America is too politically correct. At least that’s what 57% of adults polled by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist in late March 2024 said.
The conversation around changing language is so often a politically charged one—perhaps unsurprisingly when considering that powerful institutions like governments have a habit of weaponizing language to suppress groups and individuals.
Opponents of language “policing” argue society is too sensitive and that people shouldn’t have to worry about constantly being publicly shamed or “canceled,” while advocates, like the American Psychological Association’s Chief Diversity Officer Maysa Akbar, say using culturally sensitive language elevates the voices of marginalized people whose perspectives have historically been ignored to detrimental levels (i.e., institutional racism).
For the average person, choosing to use thoughtful language means showing respect to those around them, but the words journalists use in their reporting hold much more weight.
Thanks to our far-reaching distribution network, Stacker stories are read by hundreds of thousands of people across the country. The words we write should reflect that responsibility. Sensitive and inclusive reporting requires staying abreast of broader conversations about shifting language while creating space for and encouraging open discussions in the newsroom.
Listening to the people we’re writing about is paramount in driving our decisions about which words to use in Stacker stories. This may involve asking sources how they prefer to be described or looking to industry resources for inclusive language guidance. Keep in mind that people can be unique in their preferences. One person may favor person-first language while another might feel identity-first language serves them more.
Being thoughtful about language often also leads to more accuracy. It’s not uncommon for a word to be problematic because it lacks specificity—the APA’s Inclusive Language Guide references guidance from the Indigenous Journalist Association (formerly the Native American Journalists Association) that suggests using a phrase like “Native American group” instead of the specific Indigenous group is “inaccurate and unfair, undermines diversity, and erases identity.”
Take time to understand the origin and context of a turn of phrase or a word in question. Some phrases have racist or otherwise offensive roots—that is enough reason to choose a more inclusive, appropriate alternative. Words and phrases reflect the time they developed, and it’s okay when we reach a point where we have better options.
Stacker story example: “Native teens are facing a mental health crisis—here's what's behind the numbers”
Newsrooms must be open to these discussions, pushing past any perceived awkwardness. At Stacker, we regularly ask our colleagues for their thoughts and advice on language. We’ve made efforts to make this commonplace with things like working groups, detailed handbook guidance, and Slack channels specifically for conversations about language (e.g., #race-related-coverage-conversations and #gendered-language).
If someone asks a question, people from all corners of the newsroom are willing to contribute insights, which leads to constructive discussions and intentional decision-making.
Stacker story example: “Queer doulas make childbirth safer for Black, brown, and LGBTQ+ people, but barriers remain”
Make sure your conversations and the resulting decisions are reflected in your style guide right away. Stacker’s handbook is a living document that gets edited in real time—I find myself making changes or additions several times a month.
We also give real-time feedback to our writers and editors (both in-house staff and freelancers) that helps add context to why we made an edit, the benefits of which we hope will reverberate beyond Stacker’s newsroom.
While Stacker’s style heavily relies on the Associated Press Stylebook, we’ve found that AP can sometimes be slow to make updates. Given how quickly language evolves, we often look elsewhere for advice on language sensitivities when reporting on people rather than waiting for AP's guidance to catch up.
For National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11) and International Pronouns Day (Oct. 16) and beyond, I want to share some of the resources Stacker uses for advice on writing about the LGBTQ+ community.
Stacker is also lucky to have had a volunteer working group—led by current staff members Sneha Menon and Jaimie Etkin, as well as past staff members Eliza Siegel and Emilia Ruzicka—spend months researching and building a comprehensive guide to gender-inclusive reporting, which our newsroom looks to often.
Here are a few pieces of guidance from our handbook that may be helpful for your newsroom throughout the year:
Stacker Connect partners stay current on language and research alike, as you will see in such stories as The 19th’s “New studies show how Black LGBTQ+ youth navigate discrimination. Advocates are mapping out ways to help.”
As social change organization Fenton notes in its “People & Identity Style Guide,” the words we choose “affect not only the people who hear us speak or see our writing, but shape our perceptions of others and our society.”
If you have thoughts on how Stacker can be more inclusive in our coverage, please reach out to your partner success manager.
Kristen Wegrzyn is Stacker’s copy chief. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Illinois State University and a master’s in magazine publishing at Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Featured Image Credit: Photo Illustration by Stacker // Canva