Why we do what we do – AP Style

This is a great post on Associated Press (AP) Style and its quirky abbreviations of states (Calif., not CA) and rules about capitalizing a person’s title before the name but not after the name.  New media is forcing changes to AP style, and many writers ignore them anyway.  I like having a standard, but do ignore the guideline on abbreviations of organization’s names.  The style book says, “Do not follow an organization’s full name with an abbreviation or acronym in parenthesis or set off by dashes.  If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference without this arrangement, do not use it.”  So this is wrong:  Public Agency Risk Manager’s Association (PARMA).  If using PARMA in the next reference isn’t easily understood, we should spell out the whole name again.  Maybe I’ll start following the rule.