An AP-style press release uses the Associated Press Stylebook to format language for news distribution. It prioritizes factual accuracy, removes promotional tone, and follows strict formatting conventions. Headlines summarize the story without exaggeration. Lead paragraphs answer who, what, when, where, and why using concise, verified language. The body expands on key details in logical sequence.
Press releases fail when they ignore editorial standards. Journalists reject content that lacks structure, objectivity, and factual clarity. AP style solves this issue by imposing a standardized writing framework used across major newsrooms. Every detail, from punctuation to paragraph structure, follows codified rules that reduce ambiguity and support fast editorial processing.
This in-depth documentation explains the core structure, formatting conventions, and style principles behind AP-style press releases.Readers will learn how to format headlines, structure the story, and apply AP rules to grammar, dates, and numbers. Readers will understand how objective tone, factual clarity, and formatting consistency raise your chances of being published.
What is an AP Style Press release?
An AP-style press release is a news announcement written using the formatting and editorial standards of the Associated Press Stylebook. AP style releases serve as a media-facing communication tool that delivers timely, factual information in a format optimized for newsrooms. Unlike promotional content, the AP style format removes subjective language, limits verbosity, and follows a strict editorial framework designed for journalistic integrity.
The AP Stylebook provides detailed rules for formatting, grammar, punctuation, and tone. Editors rely on these standards to streamline content across print, broadcast, and digital platforms. The AP Stylebook eliminates inconsistencies in capitalization, abbreviation, and number usage. For example, AP style spells out numbers below 10, abbreviates months only with dates, and removes the Oxford comma to maintain stylistic uniformity.
An AP-style release follows a linear narrative model that mirrors a news article, opening with a headline that communicates the core message without embellishment. The lead paragraph answers who, what, when, where, and why using verified, time-sensitive details. The body expands with background, data, and quotes in descending order of importance, allowing editors to trim without losing context. An AP-style press release meets requirements through structural rigor and editorial discipline.
Why is AP Style Important for Press Releases?
AP style is important for press releases because it aligns content with the editorial standards that govern modern journalism. AP style converts brand messaging into a format that meets newsroom requirements, reduces editing time, and increases publication potential. Editors receive hundreds of press releases each week, scanning for structure, tone, and clarity before assessing the story.
AP-style press releases follow the inverted pyramid format, use verified facts, and maintain consistent grammar and punctuation. This alignment removes friction from the editorial process and positions the content for direct inclusion. AP style enforces objectivity. Each sentence delivers information without bias or exaggeration. Third-person voice, clear sentence construction, and precise word choice allow journalists to evaluate the material on merit.
The professional tone of AP-style press releases creates a credible foundation for media exposure and ensures the release meets professional standards. Standardized formatting improves information accessibility. Font size, punctuation, spacing, and number usage follow fixed rules that create visual consistency across the document. Editors familiar with AP style recognize these visual cues, locate key information faster, and assess relevance without adjusting to unfamiliar formats.
Readability drives usability. AP style prioritizes concise sentence structure and logical information flow. Consistent use of AP style across public-facing documents reinforces brand authority. Stakeholders, media contacts, and industry partners expect accuracy and professionalism in external communications. Each well-formatted press release strengthens editorial trust and establishes your organization as a media-literate source. AP style remains the industry benchmark because it reflects how journalists think, read, and write.
AP-style press releases demonstrate subject matter relevance and editorial fluency. This distinction separates content that earns coverage from content that gets ignored.
What is Associated Press (AP)?
Associated Press (AP) is a not-for-profit news cooperative established in 1846 to centralize and distribute factual reporting across U.S. newspapers. Founded by five New York City newspapers during the Mexican-American War, AP introduced a collaborative model to reduce duplication in war coverage. That early structure transformed AP into the first organized effort to unify national journalism through pooled resources and shared editorial output.
The organization expanded rapidly, and in 1856, it adopted the name New York Associated Press. As regional publishers demanded greater editorial equity, AP underwent structural shifts. In 1892, Western publishers formally separated and incorporated the Associated Press in Illinois. That iteration became the legal and operational foundation for today’s AP, which reestablished centralized control in 1900 under New York state association laws.
AP accelerated its national dominance by investing in transmission infrastructure. It leased over 400,000 miles of telegraph wire, deployed radio teleprinters in 1952, and pioneered satellite photo delivery with LaserPhoto II in 1982. These innovations made AP the first organization to combine speed, accuracy, and broad distribution at scale. It later developed the AP–Dow Jones Economic Report in 1967 and launched digital news delivery platforms such as AP Online in 1995.
AP’s Legacy in Journalism Extends into Language
The AP Stylebook, first formalized in 1953 and published publicly in 1977, governs editorial standards across thousands of newsrooms. It established clear formatting rules to promote consistency, readability, and factual precision in published reports. That editorial discipline translated into the public relations field, where AP style became the benchmark for press release writing.
Press releases written in AP style inherit the credibility of its origin. Editors recognize the structure and reporters trust the format. The alignment between journalistic standards and PR communications allows AP-style press releases to enter newsrooms without friction. Every element, from headline and dateline to lead and boilerplate, mirrors the logic of newsroom-ready content.
AP operates in nearly 100 countries and maintains one of the largest global newsrooms with thousands of credentialed journalists since 2025. The Associated Press cooperative funding model remains intact. More than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters hold membership stakes. This structure preserves editorial independence by insulating AP from investor influence and advertising pressure. The result is a news service trusted for neutrality and adopted across newsrooms seeking verifiable, agenda-free information.
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What are the AP Style Guidelines for Press Releases?
The AP style guidelines for press releases define the structural, grammatical, and tonal standards established by the Associated Press to ensure clarity, consistency, and journalistic credibility in public announcements. These guidelines originate from the AP Stylebook, a globally recognized authority for news writing.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
The AP style guidelines for press releases enforce clarity, consistency, and audience-awareness in the use of abbreviations and acronyms. Each abbreviation serves a clear communicative function. Widely recognized abbreviations such as CEO, NASA, or GOP appear without explanation when the audience’s familiarity is assured. AP style does not permit acronyms solely to save space. Every abbreviation must enhance readability without disrupting flow or comprehension. This rule excludes internal jargon, regional acronyms, or sector-specific shorthand unfamiliar to general readers.
Writers introduce unfamiliar acronyms with the full term on first mention, without parentheses. After establishing the reference, the acronym replaces the full term in future mentions. This linear structure supports information retention and semantic fluency. AP style prohibits introducing an acronym inside parentheses after the full term, a practice common in academic and corporate documents. This distinction aligns press releases with journalistic readability standards.
Titles
Titles (such as Dr., Gov., Sen., and Rep.) appear abbreviated before full names, but not after. These appear once unless the title remains necessary for clarity. AP style avoids honorific inflation. Courtesy titles like Mr., Mrs., or Ms. are excluded unless directly relevant or specifically requested. Academic degrees follow names and are offset with commas, while generational labels such as Jr. or Sr. remain attached without commas.
Corporate Labels
Corporate descriptors such as Co., Corp., Inc., and Ltd. follow full company names when they are part of the registered business name. Writers omit these on second reference. The stylebook treats these as formal legal labels, not functional identifiers. Unnecessary repetition or stylistic decoration undermines the clean, factual tone required in press communications.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations involving dates, times, and geographic names follow strict formatting rules. Only certain months abbreviate when paired with a numerical day: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. The rest remain spelled out. Times include periods in A.M. and P.M. and omit zeroes for whole hours. Datelines use postal code abbreviations only after city names, and not in body text. The Stylebook prioritizes consistency in these conventions to maintain professional tone and uniform structure across syndicated press materials.
Two-letter abbreviations such as U.S. and U.K. require periods, except in certain institutional exceptions like EU or GI, which remain unpunctuated due to widespread recognition. The same rule applies to historical and global references such as B.C. and A.D. Headlines often drop periods for visual clarity, but body text retains them. These decisions reduce ambiguity, prevent misreads, and reinforce editorial discipline.
AP Style Abbreviations and Acronyms Examples
AP Style Abbreviations and Acronyms Examples 1: Walmart
Bayer
Ford
Addresses
The AP style guidelines for addresses establish strict rules to maintain clarity, accuracy, and readability across press release formats. Precision matters in location data, particularly in releases related to events, retail openings, or corporate headquarters. AP style directs writers to present addresses in a structure that mirrors journalistic conventions used in newsrooms and wire services. This approach ensures geographic consistency across distribution channels and prevents misinterpretation during editorial review.
Directional Cues
Directional cues like “North” or “West” are abbreviated when paired with a numbered address. Without a number, they remain spelled out and capitalized as part of the formal street name. The same rule governs street designations. Use abbreviations such as Ave., Blvd., or St. only with numbered addresses. Without a number, write the full word and capitalize it only if it belongs to a proper name. Words like drive, circle, or road are never abbreviated. These remain spelled out in every instance and take capitalization only when forming part of a complete street name.
City & State Mentions
Use commas sparingly and place city and state information in accordance with AP-style dateline rules. Cities stand in uppercase, while state names appear abbreviated unless the city is well-known or the context omits redundancy. In body text, state abbreviations follow postal style for clarity and economy of space. Formal address mentions in press releases should always align with AP’s treatment of geographic identifiers, ensuring the content reads as fact-based, polished, and structurally consistent with syndicated newswire standards.
AP Style Datelines
In datelines, the AP style uses all caps for major cities and includes the state abbreviation only for smaller ones. That helps editors instantly recognize the location and keeps distribution platforms consistent. Address formatting becomes even more important in press releases that involve events, store openings, or location-specific announcements. Clean formatting allows distribution systems and media outlets to read addresses accurately, index the content correctly, and avoid delays in coverage.
Address formatting errors typically stem from misapplied abbreviations or improper capitalization. Avoid shortening street suffixes when no number precedes them, and never capitalize generic terms unless they belong to a proper noun. These distinctions create precision across locations and eliminate style inconsistencies that disrupt journalistic standards.
AP Style Address Examples
Wendy’s
Apple
Amazon
Ages
Age references in AP-style press releases follow strict conventions because age signals relevance, timeliness, and context in news storytelling. Always express age using numerals, regardless of the subject. This includes people, organizations, and even inanimate objects, as numerical precision supports consistency and speeds comprehension. Age acts as a qualifying metric for achievements, eligibility, or market positioning, making correct formatting essential for clarity and authority.
Hyphenate age when it functions as a compound adjective before a noun or as a noun substitute. This structural rule aligns age formatting with broader grammatical standards in AP style, helping maintain sentence rhythm and avoiding structural ambiguity. Always omit apostrophes in age ranges, including informal references to decades. Apostrophes misrepresent the construction and violate AP’s punctuation standards. Even expressions such as “in his 30s” or “targeting 20s to 40s” must avoid possessives and follow the numeric form.
Clarity in age usage shapes how audiences interpret authority, youth, or longevity, all of which influence brand perception and editorial judgment. Press release professionals who master this rule create cleaner copy, reduce revision cycles, and enhance their credibility with newsrooms.
AP Style Age Examples
AP Style Age Example 1: Meta Platforms Inc.
AP Style Age Example 2: Gates Foundation
AP Style Age Example 3: Pfizer
Books, Periodicals, Reference Works, and Other Types of Compositions
The AP style guidelines for books, periodicals, reference works, and other compositions maintain clarity, uniformity, and professional tone in press releases. Accurate title formatting ensures journalists, editors, and audiences interpret titles correctly without distraction. For standalone works like books, songs, plays, films, lectures, and television shows are either capitalized or written with quotation marks. This helps editors and readers identify creative or authored content instantly. The same rule applies to poems, speeches, and works of art.
Titles of newspapers, magazines, and reference books follow a different rule. These are left unquoted to reflect their ongoing or functional nature. A magazine or a dictionary isn’t a singular story; it’s a platform or resource. Leave out italics and underlining across all press release content. These formatting styles don’t belong in AP style and often get stripped in newsroom systems anyway.
Capitalization requires discipline. Capitalize the first and last words in a title, along with all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and long prepositions. Leave articles, short prepositions, and short conjunctions in lowercase unless they appear at the beginning or end. This approach creates consistency and avoids cluttering the headline with unnecessary emphasis.
Foreign works follow a practical rule. Translate titles into English unless the original version carries stronger recognition. A classic opera or novel performed or published in English deserves an English title. Refer to symphonies and classical music pieces with quotation marks for nicknames, but leave numbered works unquoted.
AP Style Reference Works Examples
AP Style Reference Works Example 1: HarperCollins
AP Style Reference Works Example 2: Wattpad
AP Style Reference Works Example 2: Live Nation Entertainment
Dates, Months, Years, Days of the Week
Precision in formatting dates and time references strengthens the authority and clarity of a press release. AP style uses Arabic numerals for all dates. Avoid suffixes like “st,” “nd,” “rd,” or “th.” Write “April 5,” not “April 5th.” Abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. when paired with a date. Spell out all other months in every case, and spell out all months without a date. Always capitalize months, regardless of context.
Commas serve as structural markers. Insert a comma after the day when a full date includes the month, day, and year. Omit the comma when listing only a month and year. “August 2023” requires no comma, while “Aug. 15, 2023, marked the opening” requires one before and after the year. Treat years as numeric figures. Do not place an apostrophe in plural decades. Use “the 1990s” rather than “the 1990’s.” Place an apostrophe before the figures to indicate a shortened decade, as in “the ’90s.”
Days of the week are always spelled out and capitalized. Avoid abbreviations unless formatting data in a table. Refrain from using “yesterday” in releases. Replace it with the specific day. This eliminates ambiguity for wire services and publication schedules. Once an event falls more than seven days before or after the current date, reference the full date rather than the day of the week.
AP Style Dates Examples
Alibaba Group
Costco Wholesale
WildBrain
Datelines
Use the dateline to establish the authority and origin of the announcement. Position it at the start of the first paragraph and format it with precision. Write the city name in full capital letters, followed by the abbreviated state or full country name, depending on the location’s editorial recognition. Major U.S. cities like New York or Los Angeles stand alone, while lesser-known cities require their state abbreviation. Separate the year with a comma if the day appears. Avoid symbols, hyphens, or informal notations.
An AP-style dateline does more than identify time and place. It distinguishes whether the information originated locally or on assignment. Editors rely on it to determine coverage zones and newsrooms treat datelines as signals of event authenticity. For corporate press releases, never confuse the business address with the location of the news event. Use the dateline to reflect the city where the event, launch, or official action took place.
Avoid placing street addresses inside the dateline. Include them within the body of the release, typically in the boilerplate or the media contact section. Embedding an address inside the lead confuses the structural hierarchy of the press release. Keep the dateline clean, direct, and functional. Accuracy in formatting reflects editorial discipline and demonstrates a release’s readiness for direct wire distribution or syndication without revision.
AP Style Dateline Examples
Johnson & Johnson
Volkswagen Group
The Home Depot
Dimensions
Precision in presenting measurements reinforces credibility in a press release. AP style demands that dimensions be expressed using figures paired with fully spelled-out units of measurement. This approach applies uniformly to height, width, depth, length, and weight. Writers must use numerals to express dimensions, regardless of whether the number is above or below ten, and combine these figures with clearly spelled units such as inches, feet, or yards.
To maintain grammatical consistency, hyphenate compound modifiers that describe dimensions preceding a noun. This rule applies whether referencing a 10-foot-wide billboard or a 5-foot-9-inch athlete. Use clear patterns such as “10 feet by 12 feet” for spatial layouts and express single measurements with full clarity to avoid ambiguity.
Use dimensions where they offer context or support the narrative. Avoid redundancy by excluding any size references that do not directly contribute to the reader’s understanding of scale or relevance.
AP Style Dimensions Examples
Samsung Electronics
Honda
RTX Corporation
Miles
Use miles in an AP-style press release with precision and consistency, following the numeric threshold that defines all AP measurements. Distances below 10 require spelled-out numbers, while distances 10 and above appear as numerals. Use “miles” as a unit in full and pair it with the appropriate figure to avoid disrupting sentence flow.
Apply the same numeric rule when writing about kilometers in international contexts, but localize units based on audience expectations. For speeds, the abbreviation “mph” remains acceptable in all instances without punctuation or hyphenation, even in attributive use. When listing route distances, geographic coverage, or travel metrics, organize references with logical progression, such as smallest to largest or west to east.
AP Style Miles Examples
Toyota
Nissan
General Motors
Names
Use a person’s full name the first time they appear in a press release. Follow it with relevant context such as job title, position, or affiliation if it enhances clarity or authority. On all subsequent references, use only the last name. Avoid courtesy titles entirely unless they appear within direct quotations or serve a functional purpose in distinguishing between individuals who share a surname. This rule supports clarity and aligns with Associated Press standards for professional attribution.
For academic or professional credentials, place recognized abbreviations after the full name and set them off with commas. Maintain uniform formatting across the press release for consistency. In cases involving multiple individuals with the same last name, include first and last names throughout to avoid confusion.
Direct quotations follow different conventions. Courtesy titles such as Mr., Ms., or Dr. are acceptable within quoted speech if originally spoken that way. However, outside direct quotes, omit them entirely.
AP Style Names Examples
Alphabet
Halliburton
Berkshire Hathaway
Numerals
Use numerals to convey precision, scale, and clarity in AP-style press releases. Spell out numbers one through nine in narrative text and use numerals for 10 and above. Always use numerals for ages, dates, times, dimensions, temperatures, sports scores, monetary values, and percentages to maintain consistency and support data-driven readability. Begin sentences with spelled-out numbers unless the sentence starts with a calendar year.
Use Roman numerals when referencing wars, monarchs, or popes to align with historical and institutional naming conventions. Spell out ordinal numbers first through ninth, then use numerals with appropriate suffixes from 10th onward. In political or geographic designations, apply numerals regardless of the sequence value to conform with jurisdictional identifiers.
Refer to monetary amounts using numerals and spell out the unit of measure. Use the dollar sign without repeating the word “dollars” unless referring to cents or amounts exceeding one million. Write “6 cents” or “$8 million” instead of symbolic shorthand. Avoid abbreviating million or billion, and spell them out fully after the figure. Avoid starting a sentence with a dollar figure; rephrase to place the number later in the sentence unless beginning with a year.
Use a hyphen between number words when forming compound numbers such as twenty-one or eighty-three, and avoid inserting commas in spelled-out figures. Reserve spelled-out expressions like “a thousand times” or “thanks a million” for colloquial phrases, not numerical reporting. Follow the organization’s own style when referring to names like 3M or Big Ten to respect branded or institutional conventions.
AP-Style Numerals Examples
KFC
Ferrari
PepsiCo
Punctuation
Punctuation in AP-style press releases follows a rigid structure designed to eliminate ambiguity, enforce uniformity, and support immediate comprehension. The placement and use of each mark reflect decades of editorial discipline rooted in traditional newswire formatting.
Best practices for using punctuation in AP style press releases are given below.
Apostrophe. Use apostrophes to indicate possession or contractions. Singular nouns take an apostrophe followed by an s, even if the noun ends in s. Plural nouns ending in s take the apostrophe after the s. Possessive proper names ending in s follow the same logic. Avoid apostrophes in plurals unless clarity requires them, such as single letters that are otherwise confused. Acronyms and decades never use apostrophes to form plurals. Avoid contractions in formal press releases unless quoting verbatim.
Comma. Commas create structure and rhythm. In a simple series, omit the final comma before the conjunction. Retain the serial comma only in complex lists where confusion arises. Place commas after introductory clauses or phrases that lead into the main clause. Use commas to set off nonessential phrases, but avoid unnecessary ones in compound predicates. In compound sentences, place a comma before coordinating conjunctions only when each clause has a subject and verb. Numbers over 999 require commas except in addresses, years, or telephone numbers.
Colon. Use a colon to introduce lists, summaries, or explanatory clauses that follow a complete sentence. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it begins a complete sentence or is a proper noun. Do not place a colon directly after a verb or preposition. In AP stylepress releases, colons appear in subheads or to present quotes after attribution.
Semicolon. Semicolons separate independent clauses not joined by a conjunction. They clarify lists that contain internal commas. Do not overuse semicolons in narrative structures. Their primary function is to organize complex sentence constructions with internal divisions, not to control pacing or tone.
Exclamation Mark. Use exclamation marks only in direct quotations where the speaker expresses strong emotion. Never use them to generate excitement in objective news content. Avoid placing them outside quoted material. Overuse undermines the professional tone of the press release and creates artificial urgency.
Hyphen. Hyphens join compound modifiers directly before a noun. Omit the hyphen after adverbs ending in -ly. Use hyphens to prevent misreading in compound numbers and modifiers. Avoid spacing around hyphens. In press releases, hyphens clarify meaning and create tighter grammatical units.
Ellipses. Ellipses indicate omitted material in a direct quote. Use a space before and after each dot. Do not alter the original meaning through omission. Never use ellipses to shorten full quotes unless the removal maintains accuracy. Avoid ellipses at the beginning or end of quotes unless necessary.
Dash. Use a dash with one space on either side to indicate an abrupt break or to add emphasis. Dashes separate thoughts more forcefully than commas and more smoothly than parentheses. In press releases, limit dash use to avoid fragmentation. Maintain sentence flow and structural integrity.
Parenthesis. Parentheses contain supplemental material that is not essential to the sentence. AP style discourages parentheses in most formal writing. Use them only when necessary for clarity or legal precision. Replace them with commas or rewrite the sentence to integrate the material more directly.
Question Mark. Place question marks inside quotation marks only if the quoted material includes the question. Otherwise, the mark goes outside. Do not use question marks in rhetorical or suggestive statements. In AP style press releases, questions should appear in direct quotes or as part of a headline with factual support.
Quotation Marks. Use double quotation marks for all direct quotes. Use single quotation marks only for quotes within quotes. Punctuation always goes inside quotation marks except colons, semicolons, and dashes, unless they belong to the quoted material. Avoid scare quotes and unnecessary emphasis. Attribute every direct quote clearly and structure long quotes to maintain clarity.
Period. Use one space after a period. Place periods inside quotation marks. Do not use periods after acronyms unless they include lowercase letters or require clarity. Avoid trailing periods in headlines or subheads. Maintain sentence length between 15 and 20 words to control rhythm and support readability.
AP Style Punctuation Examples
American Express
CVS Health
Cisco
States and Cities
In AP-style press releases, state names follow precise formatting rules that align clarity with consistency. Writers spell out the full state name when it appears alone in a sentence. Use abbreviations only when pairing the state with a city, town, village, or military base. For example, in general narrative text, spell out “Colorado.” In contrast, write “Aspen, Colo.,” in sentence context. This distinction enhances readability and supports standardized editorial practice.
Avoid abbreviating state names in headlines, titles, or standalone references. Datelines follow a separate convention. Start with the city in all caps, followed by a comma, the state abbreviation, another comma, then the date. Do not abbreviate the following states in any context: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. These eight states retain their full names regardless of placement because of brevity or unique geographic status.
Use AP-style abbreviations in press releases, not postal codes. For example, “Calif.” aligns with AP style, while “CA” does not, unless used in mailing addresses. Use postal codes only when listing complete addresses that include ZIP codes. Separate city and state with a comma and place another comma after the state name if the sentence continues.
In datelines, omit the state if the city appears on AP’s list of major U.S. cities. These cities are widely recognized and do not require a state designation. This approach reduces redundancy and strengthens the dateline’s visual clarity.
AP style state abbreviation guidelines are given in the table below.
| State Name | AP Style Abbreviation | Postal Code | Requires State Name in Dateline? | Major Cities That Don’t Require State Name in Dateline |
| Alabama | Ala. | AL | Yes | – |
| Alaska | Not allowed | AK | Yes | – |
| Arizona | Ariz. | AZ | No | Phoenix |
| Arkansas | Ark. | AR | Yes | – |
| California | Calif. | CA | No | Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco |
| Colorado | Colo. | CO | No | Denver |
| Connecticut | Conn. | CT | Yes | – |
| Delaware | Del. | DE | Yes | – |
| Florida | Fla. | FL | No | Miami |
| Georgia | Ga. | GA | No | Atlanta |
| Hawaii | Not allowed | HI | No | Honolulu |
| Idaho | Not allowed | ID | Yes | – |
| Illinois | Ill. | IL | No | Chicago |
| Indiana | Ind. | IN | No | Indianapolis |
| Iowa | Not allowed | IA | Yes | – |
| Kansas | Kan. | KS | Yes | – |
| Kentucky | Ky. | KY | Yes | – |
| Louisiana | La. | LA | No | New Orleans |
| Maine | Not allowed | ME | Yes | – |
| Maryland | Md. | MD | No | Baltimore |
| Massachusetts | Mass. | MA | No | Boston |
| Michigan | Mich. | MI | No | Detroit |
| Minnesota | Minn. | MN | No | Minneapolis |
| Mississippi | Miss. | MS | Yes | – |
| Missouri | Mo. | MO | No | St. Louis |
| Montana | Mont. | MT | Yes | – |
| Nebraska | Neb. | NE | Yes | – |
| Nevada | Nev. | NV | No | Las Vegas |
| New Hampshire | N.H. | NH | Yes | – |
| New Jersey | N.J. | NJ | Yes | – |
| New Mexico | N.M. | NM | Yes | – |
| New York |
A comma always follows the city name and precedes the state. When the sentence continues after the state, another comma follows.
AP Style State and Cities Examples
Accenture
Plante Moran
The Baldwin Group
Times
Precision in time references within AP-style press releases serves a clear purpose. Use exact times when they add clarity or relevance to the story. For most press releases, date alone provides sufficient temporal context. Introduce time details if the timing itself holds editorial value, such as scheduled announcements, embargo lifts, or time-sensitive events.
Write all times in numerals followed by a space and then “a.m.” or “p.m.” using lowercase letters with periods. Eliminate superfluous formatting. Do not add zeros after the hour mark. For example, “2 p.m.” conveys more clarity than “2:00 p.m.” while avoiding visual clutter. Include colons when stating specific minutes, such as “2:30 p.m.”
Replace “12 a.m.” and “12 p.m.” with “midnight” and “noon” to avoid confusion. These are the only two time indicators spelled out in AP style. Time zone abbreviations such as EST or PST are acceptable in the first reference when relevant to the context. Ensure spacing between the time and the time zone.
AP Style Times Examples
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Philip Morris International
ExxonMobil
Titles
In AP-style press releases, title formatting directly influences perceived authority and clarity. Formal titles receive capitalization when they precede a name without punctuation. These include roles that carry institutional or executive authority such as president, governor, and dean. Informal or occupational labels such as teacher, director, or scientist remain lowercase in every position unless an organization officially defines them as formal.
Adjectives that indicate rank or temporary status, such as acting, former, or interim, remain lowercase and do not elevate the title’s formatting. Academic designations follow consistent rules. Terms that refer to grade levels, sophomore, junior, senior, freshman, stay lowercase, unless placed at the start of a sentence.
Department names and course subjects follow a similar rule. Use lowercase unless referencing a language or nationality. For acronyms representing titles, omit periods and follow the capitalization standard based on placement.
AP Style Titles Examples
Art Institute of Chicago
Macmillan Publishers
McDonald’s
Technological Terms
Precision in technological language strengthens clarity, authority, and accessibility in AP-style press releases. Writers must translate digital terminology into journalistically sound expressions while maintaining readability. Avoid niche jargon, replacing it with plain terms that resonate across industries. AP style treats common digital expressions as lowercase unless they begin a sentence or refer to branded, proper names.
Terms like “website,” “email,” “smartphone,” and “hashtag” remain lowercase and unhyphenated within the body of a release. Use a hyphen in compound nouns such as “e-book” and “e-reader” to preserve visual clarity and match AP’s evolving conventions. Capitalize names like “iPhone,” “iPad,” “Android,” and “BlackBerry” since they represent proprietary products.
Never abbreviate technical terms without first establishing the full phrase. Write “artificial intelligence” before “AI,” “virtual reality” before “VR,” and “augmented reality” before “AR.” Avoid formatting shortcuts like parentheses or quotation marks around acronyms. Avoid unnecessary capitalization of general concepts like “internet,” “web,” or “homepage.” Capitalization is reserved for the start of a sentence or for formal brand names.
A table containing key technological terms for an AP style press release is below.
| Normal Spelling | Start of Sentence Spelling |
| website | Website |
| web page | Web page |
| internet | Internet |
| hashtag | Hashtag |
| e-book | E-book |
| e-reader | E-reader |
| smartphone | Smartphone |
| hyperlink | Hyperlink |
| download | Download |
| online | Online |
| login | Login |
| logoff | Logoff |
| logon | Logon |
| webcast | Webcast |
| webmaster | Webmaster |
| home page | Home page |
| cyberspace | Cyberspace |
| database | Database |
| dot-com | Dot-com |
| DSL | DSL |
| intranet | Intranet |
| shareware | Shareware |
| virtual reality | Virtual reality |
| artificial intelligence | Artificial intelligence |
| information technology | Information technology |
AP Style Technological Terms Examples
Huawei
Microsoft
IBM
How to structure an AP press release?
To structure an AP press release, follow a precise format that aligns with journalistic standards and ensures clarity for newsroom editors. The structure reinforces consistency, factual delivery, and quick comprehension. Each section serves a distinct function and must appear in the correct sequence to meet Associated Press expectations.
Elements that form the structure of AP press releases are listed below.
- Headline
- Dateline
- Introductory Paragraph
- Body Text
- Boilerplate
- Media Contact Information
Headline
Write the headline of an AP-style press release to distill the news angle with precision and editorial weight. A press release headline frames the announcement in a format that speaks directly to newsrooms and aligns with journalistic standards. Capitalize significant words using title case, following the AP style guide. Avoid inflated language or vague references. Prioritize brevity without compromising clarity. Headlines should stay under 100 characters, focusing on strong nouns and active verbs to express urgency and relevance.
Anchor the headline in the press release’s central fact. Always write the headline last to reflect the finalized narrative. Press release headlines are not marketing slogans, they serve a functional editorial role, signaling what the story delivers while staying objective. A strong AP-style headline mirrors the professional tone of a newsroom bulletin and supports fast scanning across media wires, internal news dashboards, and editorial queues. Use present tense to describe current developments and future tense to announce upcoming events.
Avoid symbols, abbreviations, and unnecessary punctuation. Maintain balance between specificity and simplicity to ensure immediate comprehension at first glance.
Dateline
A dateline structures an AP press release by placing the location and timing of the announcement at the forefront of the first paragraph. It anchors the story to a geographic origin and a specific date, providing immediate context for journalists and readers. In AP style, the city name appears in all capital letters and is followed by the state, province, or country if the location is not globally recognized.
For globally recognized cities like New York or Tokyo, the city name appears alone. After the location, include the release date in the format “Month Day, Year.” This structure ensures clarity and credibility while complying with journalistic standards. Insert the dateline before the first sentence of the lead paragraph, using a comma between the city and state, then a second comma before the date. Do not include parentheses or unusual punctuation.
The dateline creates a timestamped footprint for the news, letting editors verify the freshness of the story and assess regional relevance.
Introductory Paragraph
The introductory paragraph of AP-style press releases anchors the entire communication. The first paragraph of a press release operates as the decisive point of entry for journalists scanning for relevance and editorial value. Every element in the paragraph must justify its presence. Write a lead that compresses the five Ws, which are who, what, when, where, and why, into one or two tightly constructed sentences. Prioritize the most newsworthy angle and place it at the start. Avoid vague setup language or chronological build-up.
The opening paragraph must demonstrate editorial clarity and immediacy from the first word. Use direct syntax and active verbs that convey urgency without sensationalism. This section serves as the benchmark for journalistic gatekeepers who evaluate whether a release aligns with their audience’s expectations and beats. Include only primary facts that support the central claim. Leave contextual background for the body.
The goal is to establish relevance and news value without distraction. In AP style press releases, the introductory paragraph delivers editorial substance, structured for fast decision-making and publication efficiency. It acts as an entry point and editorial filter. A well-written press release lead raises the probability of syndication, quotation, and newsroom pickup.
Body Text
The body text of an AP-style press release transforms the initial summary into a full, reportable narrative. It builds depth through a structured presentation of facts, prioritizing clarity, verification, and journalistic integrity. The inverted pyramid remains the core framework. It ensures editors access the most relevant content first while retaining the option to trim from the bottom without sacrificing meaning. This structure aligns with newsroom standards and increases pickup potential.
Paragraphs must maintain tight focus. Two to three sentences per block preserve rhythm and improve scannability across devices. Each paragraph must deliver new factual content. Use hard data, named entities, and time-bound developments to give the announcement tangible weight. Avoid transitional filler and eliminate redundancy through purposeful sequencing.
Every AP-style body section includes sourced commentary. Quotes humanize the announcement and validate its relevance. Attribute each quote using the speaker’s full name and role on first mention. Use “said” as the standard attribution verb and position it after the quotation. Quotes must contribute directly to the narrative, while the body’s language must stay direct and accessible.
Use third-person voice throughout to maintain neutrality and signal objective reporting. Eliminate brand-first phrasing and avoid sales language. Integrate context where necessary to help journalists grasp the announcement’s external relevance. Focus on outcomes, facts, and implications, not internal milestones. A fully developed AP-style body gives editors what they need to rewrite the story without seeking additional sources.
Boilerplate
A boilerplate structures an AP press release by offering a concise snapshot of the organization behind the announcement. Positioned at the end, it provides journalists and readers with essential context that supports the credibility of the news. The boilerplate presents objective facts about the company, including its core offerings, founding history, mission, and industry standing. This paragraph remains consistent across all releases to establish brand identity and informational continuity.
A well-crafted press release boilerplate outlines what the company does, who it serves, and why its work matters within the current market landscape. It signals professionalism, anchors the release in relevance, and provides quick access to background for reporters seeking clarity. A precise word count, around 100 words, ensures readability and prevents dilution of impact. Strong boilerplate content avoids marketing language, instead relying on verifiable facts such as founding dates, service scope, geographic footprint, recent achievements, and industry recognition.
A boilerplate acts as a foundational resource across public communications. Press releases, pitch decks, investor packets, and digital profiles often draw from this statement, making accuracy and clarity non-negotiable. Writers must update it regularly to reflect organizational changes and retain informational value. Within the AP style format, the boilerplate reinforces narrative authority and signals a complete, professional communication.
Media Contact Information
Media contact information anchors an AP-style press release with clarity and accessibility. Contact information provides journalists with a direct path to the source, increasing the likelihood of media coverage. Positioned at the top and repeated at the bottom, it frames the document with critical contact points that ensure seamless follow-up. A complete contact section includes the spokesperson’s full name, professional title, direct phone number, and monitored email address.
Avoid general inboxes and use specific, reliable credentials tied to the subject of the release. Keep formatting consistent across all releases to reinforce credibility and make retrieval effortless. Accuracy, brevity, and relevance drive impact. A precise contact section signals preparedness and positions the organization as media-ready, which directly supports the structure and function of a professional AP press release.
What is the Standard AP Style Font?
The standard AP Style font prioritizes clarity, readability, and consistency across formats. Times New Roman remains the most widely accepted choice for AP-style press releases, with Arial and Calibri as suitable alternatives. Font size for body text should remain between 10 and 12 points, while headlines typically appear larger, around 14 to 16 points. Writers must apply a single font family across the entire document to avoid visual dissonance.
What is an AP Style Heading?
An AP style heading uses title case and follows the Associated Press guidelines for journalistic clarity, hierarchy, and consistency. The heading capitalizes the first word, all major words, and proper nouns. Articles, coordinating conjunctions, and short prepositions remain lowercase unless they begin the heading. Verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs receive capitalization to highlight core message elements. Short function words like “on,” “to,” or “and” appear in lowercase to maintain typographic balance.
What is an AP Style Citation?
An AP style citation integrates source attribution directly into the body of a press release, ensuring clarity and transparency without the use of footnotes or bibliographies. AP style incorporates citations into the sentence structure, identifying the origin of information through phrasing like direct attribution, paraphrased reports, or quoted statements. Each AP style citation must clearly identify the source, whether it’s a named individual, an organization, a report, or a publication. AP style requires the writer to evaluate the importance of the source and adjust the placement of the citation for maximum clarity.
What is an AP Style Dateline?
An AP style dateline identifies the origin of a news release by stating the city, state or country, and the date at the beginning of the text. A press release dateline signals where the report was filed and when the information was confirmed. This dateline format gives immediate geographical and chronological context, which helps editors and readers assess the relevance and timeliness of the content. The dateline appears at the beginning of the press release, before the lead paragraph, acting as a factual timestamp.
How Do You Write the Money Symbol in AP Style?
The standard AP Style format uses the dollar sign ($) before numerals for amounts greater than one dollar and spells out the word “cents” for amounts less than a dollar.. AP style requires numerals for all monetary values. Use the dollar symbol directly followed by the amount without spacing. For amounts under $1, spell out the word “cents” after the numeral. Avoid using .00 for whole dollar amounts; write $10, not $10.00. For values in the millions or higher, write the numeral followed by the word “million,” “billion,” or “trillion” as lowercase terms with no hyphens.
How to Refer to Pounds Currency in AP Style?
AP style represents pounds currency with clear and consistent formatting that prioritizes clarity and precision. The pound symbol (£) precedes the numeric value without a space, ensuring the amount remains visually compact and identifiable as a monetary figure. For values under one pound, use “p” to denote pence, always placed after the numeral without punctuation. Use figures for all money references, including those over a million, unless stylistic constraints require a worded form.
What is the AP Stylebook?
The AP Stylebook is the definitive guide for journalistic writing, setting clear standards for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage across newsrooms and professional communication. Published by the Associated Press, the stylebook ensures consistency in language across news articles, press releases, and media content. The Stylebook provides precise rules for capitalization, abbreviation, and number formatting. The digital edition receives continual updates to reflect linguistic evolution, emerging topics, and industry feedback.
When to Capitalize Job Titles in an AP Style Press Release?
Capitalize job titles in an AP style press release when they appear directly before a person’s name without a comma. This treatment of job titles signals a formal designation and aligns with AP style’s emphasis on clarity and authority. Use lowercase for titles that follow a name, appear as appositives after commas, or stand alone in the narrative. Avoid capitalizing job titles used in general descriptions. Context determines treatment.
Should I Capitalize Job Titles?
Capitalize job titles when they come directly before a person’s name and serve as a formal designation. This rule distinguishes official titles from descriptive phrases. Write “Chief Operating Officer James Lee” to indicate a formal role. Lowercase the same title if it follows a name or appears independently, as in “James Lee, chief operating officer” or “the chief operating officer said.”
Do you Capitalise Job Titles?
In AP style, capitalize job titles when they function as part of a proper noun before a name and represent an official capacity. Avoid capitalizing occupational or job descriptors that are not formal titles. Terms like “engineer,” “accountant,” or “spokesperson” stay lowercase unless they meet the formal title criteria. AP style treats job references as context-sensitive; capitalization reflects structure and hierarchy, not prestige. Writers should analyze sentence function, not status, before applying capitals.
Is Chef Capitalized According to AP Style guidelines?
In AP style, “chef” is not capitalized unless it functions as a formal title directly before a person’s name. When it follows a name, appears on its own, or serves as a general descriptor, it remains lowercase. The rule applies regardless of prestige or recognition associated with the role. “Chef” holds the same grammatical weight as other professional designations like “teacher,” “editor,” or “coach” in AP formatting. For example, capitalize “Chef Michael Williams” when used as a title preceding the name without a comma.
Should Pastor Be Capitalized?
In AP style, the word Pastor is capitalized only when it functions as a formal title directly before a person’s name. If it appears after the name, stands alone, or is used descriptively, it remains lowercase. For example, write “Pastor Daniel Green” when the title introduces the individual. However, when referring to “Daniel Green, pastor of Grace Church,” or simply “the pastor,” the lowercase form applies. Though pastor is a religious title, it does not qualify for automatic capitalization like the Pope or the Queen.
Do You Cite a Press Release in APA?
Yes, you cite a press release in APA style when referencing it in academic or professional writing. APA 7th edition requires a structured format that attributes the issuing organization as the author, specifies the release date, italicizes the full title followed by “[Press release]” in brackets, and includes the source URL. APA treats organizations as authors when no individual is listed. Include the complete release date in the citation and avoid duplicating the publisher if it matches the author.
Is Associated Press Free?
The Associated Press offers limited free access to its content, but full services require a paid subscription. Individuals read breaking news, view photos, and watch videos at no cost through the AP News website and mobile app. This public-facing content includes current headlines and general reporting designed for broad consumption. It serves as an accessible entry point to AP journalism but does not include the depth, breadth, or customization available to paying clients.
