Language

A Style Guide Focused on Dignity and Precision
MacArthur Foundation – Grantee Research
May 24, 2019
With the specific intention of promoting dignity and precision in journalism, the new Global Press Style Guide establishes guidelines for referring to people and places around the world. The guide focuses on accurate word use and suggests eliminating words like “ethnic”, “millennial”, “Global South”, which are inconsistently applied, misleading, or politically charged, in favor of more precise description. A MacArthur grantee, the Global Press Institute exists to create a more just and informed world by training and then employing local journalists to produce ethical, accurate news coverage from the world’s least-covered places.

Example from the online Global Press Style Guide
asylum seeker/asylee
Rule:
Use the term asylum seeker to refer to someone who has formally applied for asylum in a foreign country. Use the term asylee to refer to someone who has received admittance into a foreign country. There are no globally-applied standards used to grant asylum. Both terms should be used in accordance with local laws in countries relevant to a story’s news value.
Note that these terms are not interchangeable with refugee or related words. Add context, including sociopolitical realities in a source’s home country and in the country where that source seeks asylum.
Rationale:
Terms related to asylum are often misapplied. Precise, context-rich references are required for accuracy and reader clarity.
SEE ALSO: internally displaced person, refugee