What's In A Name?

I've always wondered when and why the Chronicle stopped capitalizing "Tea Party".  So I did a little research and discovered that the Chron and numerous other media outlets stopped capitalizing at the same time the AP did in 2010, from which I assume that most took their cue from the AP.  The AP Stylebook rationalized their decision in 2010 by claiming that the Tea Party is a "movement", not an organization, and that they might consider capitalizing the term if and when the Tea Parties band together and "form a national entity".

 

How nice of them.

 

This rationale deserves some serious scrutiny.  Hundreds of newspapers, news services and magazines do capitalize the term, and the recurring explanation as to why is that the Tea Party is an organization, or at least enough of one to deserve not being confused with the mundane practice of serving tea.  This common sense approach apparently doesn't resonate with the AP, but it is interesting to note that the diminution they exercise is applied to the conservative Tea Party and the Tea Party alone.  It's also interesting to note that virtually all conservative-leaning media organizations - such as the Washington Times - capitalize Tea Party, while the bulk of liberal-leaning ones - such as the Washington Post - do not.  There are also a number of liberal-leaning exceptions that capitalize, such as the New York Times.

 

The AP's decision is a strange one to apply to what is arguably the most significant and newsworthy development in American politics in at least 50 years: a spontaneous grass-roots political movement with a coherent philosophy that actually influences elections.  Agree with the Tea Party or not, there's no denying their legitimacy.

 

Not that the AP isn't going to try.  It's liberal bias is well-documented, with the bulk of their stories about conservative organizations like the Tea Party negative in tone, as are their references to the Tea Party in related stories.  And while it is true that media outlets like the NY Times are as hard on conservatism as the AP, they at least are fair-minded enough to argue their point based on substance, as opposed to "style".

 

I believe the Chronicle should do likewise.

 

Pete Smith

Cypress