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Guidance: Don't Use Candidates' First Names Or Nicknames In Later References

By Mark Memmott

Published March 14, 2019 at 9:56 AM EDT

With former Rep. Beto O'Rourke entering the presidential race this is a good time to remind everyone about our policy on subsequent references to people in our news reports.

He, for example, is "O'Rourke" — not "Beto" — in later references. Just as Sen. Bernie Sanders is "Sanders," not "Bernie." And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is "Ocasio-Cortez," not "AOC."

We issued the same guidance in 2014, when Hillary Clinton was a likely presidential contender. As we said then, "it's a matter of respect ... and we don't want to be perceived as being either for or against someone because of the way we refer to him or her. Everyone is treated the same."

Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

See stories by Mark Memmott