This week, a few more highlights from the recent revisions in The Times's stylebook.
With the integration of our global editions as The International New York Times, it's important for writers and editors in New York and elsewhere to be mindful of our growing global audience. This doesn't mean we are trying to homogenize our writing or disguise its origins. But in stories of international interest, writers might think twice about American-centric expressions - for example, sports metaphors like “the length of three football fields†or “a slam-dunk.†More broadly, we should consider whether international examples or voices might broaden the appeal of a particular story. The Times's audience includes plenty of educated readers in Tokyo, Brussels and Rio, not just in New York or Houston.
With that in mind, we added this stylebook entry on currencies, allowing wider use of currency symbols when appropriate:
currencies. Amounts in American dollars should use the dollar symbol: $20 billion; $10. For euros, yen and British pounds, spell out the names on first reference in an article: 100 billion euros. If there are additional references to amounts, the appropriate symbol may be used as long as the reference is clear: "20 billion; Â¥100 million; £10,000. Also provide a dollar equivalent at least once, at the latest exchange rate. When a foreign sum is given in round numbers, round the conversion as well, especially if the details are immaterial. Do not use symbols for any other currencies; spell out the names, including for foreign dollars: 100 Canadian dollars.
We are encouraging more Celsius conversions for stories of interest internationally:
temperatures. Fahrenheit readings are the norm for casual or passing references, and in weather stories aimed largely at American readers. But if a story referring to temperatures is likely to be of interest to international readers, provide a Celsius equivalent at least once. Examples might include news of a European heat wave or reports on climate change and other scientific topics. Use an online conversion tool to avoid arithmetic errors, but do not give a converted figure that is more precise than the original: For 75 degrees Fahrenheit, the equivalent is 24 degrees Celsius, not 23.89 degrees Celsius.
We should also consider including metric equivalents for measurements in stories likely to attract a large international audience. In our reports about the typhoon in the Philippines, for instance, we had many references to wind speeds of 140 or 190 miles an hour; Asian readers would no doubt have welcomed a metric reference, too.
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What Things Are Worth
We added this new entry about adjusting for inflation, particularly when reporting on “record†sums:
inflation. Adjusting for inflation is crucial in providing accurate comparisons for dollar figures across time; failing to do so can be seriously misleading. In particular, avoid describing a sum of money as a record or the largest ever unless the superlative is true after inflation is taken into account. So, for example, a baseball player's new contract should not be described as the largest ever unless that is true after adjusting for inflation. Other common examples include government budget figures, box-office totals, legal settlements and merger deals.
When appropriate, use a less sweeping description like one of the largest ever or the largest in two decades.
This is not statistical quibbling. It is simply not accurate to say that $1,000 in 2013 dollars is worth more than, for example, $900 in 1960 dollars; the opposite is true ($1,000 in 2013 is equivalent to about $127 in 1960 dollars). The Bureau of Labor Statistics' online inflation calculator provides easy comparisons.
This entry is part of a larger effort to improve the way we deal with numbers, both in financial stories and in other contexts. More recommendations will follow.
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In a Word
This week's grab bag of grammar, style and other missteps, compiled with help from colleagues and readers.
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Critics of the Benghazi report have accused Ms. Logan and her producers of having a conservative bias; as evidence, some have pointed to an Oct. 2012 speech by Ms. Logan that called in passionate terms for American revenge after the Benghazi attack.
Abbreviate the month only when it is followed by the date; otherwise, spell out: “October 2012.â€
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Studies have suggested that, on average, twins fair less well when the pregnancy is allowed to continue to full term.
Fare, not fair, of course.
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But there are reportedly about 300 players in the academy in a given year, and less than 10 percent typically make the first team.
Referring to a number of players (rather than an amount), make it “fewer than.â€
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The runoff was the first of what is likely to be many battles to come over the direction of the party, and it proved, to the relief of many in the Republican leadership, that a strong showing by the establishment can win tough races.
“What†refers to “many battles,†so it needs a plural verb. Also, delete “to come,†since the many battles include the one just past as well as those in the future.
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James W. Giddens, the trustee unwinding MF Global's brokerage unit, recovered large swathes of the money and gradually disbursed it to clients.
The preferred spelling is “swath.†In any case, the word, which means a strip, seems odd in this context.
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As a Jew living in occupied Paris during World War II, her life was circumscribed: There was a yellow Star of David sewn onto her clothes, cinemas and parks were off limits, and she had to submit to an 8 p.m. curfew.
A dangler; the phrase “as a Jew†describes her, not “her life.†Rephrase.
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Not too long after his first recordings, made at 16 with a doo-wop band in Freeport, N.Y., Mr. Reed started singing outside of the song's melody, as if he were giving a speech with a fluctuating drone in a New York accent.
Avoid such double prepositions; there's no need for “of†here.
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New York City has violated the rights of about 900,000 of its residents with disabilities by failing to accommodate for their needs during emergencies, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.
“Accommodate†is a transitive verb that takes a direct object; there's no need for “for†here.
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Her genesis began more mundanely, in a conversation between Sana Amanat and Steve Wacker, two editors at Marvel. “I was telling him some crazy anecdote about my childhood, growing up as a Muslim-American,†Ms. Amanat said.
No hyphen with a religious description like this. From the stylebook:
(-)American. Hyphenate Italian-American, Japanese-American, Irish-American, Polish-American, Asian-American and similar phrases denoting foreign heritage. Though some idioms (like Korean grocery and Irish Catholic) seem entrenched in the language, many members of such groups demand the addition of -American to acknowledge their full membership in this society. Usage does not call for the hyphen in religious references like Jewish American or in French Canadian, English Canadian or Latin American.
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Did the she have pancreatitis? It didn't really fit. And the CT scan was even more concerning.
“Concerning†means “relating to.†It shouldn't be used to mean “worrisome†or “a cause for concern.â€
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[Subheading] The Ownership of Chagalls, Matisses and Other Works Lost During World War II Are in Question
The ownership “is†in question, not are.
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[Headline] Knicks' Chandler Out With Nondisplaced Fracture
This sort of medical jargon seems out of place in a headline.
