So, I don't want to sound mean or anything, but you know those free newspapers you find in hotel lobbies? They stink. I understand that they're free and all, but since there are ads in the paper, The Broad Ripple Gazette has to be getting some kind of money. I suggest they put in hiring copy editors, since some of the writing is atrocious. Actually, most of the writing is pretty terrible. I doubt copy editors will be able to salvage much of the writing, but they can catch several easy mistakes that would make the newspaper easier to tolerate.

For example, all the reported stories in Indianapolis' Broad Ripple Gazette begin with stating the date. "On Saturday, February 21, an  open house was held..." "On Friday, March 6, from 5 pm to 10 pm the Robert Kennington American Legion Post #34..." you get the picture. 

If they spent $10 on an Associated Press Style Book, they'd prevent a ton of mistakes (the proper way of writing p.m. and a.m. would be one of them).

It sounds like I'm being a smart ***/a**/a _ _/[posterior], but I'm actually quite serious. I understand that the Ripple is probably not trying to win the Pulitzer or anything, but if they want to be a down-home newspaper, trying to use proper grammar might be nice. 

Alright, enough Broad bashing. 

I now turn my attention to the AP Stylebook. It's actually quite interesting. I don't read it nearly as much as I should, but I appreciate it more than just about any other book I own. I don't think it should be limited to journalism, since it's essentially a way of making information as clean, clear and under control as possible. Why shouldn't it be used everywhere? 

Also, since journalists are arguably the most widely read writers in the world (day-to-day), isn't that reason enough to use their style of language? Since it's what we are most familiar with, we arguably understand that style of writing the best. And if it's the most common style we know, why shouldn't everyone be familiar with its dictionary, the AP Stylebook?

It'd never hurt for high school kids to buy a stylebook, since it's less intimidating than slabbing a dictionary in front of them. In fact, it's more likely to help stick various grammar or other terms in their brains than anything else.

And it's easy to use AND accessible. Which is why the Broad Ripple Gazette has no excuse.