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We know journalists are busy, and it can be difficult to keep up with recent AP Stylebook changes. So we’ve done the work for you, rounding up a few of the recent significant — and just plain interesting — updates to the AP Stylebook.
Fiscal Council Warns of Risk of Debt Spiral, Interest Rate Pressure 2026
Media Review: October 6 2026Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
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Second Summit of Energy Ministers of Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece Held in Belgrade 2026
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Whether you’re covering students’ return to classrooms, football players’ return to the field, upcoming holidays or sensitive mental health topics, the AP Style rules and reminders below can help ensure you’re using the related terms accurately.
Hot Topics
- Lake America: In late August, President Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States. The order was reminiscent of his decision last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” While tech giants like Apple Maps and Google Maps adopted the new name for domestic users, media outlets so far are sticking with Lake Ontario.
- Prediction markets: A new AP Stylebook entry defines them as “online platforms where people can bet on the outcome of an event, such as a football game, an election or even the weather.” Since the regulation of prediction markets is rapidly evolving and varies geographically, stories should note that the industry and some regulators do not consider it a form of gambling.
- Midterm elections: As your election coverage ramps up, here are a few quick reminders:
- Capitalize Election Day. Lowercase primary in all uses, including terms like primary day and the Democratic primary.
- Advance voting refers to electoral systems that allow voters to cast ballots before the day of an election. It can include voting by mail, voting absentee or voting in person.
- Include a hyphen in terms like advance-voting procedures, mail-in voting and absentee-ballot votes.
- Use figures and the word to when talking about vote comparisons (The incumbent defeated the challenger 1,224,567 to 1,211,294, for example).
- When writing about times, like voting center hours, use figures: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 6:30 p.m., etc. While construction like 2 o’clock is acceptable, using a.m. or p.m. instead is preferred.
- Keep track of key dates with the AP’s 2026 midterm elections calendar.
Test Your Back-to-School Knowledge
Students, teachers and parents are embarking on a new school year, making it the perfect time to brush up on your education-related terminology:
Bulgarian PM on drone attacks on ships in Bulgaria’s EEZ: ‘Absolutely unacceptable’ 2026
- Degrees:
- Avoid abbreviations when mentioning a person’s academic degrees. (Rachel has a doctorate in sports medicine.) If you need to include several people’s degrees and writing them out in full would be cumbersome, abbreviations like B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. are acceptable (but only after a full name).
- Include an apostrophe in bachelor’s and master’s, but not associate degree (it’s not possessive). The possessive is also not needed in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.
- Principal:
- Principal is a noun and adjective meaning someone or something first in rank, authority, importance or degree, like a school principal. Principle is a noun that means a fundamental truth, law, doctrine or motivating force.
- Grades:
- The correct format is pre-K and K-12.
- Generally, no hyphen is needed when referring to a grade level, like fifth grader or second grade. You also don’t need a hyphen in preschool.
- Miscellaneous:
- AP style uses syllabuses as the plural for syllabus, not syllabi, for outlines of what courses will cover.
- When writing about academic departments, use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives: the communications department, the department of history, the department of English. Capitalize the official and formal name of a department, such as the University of Washington Department of Architecture.
Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Reminders
September is Suicide Prevention Month, which includes Suicide Prevention Day (Sept. 10). PR Newswire has been distributing a number of related press releases in recent weeks and is anticipating more ahead of World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10) and National Stress Awareness Day (Nov. 4).
So, we wanted to share a few terminology reminders for these topics:
- For U.S. stories mentioning suicide, suicide prevention experts recommend including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or chat at http://988Lifeline.org. A good rule of thumb is to include it high up in the story, within the first few paragraphs, in an editor’s note. Similar information can be included in stories from other countries.
- Avoid using the phrase committed suicide, which can imply a criminal act. Alternative phrases include killed himself, took her own life or died by suicide.
- Suicide stories should not go into detail on methods used, which are often not necessary. The same goes for the contents of notes or letters.
- Describe a person as having depression only if relevant to the story, and if a medical diagnosis has been made or the person uses the term. Be clear on the type of depression if relevant (bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, etc.).
- The terms depressing or depressed are acceptable in general if not intended as a slur, though alternatives like disheartening or discouraging are often preferred.
- Avoid descriptions that connote pity, such as afflicted with, suffers from, victim of, battling and demons.
Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, recognizes the “achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success.”
If you’re covering the Hispanic community, here are a few rules and reminders:
- Hispanic describes a person from—or whose ancestors were from—a Spanish-speaking land or culture. Latino, Latina or Latinx are sometimes preferred. Follow the person’s preference.
- According to the AP Stylebook guide on race-related coverage: “In all coverage—not just race-related coverage—strive to accurately represent the world, or a particular community, and its diversity through the people you quote and depict in all formats. Omissions and lack of inclusion can render people invisible.”
- When deciding whether to identify people by race, consider if it’s necessary for the story or if it’s an irrelevant factor.
- Do not include a hyphen in terms like Mexican American or Hispanic American.
Football Season
This year’s football season is off and running. Whether you’re covering the games or just want to sprinkle some football-related terms into your writing, here are a few reminders:
- These terms are one word:
- Playoff (n., adj.)
- Quarterback
- Handoff
- Kickoff (n., adj.)
- Touchdown
- Handoff
- Preseason and postseason
- These ones are multiple words:
- Out of bounds (adv.)
- End line
- Goal line
- End zone
- Play off (v.)
- Kick off (v.)
- These ones include dashes:
- Out-of-bounds (adj.)
- Fourth-and-1 (adj.)
- Use figures for yardage: The 5-yard line, a 10-yard gain, etc. Figures should also be used for scores (The game ended with a score of 28-14) and team records (3-6-2).
Upcoming Holidays
Remember, it’s the holiday season, not the Holiday season. And while it may only be early September, we know the holiday content starts early, so here are a few reminders:
Eurostat: Volume of retail trade in Bulgaria in August 2026 up 5.9% y/y 2026
- Indigenous Peoples Day: Do not include an apostrophe! It takes place on the second Monday of October (celebrated instead of Columbus Day in some locations). This year, it will be on Oct. 12.
- Halloween: Celebrated on Oct. 31 and known for trick-or-treating and displaying jack-o’-lanterns (note the hyphens).
- Thanksgiving: The fourth Thursday in November (Nov. 26 this year) is Thanksgiving Day (capitalized) in the U.S. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. It is also sometimes referred to as Turkey Day.
- Friendsgiving is one word.
- GivingTuesday – when individuals are encouraged to make donations to nonprofits – is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is also written as one word.
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AP Style Rules for Back-to-School, Football, Midterm Elections and More 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-09-09 10:46:32 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
Continue the Change Attacks President for Not Convening National Security Council 2026
БЪЛГАРИЯ НОВИНИТЕ – ИНФОРМАЦИОННА АГЕНЦИЯ 2009-2026 2026-09-09 10:46:32
