In a memo to staffers today, the Associated Press clarified its stance on the term “illegal immigrant.” Tom Kent, deputy managing editor for standards and production, stressed that the AP doesn’t insist on using the term and said, in some cases, it’s not accurate.
The memo, AP Spokesman Paul Colford said by email, is in response to recent concerns about the AP’s use of the term, which many consider to be dehumanizing and inaccurate. At the Online News Association conference last month, activist Jose Antonio Vargas challenged news organizations to stop using the term, and said his first targets would be The New York Times and the AP.
“We’ve heard from many who echoed Jose Antonio Vargas’ concerns, as Tom indicates. So he’s using this forum — this standards-focused memo that he writes from time to time — to address the matter in greater detail to staff, just as we responded to outside media after Vargas’ ONA address,” Colford said via email, noting that the AP has gotten “periodic inquiries on ‘illegal immigrant’ for years.”
AP memo clarifies how to use the phrase ‘illegal immigrant’ | Poynter.
AP’s memo on Friday, which you can read on Poynter, is the latest contribution to an ongoing conversation about the use of the term “illegal immigrant”. Jose Antonio Vargas started the conversation during his keynote address at ONA12. Video of his keynote address is available on the ONA12 site. Margaret Sullivan, public editor for the New York Times, responded, stating the position of the New York Times publicly and opening the discussion for reader comments.
(Source: poynter.org)
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