AP-Compatible
| Reference Standard: Associated Press Stylebook | §10.6 |
Where this standard fits: AP-Compatible is the McClatchy / CSA implementation of the Associated Press Stylebook—the working journalism style standard for content not covered by an outlet-specific style guide (Us Weekly §10.3, Trend Hunter B2C §10.4, Woman’s World §10.5). AP-Compatible is split into three nested tiers—Quick, Condensed, Thorough—so you can pick the level of depth your task warrants without paying token cost for what you don’t need. Local market style guides (and outlet-specific guides) may override specific entries. Text in red throughout these pages marks anything that overrides or extends General Guidelines.
The Three Tiers
The AP-Compatible reference is structurally nested—Quick is a subset of Condensed is a subset of Thorough. Each tier covers everything in the tier above it, plus more depth. Pick the tier that fits the use case, not the one that feels safest.
| Tier | Length | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Quick | ~2K tokens · ~1,600 words | Breaking news; high-volume batch processing; spot-check before publish; the rules a working editor needs at-the-elbow. 21 flat sections covering essentials |
| Condensed | ~12K tokens · ~9,600 words | Most articles—recommended default. Parts 1–12: Punctuation · Capitalization · Numbers · Abbreviations · Titles · Attribution · Word Usage · Race & Identity · Legal · Sports · Business · Datelines |
| Thorough | ~25K tokens · ~19,000 words | Investigative, features, in-depth analysis. Everything in Condensed plus Parts 13–22 (Weather · Health · Science & Tech · Religion · Elections · Military · Food · Environment · Transportation · Headlines & Captions) plus appendices (commonly misspelled words, redundancies, clichés, problematic phrases, tricky plurals) |
Direct Downloads
- ⬇ ap-compatible-quick.md—essentials only
- ⬇ ap-compatible-condensed.md—recommended default
- ⬇ ap-compatible-thorough.md—full reference
When to Use AP-Compatible
AP-Compatible is the default for any McClatchy newsroom content where a more specific style guide doesn’t apply. Cross-reference if you’re not sure:
- Us Weekly content → §10.3 Us Weekly (AMI Women’s Group house style; couples take plural verbs; em dashes with spaces; sister-rule heds; bold celebrity names with tag-page links)
- Woman’s World content → §10.5 Woman’s World (AMI Women’s Group with WW-specific deviations; couples take singular verbs; no-space em dashes; brand-voice rules around aging, faith, politics)
- Trend Hunter B2C content → §10.4 Trend Hunter B2C (curiosity-first trend voice for The Curious Optimizer; psychographic-not-demographic framing)
- Apple News distribution → §10.2 Apple News (90–120 char heds, subtitle field, AI disclosure, image specs)
- SmartNews distribution → §10.1 SmartNews (70–90 char heds; no question heds; no “What to Know” endings)
Cross-Publication Quick Reference
Three style rules diverge meaningfully across McClatchy outlets—make sure you’re applying the right one before you publish:
| Rule | AP-Compatible | Us Weekly | Woman’s World | Trend Hunter B2C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Couples / pairs / duos | Singular verb | Plural verb | Singular verb | Singular verb |
| Em dash spacing | No surrounding spaces | Spaces on both sides | No surrounding spaces | No surrounding spaces |
| Oxford / serial comma | No (AP rule) | No | No | No (default) |
| Headline casing | Per destination site | Title case (single quotes) | Title case | Per destination site |
| Front-load topic / celebrity name in heds | n/a | Required (sister-rule across onpage / promo / SEO) | Common practice | Common practice |
Headline Rules—Quick Reference
For the full headline-style rules, see Headlines and the platform-specific pages above. AP-Compatible defaults relevant to most heds:
- Capitalization: title case for most destinations; sentence case for CUE (the McClatchy CMS)—follow the destination site style guide
- Verb tense: present tense for past events (“Senate passes bill,” not “Senate passed bill”)
- Numbers: numerals are acceptable in heds even at the low end where body copy would spell out (1–9). One exception: never start a hed with a numeral
- Abbreviations: OK in heds when widely known (FBI, IRS, NATO); spell out otherwise
- Punctuation: period at end of complete sentences; no period at end of fragment heds. Single quotes for quoted material (in some destinations); follow site style. Comma for
said-attribution
Reference Hierarchy
When AP-Compatible doesn’t address a question, defer in this order:
- AP-Compatible (this guide, at the appropriate tier)
- Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition
- Chicago Manual of Style
- Words Into Type
Outlet-specific style guides (Us Weekly, Woman’s World, etc.) override AP-Compatible for content published under those brands. Local market style guides may override specific AP-Compatible entries—check with the destination newsroom.
Pre-Publish Checklist
For the comprehensive pre-publish checklist, see the Quick tier’s Quick Error Check section. Top-of-mind reminders:
- Outlet-specific style guide checked first (US Weekly / Woman’s World / Trend Hunter B2C / etc.)?
- Cross-publication divergences applied correctly (couples-verb, em dash spacing, Oxford comma)?
- Numbers: 1–9 spelled out in body; numerals 10+ (with the long list of exceptions covered in the Numbers section of the appropriate tier)
- Attribution:
saidis the preferred verb; placement after subject; past tense for written-after-the-fact pieces - Quotation marks: AP uses double quotes for direct quotation, single quotes for quotes-within-quotes
- Em dashes with surrounding spaces on both sides (AP standard per ap-compatible-quick.md + ap-compatible-condensed.md “Em Dash”); no Oxford / serial comma; correct comma usage in compound sentences and series
- Capitalization: titles before names cap; titles after names lowercase; geographic regions cap when noun, lowercase when direction
- Datelines: format and city-stand-alone rules per the tier reference