most cases; however, given the needs of KDHX, numerical dates are acceptable in titles and other listings.
• Generally speaking, do not use “th,” “st” or “rd” with dates: January 11th, 2010 is incorrect. January 11, 2010 is correct. You may also abbreviate long months, when using the complete date: Jan. 11, 2010 is also correct.
• However, for centuries, follow this rule: Lowercase, spelling out numbers less than 10: first century, seventh century, the 19th century, the 20th century, the 21st century, etc.

Punctuation

• Unless absolutely necessary to avoid ambiguity, no comma after the final item in a series: rock, rap and soul.
• To separate sentences, use one space, not two.
• Never use the & (ampersand) unless it is officially part of a name (name of a band, book, play, etc.). Do not use ampersand in tags to KDHX.org posts.
• When making a plural noun possessive, just add an apostrophe: The books' jackets were torn. If the noun is singular but ends in an s, add 's: The bass's mouth was large. If it's a proper noun that ends in s, just add an apostrophe: St. Louis' parks are precious.
• Avoid unnecessary ellipses. Do not use to indicate pauses or disjointed thoughts. Use only when deleting words from a quotation. Include a space before and after the ellipsis: Bob Dylan said, "The answer ... is blowing in the wind." If the material deleted forms a complete sentence, consider punctuating like this: The volunteer wrote, "I don't understand your rules. ... Please explain them."

Hyperlinking

• Unless absolutely necessary, do not write out URLs in copy. Instead, use the name of the institution, company or website and link it. Incorrect: Visit filmchallenge.org for more information. Correct: Visit National Film Challenge for more information.

• Moreover, use semantic linking wherever possible. The linked text should describe what is being linked instead of naming the destination: Listen to the new Nada Surf album. (Not: Listen to the new Nada Surf album at NPR Music.)

Numbering

• Generally, spell out numbers under 10; otherwise use figures for numbers: Apples, oranges and peaches are my three favorite fruits. I made a top 10 list for 2011. Exception for ages and statistical context see below.
• Spell out fractions less than 1 in text, using hyphens between words: two-thirds, four-fifths, seven-sixteenths. Use figures for more than 1 in text: 1 1/2, 2 3/4, 5 1/8. Preferably, convert to decimals: The average household is 2.5 individuals.
• Always spell out at the start of the sentence: Two awesome DJs spun records last night.
• Use figures for ages. KDHX is 22 years old. KDHX is a 22-year-old radio station. My pet is a 3-year-old cat.
• When using numerals in a statistical or "countable" context, do not spell out. Always use figures (unless at start of sentence): Currently, almost 9 percent of the U.S. is out of work. The cost of the average CD is $8. It is not surprising that 1 in 4 KDHX listeners likes the Beatles.
• Spell out million and billion, and precede with figures, up to two decimals: There were 4.35 million MP3s downloaded in 2009. However, there were approximately 7,542,000 MP3s deleted from teenagers' iTunes in 2009.
• For ordinals (first, second, third etc.) spell out first through ninth when indicating sequence in time or location: second base, the First Amendment, she was fourth in line. Starting with 10th, use figures: 11th, 12th, 13th etc.
• Use 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. only when the ordinal is part of a formal name: The 1st Ward of St. Louis, the 2nd District Court.
• For decades, use figures: '60s, '70s, '80s etc.

Hyphenation

• When in doubt, do not hyphenate. Compound modifiers are an exception: "fast-paced action," "finely-spun cloth," "pitch-shifted vocals," "well-written essay" and "golden-haired hamster."
• Use the em dash ( -- ) when creating a parenthetical or for appositive effect. Make the dash by typing the word, then a space, then two hyphens, then a space, then the next word: I like chips -- especially potato chips.

Titling

• Song titles go in quotation marks and use standard capitalization: “The Long and Winding Road”
• Album, movie and play titles go in quotation marks: "Abbey Road," "The Godfather" and "Hamlet."
• Titles refer to composition titles (names of plays, songs, albums, novels). For titles: All substantial nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. are capitalized. Prepositions, pronouns and conjunctions which are 4 letters or more are always capitalized: "I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One" by Yo La Tengo is a great album. The first and last word of a book, song, movie etc. title are always capitalized regardless of letter count: “To Be or Not to Be In” is a strange title for a song.
• When a composition title appears in a headline, use single quote marks: John Hiatt continues his bluesy streak on 'Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns'
• Newspaper, magazine and blog names do not go in quotation marks, nor are they italicized: The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, Consequence of Sound.

Headlines

• For headlines (for example, title of a blog post or a KDHX.org website article): AP headlines cap only first word, proper nouns or proper abbreviations: KDHX welcomes the Twangfest festival to St. Louis, starting June 9, 2010
• Use figures for all numerals in headlines and use single quote marks instead of double: KDHX charts featured 3 bluegrass albums this week: 'Paper Airplane,' 'The Essential Bill Monroe' and 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'

Notes on Use of Software

• Turn off smart quotes or curly quotes in Microsoft Word. These are the bane of web publishing. To turn them off:

Tools > Autocorrect > Autoformat as You Type

Then UNCHECK the box by "Straight quotes with smart quotes."

That's how it works on Mac Word. If that doesn't work, try searching Help menu in Word for "smart quotes" or "curly quotes."

• Be very careful when pasting from a Google or Word doc into an online text editor. Use plain text to paste in!