BobT, in the thread http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=40861, mentioned that AP and New York Times styles differ. I didn’t know that.
My question: How do they differ? Also, why do they differ? I worked for two local papers at home, and I always ran on the assumption that the AP stylebook was the final say on all things journalistic. Enlightenment, please?
Why does the New York Times differ from Associated Press Style? Because it’s the New York Damn Times!
Just a WAG, but as the generally-recognized best paper in America, the Times doesn’t likely feel the need to conform to anybody else’s standards. This is the same paper, remember, that started running color photographs on the front page only about three or four years ago. They are an old school newspaper and darn proud of it.
As for specific variations from AP, I can think of only two offhand and don’t have a NYT copy lying around to look for others:
The use of Mr.: AP style calls for the use of only a last name on second reference. The Times insists on Mr. Arafat and Mr. Clinton.
All capitalized headlines: Since a headline is a complete sentence, most papers realized years ago (and the AP formalized, I’m pretty sure) that a headline needn’t be all capped like a magazine or book title. But The Times Still Does It Their Old-Fashioned Way. Looks dumb to me, but they’re not alone. The Washington Post, for example, also caps the entire headline
You want an old fashioned newspaper style that’s still in use? Try the Wall Street Journal.
Headlines?
What headlines?
You’d still think we’re laying column type by hand.