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PDI Stylebook General

News Style
 O
Obscenity, profane, vulgarity

Do not use these words in a story unless

they are part of direct quotations and
there is a strong, compelling reason to
use them.
 Obscenity, profanity, vulgarity
- they are not synonymous terms.

Obscenity- “gross indecency, unchaste action,

lewdness.”
- refers to words or acts “offensive to
one’s feelings or to prevailing notions of
modesty”
- something “disgusting” or
“repulsive”
 Obscenity, profanity, vulgarity

Profanity- “something which treats something

sacred with irreverence or abuse; blasphemy.”

- refers to “disrespect pr contempt for

sacred things.”
 Obscenity, profanity, vulgarity
Vulgarity – “lack of refinement in conduct or
speech; coarseness.”
- “crude, coarse, unrefined, boorish,
or indecent.”

Sometimes there is an overlapping of the

three in some words or phrases. A word may
be both obscene and profane or it may be
both obscene and vulgar.
According to the Los Angeles Times
Stylebook:
“It can roughly be said that phrases
with sexual connotation are
considered obscene, those with
religious connotation are considered
profane, and those with excremental
connotation are considered vulgar.”
Avoid using obscene, profane, and
vulgar except when absolutely essential
to the “flavor” of the story.

Use of such language may be justified

when it is a part of an official record ,
such as a court testimony or a legislative
hearing and when it is a significant part
of a news development.
In no case should obscene, profane, or vulgar
words or phrases be used in headlines or the
display lines of cutlines (captions)
If it is essential to a story (for instance, a
medical or scientific story) that the
names of the male or female sex organ
be mentioned, use the terms derived
from the Latin.
old
Avoid such a phrase as a 10-year old slaying,
when is meant is a slaying 10 years ago.

on
Do not use on before a date or a day of the
week unless its absence will lead to
confusion.
Ramos will meet with the prime minister of
Thailand Monday. The President leaves July 1.

Ambiguous: The Correct, clear: The

Senate postpond on Senate postponed
Friday its on Friday its
consideration of the consideration of the
emergency powers emergency powers
bill bill.
ongoing

An overworked adjective.

Replace when possible by one of tis

synonyms: continuing, progressing,
under way, etc.
only
Do not use only when referring to a
number of casualties.
Why?
It would sound as if you were sorry
only 10 were killed or only 20 were
injured. Avoid also at least in a
similar reference.
on the one hand/ on the other hand
These tow transistions should be used
together: On the one hand the government
hoped for heavy rains to fill the dams. On the
other hand, it was afraid that the lowlands
would be flooded.
This could be wordy. Effective substitutes
include in contrast, but, however, and yet.
 P
pair
Maybe either singular or plural. When
modified by a number, the plural of pair is
pairs, especially when referring to persons:
Three pairs of children danced a waltz.
The plural pair is used mainly in referring
inanimate objects: There are three pair of
shoes in the cabinet.
parameter
This is a mathematical term unlikely to be
used in a news story. But when used in an
article about science or mathematics, it
should be explained

A parameter, in mathematics, is a quantity

that is constant in the case considered but
varies in different cases.
passive voice
Prefer the active voice to the passive
voice. Many sentences written in the
passive could be recast in the active, and
they would become shorter and more
vigorous.
people, persons
Use people regardless of whether the
number is large or small. Five people
were waiting at the door. About 500
people attended the convention.

Persons may be used for occasional

variety or deliberate informality. Use
person to refer to a single individual.
percent
Originally spelled per cent, (Latin per
centum)
In stories and articles, use percent.
The symbol % may be used in
tabulations and similar matter.
presently, at present
Presently means soon, after a short
time.

Present means now.

 Q
queue – avoid using this word in the sense of
waiting or lining up. Use a more familiar term
like line up.

quotation, quote- noun, verb

 R
rack, wrack
rack – to torment, to torture

wrack – ruin, destruction

rallyist
There’s no such word in the dictionary.

Use appropriate words such as

demonstrator, protester, marcher,
picket.
raze
to demolish, to dear down, to level to
the ground.

Razed to the ground is redundant.

rebut, refute
rebut – contradict or deny
refute- prove the falsity or incorrectness

record - new record is redundant

Lydia de Vega set a new record in the 100 meter dash.

Lydia de Vega set a record in the 100 meter dash.
re-cover (cover again), recover
(regain)

re-form (form again), reform

(improve)

re-sign (sign again), resign (quit)

 S
second-guess(n.), second-guess (v)
second hand (n.), secondhand
(adj;adv.)
second-rate (adj)
send off (v.), send off (n.)
shall, will
To express the plain future shall
is used in the first person and will
in the second and third.

I shall go. You will go. He will go.

showbiz
A slang usage best confined to the
entertainment pages.
sic
Latin for so; thus. This word is placed in
parenthesis or brackets after a word
that seems odd or is wrongly spelled to
show that it is being quoted exactly as it
was given.
spelling
1. Use the first spelling given in the
dictionary when there are two of a
word.
2. Avoid Briticisms or British spellings.
Thus, use honor, not honour; theater,
not theatre, organize not organise,
program not programme, clue, not
clew.
spouse

Use when some if the people involved

may be men. Examples: doctors and
their spouses, not doctors and their
wives.
 T
take, bring- denotes movement away, denotes
movement toward
that, which-
The pronoun that introduces a restrictive or
defining clause that cannot be omitted from
the sentence without losing its sense.

The pronoun which introduces a non-

restrictive or parenthetical clause that could
be omitted
The report that The report,
the investigating which, was well-
committee documented,
submitted was was discussed
well- with a lot of
documented. emotion.
that, who
that refers to persons, things or
animals; who refers to persons
only.

the girl that I the girl whom I

married married
tidal wave
restricted in scientific terminology
to a sea wave due to chiefly high
tides or windstorms at sea
Tsunami
correct scientific name for the
wave induced by an earth-quake
or submarine landslide.
titles
1. Capitalize only formal titles used
directly before a person’s name.

President Ramos Sen. Agapito Aquino

Mayor Lim Dr. Raul Fores

2. Write titles in lower case and spell
them out when they are not used
with a person’s name.

the senator

the secretary of education

3. Do not use courtesy titles Mr. and Ms. on
the first and last names of a person.

4. Do not use Mr. in any reference unless it

is combined with Mrs.
exception: President’s name: Mr. Ramos

Mr. and Mrs. Jose Reyes Mr. and Mrs.

Reyes
5. The preferred form on first reference is to
identify a woman by her won first name and
her husband’s last name.

Ms Corazon Aquino Ms Amelita Ramos

On second reference use Ms regardless of

whether the woman is single or married.

Ms Aquino Ms Ramos
6. Do not use Attorney, Engineer, or
Architect as tiles.

They may be used as occupational

descriptions but do not capitalize them.

lawyer Jose Reyes (not attorney Jose Reyes)

The preferred form is: Jose Reyes, a lawyer

7. Do not abbreviate formal titles.
Exceptions: Sen, Rep, Gov, Dr, Lt and certain
certain military and religious titles.

8. Mr. and Dr. are abbreviated with or without a

Christian or given name or initial
9. Capitalize Emperor, King, Queen, Prince,
Princess and other titles of royalty when used
before a name
Emperor Akihito King Gustav
Queen Elizabeth
That would be all. Thank you. 