The style of writing guided by the Associated Press in the Associated Press Stylebook, used by newspapers. Contrast Chicago Style. The stylebook was first compiles in 1975 as a way to help writers create consistency in their writing and make reading easier. The stylebook often includes information on libel or other media law issues that reporters need to know.
AP Style includes some counter-grammarian rules such as: no comma preceding "and" or "or" in a list of three or more items. e.g., We had apples, oranges, bananas and mangos.
AP Style also includes some things that many would argue are not PC (politically correct) such as its advice to use American Indian in reference to the native peoples of the land which is now known as the United States.
The stylebook is organized much like a dictionary, with bold keywords followed by a concise explanation as and when necessary. Some words have no explanation, which usually means that those words are often spelled incorrectly.
When something is not in the stylebook, the stylebook suggests relying upon Webster's New World dictionary.