The Associated Press Style guide is no longer king at The Badger Herald when it comes to writing about diversity. Effective today, our editors now rely on the News Watch Diversity Style Guide.
The guide outlines rules on everything from how to refer to a person with a disability to the difference between “Mexican American” and “Chicano/a.” It has its weaknesses, including some omissions and vague descriptions, but it is also extremely thorough in areas the AP Style Guide falls short. We will continue to expand on it with our own custom style when need be.
A lot of big names are behind the News Watch Guide, including the national journalism associations of many marginalized groups and copy editors from major newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal. Equally as important, meetings with University of Wisconsin student and administrative leaders resulted in positive endorsements of the guidelines.
The guide also reflects a long overdue change in Herald policy: When it is relevant, sources will now be asked to self-describe. This is not a matter of political correctness, but an affirmation of the nuance of identity. Someone may be homosexual, but he or she may draw a richer meaning from the self-affixed label of “gay” or “queer.” The words “deaf” and “Deaf” are not the same.
We recognize some terms will be new to readers, and as a result will affix a note to explain words when need be. This is a deliberate means to push what we consider a progressive agenda, but also an acknowledgment of the traditional journalism value of communicating in a way that is understandable to all. We are still a newspaper read by tens of thousands of people a day, and we will continue to respect that.
There will still be times when physical descriptions or broad terms are necessary, and there will be many more times where we rely on our new style. There will also be times we mess up. As we navigate between these times, help us by contributing your own knowledge. If you have feedback on the News Watch Style Guide or our policy of self-description, please email me at [email protected] or comment online.
Sincerely,
Signe Brewster
