CP looking to update language and terms used for marginalized groups

The Canadian Press is mulling over possible updates to its stylebook related to terms and language used for marginalized groups, including the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities and Indigenous people.

There’s very real potential that changes to the CP stylebook will have a positive impact. Updates to CP style could help make journalism more inclusive and reflective of society. Inclusive language could also help those who don’t see themselves reflected in the media be better represented in the stories they read in newspapers.

The CP stylebook outlines writing and language rules used in all Canadian Press stories, including rules around titles, names, capitalization, dates and numbers. According to CP’s editor-in-chief Stephen Meurice, the news organization will be discussing what sort of changes to make for the next edition of the guide, expected to be released next year.

This is important because the power of language is undeniable. Style guides, like dictionaries, should reflect changes in society; when things become normalized and accepted in language, that says a lot about how they are accepted in society in general.

Nuances are important, too. Capitalization of the words “Indigenous” or “Aboriginal” isn’t in the CP stylebook, since CP style uses capitalization for names and titles only, but should it be? Other newsrooms and organizations are changing their own styles and capitalizing terms that refer to cultural and racial identities. One small update like this would be significant because identity isn’t just like any old adjective.

Read TVO’s article on why TVO.org writers now capitalize words such as Indigenous and Black.

Small changes towards more inclusive language is a big deal, particularly with the Canadian Press. While some newsrooms are making changes to things like capitalizing identity words, others are sticking with CP style, which is very popular in Canadian media.

The Canadian Press newswire, a service that provides stories and content to other new organizations, is also used for copy in newspapers big and small all over Canada. Any modifications to CP style would reach readers from coast to coast to coast.

Journalism students across the country, too, use the CP stylebook as a learning tool before heading into the world of journalism after they graduate, and often need to keep the book as reference material in the workforce. There’s little doubt that what they learn over the course of their degrees affects how they conduct themselves as journalists, what questions they ask and how they frame and write stories. Language matters.  

Just think, for example, if CP recognizes the “they” pronoun in the style guide for people who identify as genderfluid or gender-neutral, or adopts more flexible ways to approach preferred pronouns. This would become the norm in CP stories, but also in newsrooms where journalists, editors, copywriters and publishers alike may not yet grasp why being sensitive to someone’s preferred pronoun is important. And just think about what kind of impact that could have on the way much of Canada, parts of the country that aren’t aware of things like gender fluidity, sees gender and identity.

Meurice spoke on a panel at Ryerson University and said that clarity will be important when making any adjustments; CP has to keep readers in mind and recognize that not all audiences will understand big changes in language and terms.

Hopefully the organization will strike the right balance between clarity and positive change.

Find out more on the Ryerson Journalism Research Centre website.