Sue Lani Madsen: It’s perception vs. reality when it comes to AP Style’s rules for journalism

Words matter, emphasized the presenters at the Associated Press workshop. They’re right. Their words collected in the AP Stylebook are responsible for shaping our perception of reality and pushing mainstream coverage of the culture wars to the left.

The Associated Press is still the style-setter on capitalization and punctuation, but has lost its long-time reputation for journalistic neutrality. According to the independent AllSides Media Bias Rating trademark process, the AP now “Leans Left” based on blind reviews of content published over the last six years.

That last sentence would be frowned upon by strict interpreters of the AP Stylebook. Using “blind” as a simple descriptive term is out. Warnings should no longer be said to fall on deaf ears and turning a blind eye to bad behavior is potentially offensive. Writers are directed to find alternative phrasing.

Perhaps this instead: The AP now “Leans Left” based on reviews of content published over the last six years, performed by people who were not told whose work they were reading so their biases would not cloud their judgment.

Headlines signal the bias of media content, creating that gut-level reaction we now call clickbait. A responsible headline is supposed to reflect the writer’s emphasis and set the tone for what follows. Left-leaning content produces left-leaning headlines.

Here’s a headline you didn’t see in mainstream media last spring: “Nebraska adopts European-style approach to abortion, gender care for minors.”

It accurately describes the actions of the Nebraska Legislature. Twelve weeks is the limit for abortion on demand in most countries in Europe. Four European countries have already backed off from irreversible chemical and surgical treatments as part of so-called gender-affirming care for minors as the scientific understanding matures.

But it wouldn’t reflect the tone of the Washington Post article, which did not provide readers with a larger context.

The actual headline in this newspaper on May 19, 2023 was: “Nebraska passes bans on abortion after 12 weeks and gender-affirming care for minors.” Accurate, because the article leaned left.

The piece by Washington Post writer Molly Hennessy-Fiske invested equal column space to providing a competent recap of the basic facts and to generously quoting opponents of the bill, but only a superficial swipe at articulating the position of the legislative majority. It reflects the AllSides rated “Leans Left” slant of the Washington Post.

This leftward tilt in mainstream media limits productive public debate on tough issues of abortion and sexuality. It affects writing by local journalists working for traditional media, as well as stories pulled from the AP news feed. And it feeds our political polarization in the culture wars.

American opinions on abortion are nuanced, recognizing the potential conflicts between a new life in the womb and the mother’s autonomy. According to a 2018 Gallup poll, a solid majority of Americans favor some limits on abortion, particularly after the first 12 weeks. Yet the AP Stylebook presents journalists with a binary choice of terms: anti-abortion or abortion-rights. Controlling the words is a barrier to having pro-life discussions focused on how society should support women with better choices instead of desperate choices.

In contrast to the binary on abortion, AP stylists have embraced the infinite spectrum of gender ideology. “Avoid references to a transgender person being born a boy or girl, or phrasing like birth gender. Sex assigned at birth is the accurate terminology,” says the AP Stylebook, citing “experts say” as justification. Puberty blockers are fully reversible says the AP Stylebook, dismissing studies to the contrary as discredited. Confusingly, the AP Stylebook also suggests avoiding the term biological sex as redundant “because sex is inherently biological.”

Board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist Dr. Miriam Grossman, testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said “to claim that sex is assigned at birth is without any scientific basis” and misleads children into thinking male and female are arbitrary distinctions. “The U.S. is increasingly an outlier in the treatment of youth with gender dysphoria” according to Dr. Grossman, based on systematic reviews of data on hormonal interventions. She cited the growing movement in Europe to ban such gender care for minors.

With 40 years experience treating patients with gender dysphoria, Dr. Grossman is convincing when she says, “Sex is established at conception and recognized at birth.” And to the Americans who identify a woman as an adult human female, defining sex based on biology is commonsense and saying a male is a woman is preposterous. The befuddling style promoted by the AP is part of the reason news consumers search out the alternative media that exasperates mainstream journalists.

To quote from the AP’s own workshop: “As in all news writing, clarity is paramount.” Unfortunately, the AP is contributing to the fog of war instead of supporting clear-eyed reporting.

Contact Sue Lani Madsen at rulingpen@gmail.com.