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Last Seven Days

Question from Washington, District of Columbia, on April 14, 2026

Should you use a period at the end of a sub-headline in a press release? 

Answer

No periods at the end of subheads. 

Question from Storrs Mansfield, Connecticut, on April 14, 2026

Hi, you have two contradicting pieces of advice for whether, in bulleted lists, to put a period at the end of each bullet when they complete a sentence started by an introductory phrase. Example: 

I traveled to: 
- Germany
- India
- Mozambique

In this 2023 Ask-the-Editor, you say to use the period: https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/45496?sconvid=7304

In this 2025 Ask-the-Editor, you say to skip the period, but say you will have your team reconsider the issue:
https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/50220?sconvid=7304

Can you please provide conclusive guidance, and update/make explicit the guidance in the bulleted list entry (https://apstylebook.com/ap_stylebook/lists-bulleted-lists)

Answer

We updated our bulleted list guidance in April 2024, which is the reason for the disparity. However, we are reconsidering. I'll make a note to come back to your question and update. We also should delete the 2023 answer. Thanks for pointing out! 

Question from Fort Meade, Maryland, on April 14, 2026

If a person's name is withheld due to privacy concerns, age, etc. is there a specific rule about when in the story the reason for the anonymity is addressed? Ex: The subject of the lead is a "15-year-old girl." My instinct would be to explain why her name is not being released in the second paragraph in order to address the omission promptly without cluttering the lead. But I am curious to know if this is a prescribed rule or simply a judgement call?

Thank you in advance!

Answer

I would not put it in the lead. The second or third graf would be fine, although it's definitely a judgment call. At the AP, the language we use is: "The Associated Press does not typically identify youths/children who are accused of/victims of a crime. (The "typically" is there because there are cases where a young person is an advocate, for instance, where we might use a name. But even in those cases, we ask them and their parents, if possible.)

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