CP Style perfectionists... majority or minority?

Last week, I was helping my friend Kristen write a letter asking businesses for prizes for her upcoming wedding social. As we were racking our brains to find the right wording, I also instinctively ensured the letter followed proper Canadian Press Style. Kristen asked me what exactly I was doing when I changed the number “9” to “nine,” so I explained the rule behind numbers. I also explained a few other general rules, such as spelling PM as p.m., and when to use a comma versus a colon. Kristen listened – bless her heart – and commented that it’s crazy how many different rules there are for proper spelling.

Then, last night, Kristen and I were talking. She mentioned that she now notices how numbers are spelled when reading articles, and that she thinks back to my little mini-lesson about CP Style. I thought it was great that someone actually took the time to listen to me and remember one of the rules.

We started discussing the “general public,” and mused over whether or not most people have even heard of CP Style. News writing is experienced in print and online formats by people all over the world, but do readers know the amount of effort that goes into each story to ensure it is both technically and grammatically correct? After a lengthy debate, we both agreed that no, most people don’t know, and probably don’t care, how “nine” or “p.m.” are spelled in the article they are reading.

So, why bother in the first place?

This question has been stuck in my mind all morning. If most people don’t care how a story is written, why do journalists take such pains to ensure they follow the proper format? The CP Stylebook is almost 500 pages long, and it includes everything anyone could ever think to ask about how to write correctly. Numbers, grammar, pronunciation, cultural sensitivity, it’s all there. Both the right and wrong way to write something is clearly defined for any journalist to look up and follow.

In my opinion, Canadian Press Style is extremely important. Print journalism is a major news source, and it presents local, national, and international issues to the public in an objective and easy to understand format. If journalists are able to write as they please, and follow any format they like, the medium is not consistent.

And consistency equals credibility.

In CreComm, we have something called an Auto Fail. If we spell a proper name incorrectly, or have an obvious spelling error, we automatically fail the assignment. This may seem cruel and unusual, but it forces us to get it right the first time. There are enough errors in news stories as it is, and our instructors want to make sure that once we graduate, we will always get it right.

Next time you are reading a story in a newspaper or online, take a look at how the piece is written. What do the numbers look like? What about punctuation? Someone had to go through the story and edit it before it was published. They checked facts, double-checked proper names, and ensured every word properly followed Canadian Press Style.

Just in case you’re still curious about what rules I’m referring to, I’ve included a few from the CP Stylebook below...

1. In general, spell out whole numbers below 10 and use figures for 10 and above.

2. Percentages should be written as per cent, and do not use the symbol. But, write out the word percentage (as in “percentage points”).

3. Follow spelling of official names, even when it is at odds with Canadian Press Style (e.g. Tim Hortons is actually incorrect).

4. Monetary units should be preceded by a dollar sign, and do not write the word “dollars” after the amount (e.g. $2 not $2 dollars).

5. Write p.m.

6. Use figures for numbers up to 999,999. Above that, switch to words (like million and billion) if absolute precision is not required.

7. BUT, when writing a headline, many of the above rules are null and void. Just to make things a little more complicated.

Confused? It happens. But at least you’re one step closer to understanding the importance of CP Style!