AP Shares with NABJ Guidance Sent to Staff to Address Inequities in Age, Race Reporting

After issuing a statement Monday about the unconscious bias made apparent in the reporting of the shooting in Buffalo, the Associated Press (AP) contacted the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) this morning to share the following guidance sent to its staff yesterday.

The guidance encourages journalists to be consistent in their reporting when describing age no matter the person’s race. We applaud the AP for making a swift effort to correct the irregularities we have seen in how Black and white suspects and victims are described differently in reporting.

AP Guidance:

teen vs. man or woman: We use the terms man or woman for those 18 and older. It is important to be consistent in how we describe people of similar ages. The news media in general has been justifiably criticized for sometimes using man/woman to describe a Black 18-year-old, but teen for a white 18-year-old. The 18-year-old can also work for a person of that age of any race. Again, be consistent.

View our previous statement here or below.

Media Contact: press@nabj.org

NABJ Disturbed by Unconscious Bias Displayed in Buffalo Shooting Coverage