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Mass Communications 210
Media Writing
AP Style: Time Elements
Using the day of the week versus the date
Today, tonight, yesterday, tomorrow: According to the AP manual, their use is appropriate only in afternoon newspapers. (Most dailies are morning papers.)
 | Instead, refer to days of the week within seven days before or after today (based on the day your report will be read or heard). For earlier or later dates, use month and date (Sept. 1). |
| References to last and next week are considered redundant. These are clear from the context of the writing — past-tense verbs for things that have already happened, future tense for those that occur in days to come. |
Abbreviating months: Abbreviate months with dates; spell them out when they stand alone.
Time of day
The exact time when something occurred or
will occur is unnecessary in most stories.
Instead ....
|
| Describe the time rather than give an
exact hour to give readers a better sense. The suspect was apprehended late Monday. (Not "at 10:25 p.m.") The accident tied up rush-hour traffic. (Not "5 p.m. traffic") |
|
| Time is critical for beginnings of upcoming meetings, exact times of broadcasts, and so on. |
|
| Whose time do you use? Use the time
where the event occurred. New York City went dark at 7 p.m. when the eastern power grid began to fail. |
|
| Specify time zone only when it affects
readers directly — TV or radio broadcasts, for example. The president's address begins at 8 p.m. EDT. |
Expressing a range of
time: When
expressing a period of hours, use either of these constructions:
The
polling places are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
They’re
open 8 a.m.–7 p.m.
Do not
mix the two forms (NOT "from 8 a.m.-7 p.m.")
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Using today—Tuesday, Feb. 12 — correct the time reference in these statements.
1. The protest began at 12:30 p.m. yesterday and will continue through 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.
2. Last Friday Gov. Pawlenty spoke to the assembly at Moorhead Senior High School.
3. The concert begins at 8:45 in the evening on Thursday, Feb. 21.
4. Los Angeles seismographers recorded the first earthquake tremors at 10:14 AM CDT.
5. The Deacons’ only touchdown was scored on Saturday, Aug. 26.
6. Watch Jonny Lang’s interview from 8:15-8:20 a.m. tomorrow on "Good Morning America".
7. Next Tuesday the commission will decide the fate of the police department’s equity raises.
8. Vandalism was reported at 7:14 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24
9. The computer lab is open 8-6 weekdays.
10. The costume party is planned for 8 o’clock next Tuesday, Feb. 19.