Is AP style still important/relevant for public relations practitioners?

[Jason Kintzler]

This question was posted on LinkedIn last week and the majority of people said, "absolutely without question."

I shared with the author that the key to staying relevant was more in the pitch than the style. "A concise pitch will win over the best formatted AP style release every time."

What do you think?
• Is AP still relevant?
• Will it stay relevant?

Related link: LinkedIn Q&A

[Beth Mansfield]

Well said!

[Jennifer Fader]

Yes, it's still important to clear communications and a standard so many people on both sides of the pr coin can agree upon.

[Steve Kayser]

Relevant yes. But writing is the real issue. Writing for the press. Writing for Buying Committees (B2B here). Writing for search engines. You have to write with an eloquent simplicity. But it's complex to write simple these days. I wrote an article on that topic.

I’ve had Marketing and PR employees work for me right out of college, and found most were woefully unprepared for the real-world new PR environment. Not because of any inherent deficiency in the school they came from, but more from the frenetic pace of change in the PR industry. Blogs, Vlogs, Podcasts, Social Media, SEO, SEO PR, Tags, and on and on and on. The technology changes alone can be daunting or intimidating.

But the writing … the writing, that’s now part skill, part science and part art. It is the absolute foundation of being able to effectively use all the new technologies and communication tools.

Complex and Under-appreciated

It’s a skill and art that is complex, under-appreciated and, as far as I can tell, under-emphasized by schools. Or—if you have the teeth-pulling, Novocain-less pleasure of reading many press releases—companies, for that matter. Why is that? One of the main reasons is …

It’s Complex to Write Simple These Days

Ernest Hemingway had a clear understanding and vision of writing simply and effectively when he discussed the four rules of writing he learned as a journalist at the Kansas City Star.

Hemingway Four Rules (well, not really, they were the Kansas City Star’s actually)

1. Use short sentences.
2. Use short first paragraphs.
3. Use vigorous English.
4. Be positive, not negative.

“Those were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing,” Hemingway said in 1940. “I’ve never forgotten them. No man with any talent, who feels and writes truly about the thing he is trying to say, can fail to write well if he abides with them.”

These rules still work. Rarely used. But still work.

However, in defense of most PR practitioners and writers today, Hemingway didn’t have to contend with the New PR. SEO PR. Google News. Yahoo News. He didn’t need to be Dugg, or Stumbled Upon. Or Mixxed. Or blogged about.

[Mark O'Toole]

AP style does not mean bloated, aimless releases. I'd argue that AP gives writers the tools to say something interesting in a concise way. Inside a PR agency, it also gives us a way to create consistency among staff's writings and media interactions.

[Tammy Homan]

I would agree that AP style is a good base for grammar and proper writing. However, having worked in several different PR positions and experiencing many views from professors during college--many companies have their own standards that they put in place above AP style for consistency reasons.

I have more than once encountered changes in the AP style book depending on the year. This leads me to believe that the consistent AP style is a little inconsistent.

It is still relevant, but I don't think it is the solid stonework that it once was, and I don't think it will stay as relevant with the rise of social media and the decline of the 'gatekeepers.'