ATTN Journalists: Her name is CLINTON.

[Stephanie]

I'm tired of journalists indulging the former first lady by referring to her in headlines and news stories as "Hillary." While she has chosen to use her first name as her brand name, it goes against the rules of journalism to indulge her in this choice. It gives her an unfair advantage, and I really wonder why journalists have not been called out on this practice.

What if the headlines read like this:

John To Deliver Keynote Address At New England College

Barack: 'You don't run for second'

Bill content to start slow in White House race

Dennis: Bush's approach to Iran raises questions about impeachment

Doesn't that make these guys seem more approachable, more familiar, more like your buddy? (real Yahoo News headlines, only the names were edited by me.)

The AP Stylebook rule is:

• The first time you use a person's name, you use the full name and usually some kind of identification.
  
  
• The second and subsequent times you use a person's name you just use the person's last name: male or female, child or adult.

And yet we consistently see stories like this one, from today's Washington Post, where Clnton is referred to as "Hillary" in the headline, "Hillary Clinton" in the first paragraph, then "Hillary" throughout the rest of the piece.

Hillary & the Military

So while I agree with the threads asking that we stop calling her a "corporate whore" (how about "corporate sell-out"?), it's time we look at the flip side of the issue and start calling this adult woman, running in a field of adult candidates, by her surname, like everyone else. Fair's fair.

[johncoby2]

1. Who cares?

[John Q. Citizen]

7. Yeah, who cares about framing? (apparently Hillary does, but no one else should?)

I care.

You don't.

I can live with that.

[Stephanie]

35. Thank you for getting the point.

:hi:

[John Q. Citizen]

47. When certain writers start adding Rodham to her name in reports,

you can bet that suddenly those who currently claim not to care at all about framing, will.

They'd be remiss not to.

[bryant69]

2. i don't know if it's a definite advantage

I think it's a way of underlining the fact that she is a woman, and putting her in her place. That said it's so pervasive I find myself doing it at my blog regularly. I try to correct myself, but know I don't always catch it.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[ElizabethDC]

3. Her campaign info calls her Hillary

just like Jeb Bush is often referred to as "Jeb" to differentiate himself from other Bushes.

[Stephanie]

6. I'm well aware of that.

I'm saying it's improper for journalists to go along with it.

[ElizabethDC]

12. I really think it's just a differentiation issue

I don't think there's any advantage to it, regardless.

[YDogg]

4. Clinton. Bill or Hillary?

Maybe they are avoiding confusing the masses.

[Benhurst]

Not just the masses, any of us. I still think of Bill when I see Clinton

used in a headline, and as often as not it is.

Jeb, God forbid he ever run, will have the same problem, and my guess is he will run as "Jeb," not "Bush" if he does so.

[SusanaMontana41]

45. That is exactly it

I'm a newspaper editor and write headlines every day. If I say Clinton in a headline, I have to include a first name because people won't know which Clinton the story is about. If the hed says "Hillary," everyone knows. Nothing more than that, at least with me. It's a space issue. Believe me, nobody I work with doubts my liberalism. My right-wing boss sees "liberal" behind every story, headline or photo choice I make. Wish that weren't the case.

BTW, AP style doesn't govern headlines. Papers can have their own style guides and most do, and their guides may or may not follow AP style.

My $.02.

:hi:

[Tesha]

53. That's my impression. "Clinton" Which one??? (NT)

[yardwork]

5. It's better than "Mrs. Clinton," which is Faux News's appellation for her

[WinkyDink]

21. She should be SENATOR Clinton. FOX is so puerile, it's risible.

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

39. Actually its perfectly acceptable

Funny, Freepers were harping about the same thing when news organizations say Mr. Bush. These are perfectly acceptable forms of referring to a sitting Senator or President.

[spooky3]

62. It is acceptable only if the usage is consistent.

Inconsistencies that make is unacceptable:

Calling male office holders "Senator X" or "Governor Y" but calling her Mrs. Clinton.

Calling Republican office holders "Senator X" or "Governor Y" but calling Democrats "Mr. A" or "Ms./Miss/Mrs. B". I remember many outlets in 2004 referring to "the President and John Kerry" or "President Bush and Mr. Kerry" when they should have said Pres. Bush and Sen. Kerry. It is a less than subtle way to imply your candidate is qualified and has high status, but the opponent is just another guy/woman.

I don't watch Fox News so I don't know whether they do these things.

[InvisibleTouch]

8. I think people should be referred to the way THEY choose to be referred to.

If she prefers just Hillary, then Hillary it should be. After all, when you see just Clinton, don't you automatically still think "Bill"?

I've seen people say that the use of "Hillary" is somehow demeaning and disrespectful; this is the first time I've seen someone say it was an unfair advantage. I don't think either is the case. If it's her choice and her preference, then so be it.

[rodeodance]

24. Bingo. as long as she does not object----so be it.

[Stephanie]

28. Okay, then let's demand that all headlines refer to Edwards as "John"

John to Campaign in New York Today

John Supports New Healthcare Legislation

[Benhurst]

37. And who is the other "Edwards" with whom he would be confused?

According to strict rules of journalism, Jimmy Carter in formal articles and editorials should have been referred to as James Carter. I think the press was right to go with "Jimmy," as he wished.

[SusanaMontana41]

61. Well, her choice

doesn't have much to do with my headline. I don't ask the candidates or the subjects of the stories what they'd like to see in the hed.

I don't watch a lot of broadcast news, though. Is that what you're referring to?

[Stephanie]

79. Your headlne? What are you referring to?

Do you write headlines? My point is that journalists and editors are, perhaps unwittingly, assisting Senator Clinton by using the brand-name "Hillary" in their stories instead of following normal journalistic practice and calling her Clinton, or Rodham-Clinton.

I'm from Helena, BTW! :hi:

[SusanaMontana41]

80. Well, hi yourself!

:hi:

Yeah, I write headlines. Lots of them every day. Usually, if we run a story about Sen. Clinton, I use "Hillary" or "Sen. Clinton" in the headline. Purely a space issue.

Can't say I've ever seen an AP news story about her that doesn't include her full name.

[napi21]

9. I honestly think they call her Hillary because of Bill Clinton.

Much the same way as they called Shrub "W" or 41 & 43, to distinguish one from the other.

[orleans]

63. i think that is why also. if a headline said clinton i would automatically

think it was bill

maybe because he was president?? probably.

[RB TexLa]

10. Her name is actually Rodham, she only started using her husband's last name

after pressure to appease uneducated people in Arkansas.

[hang a left]

11. OK that is fair Stephanie,

I will from this point forward call her Clinton. Your argument has been received. I will not vote for her but I WILL absolutely give her the dignity that she deserves.

[Catchawave]

13. I think she prefers Hillary?

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

[Stephanie]

31. This is my point - she chooses it because it gives her an advantage.

She's your good friend with whom you're on a first-name basis, while the other candidates are formally called by their last names. Journalists should not indulge her in this. What if all the news stories referred to the president as "W"?

[SecularMotion]

14. She has reached the level of celebrity status where

only one name is required such as, Elvis, Madonna, or Prince. I believe Obama has almost reached that level. I see that used more often than Barack.

[Dora]

15. I agree.

She's not my choice of candidate, but I've always had a problem with how the media, and we, have persisted in calling this woman who serves as a publicly elected official by her first name.

It's sad.

[alfredo]

54. Should we stop using Rudy?

[Dora]

59. I don't hear Rudy, not nearly as often as I hear Hillary.

I'm also living a television-free life, so I don't get nearly as much noise from the media machine as most people do.

[alfredo]

66. Rudy is old news anyway.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Hopefully, her name will be Senator Clinton, in 2009.

Or, any other appellation appropriate to who (and what) she is.

[BeyondGeography]

17. As soon as she starts saying "Clinton for President" I'll take this point seriously

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/splash/

[Stephanie]

33. I am saying that it is not HER prerogative to tell journalists to use her first name.

OF COURSE she prefers it. But journalists should be even-handed and not go along with it.

[BeyondGeography]

51. Gotcha...same thing happens to me all the time

You think you're making one point and people wind up arguing about something else.

I think the thread title is what may have caused you problems here. Something like,"Call her Clinton and stop playing Hillary's game," might have saved you some time.

[Stephanie]

52. Agreed.

Amazing how many people read only the thread title and don't bother reading one word of the OP.

[philosophie_en_rose]

18. "Clinton" can be confusing.

Is it Bill? Is it Hillary? Is it Socks?

"Hillary" is not disrespectful. It's her name. But journalists are just being lazy. The correct way for journalists to use her name is to say "Hillary Clinton" and then use Clinton afterwards. However, if Bill is involved, there needs to be some clarification.

[hang a left]

38. Actually she is Senator Clinton

that just never really caught on.

[philosophie_en_rose]

69. That could also work.

However, I believe it is correct to drop the "Senator" after the first full mention of the name.

[WinkyDink]

19. Sorry, that's the way of our celebrity-driven world. AP or no, I never read about

"Ramsey" (JonBenet), "Spears" (Britney), "Winfrey" (Oprah), etc.

Anyway, Hillary has been "Hillary" for a long time; it's how America refers to her, and it distinguishes her from the first President Clinton. Heh.

[TechBear_Seattle]

20. Actually, it is Rodham Clinton

She made a big deal, early in her husband's term, of using a hyphenated name. Unless that has changed, her full last name is Rodham Clinton.

[Stephanie]

44. Fine, let them use that.

Let's just have a level playing field in the newspapers, that's all I'm asking.

[SoFlaJet]

22. You can call her any name you want

I STILL won't vote from her

[Missy M]

26. and whatever they call her I will still vote for her.

[John Q. Citizen]

49. "Just don't call her late for dinner?" bit a boom.

[rodeodance]

23. I have no problem with anyone referring to her by her first name--

[mondo joe]

25. Well you'd better tell HER to change HER campaign materials because SHE thinks SHE is HILLARY.

Just look: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

[Stephanie]

34. Which is EXACTLY MY POINT

She chose "Hillary" as her brand name. It's a logo. It makes her warmer and more familiar. It's not proper for journalists to go along with this. What if all the news stories read: "W. said today that the surge would solve the problems in Iraq. W. was speaking before the VFW in Indiana. The crowd applauded politely when W. took the stage." Don't you think that reads a little slanted in his favor?

[Done]

27. It would be better for her if they called her Clinton.

May not help with a lot of people on this board, but with a majority of democratic voters it would.

[hang a left]

40. Not the ones that are current with democratic issues it won't.

I am hopeful(hoping here) that people will inform themselves...this time.

[BlooInBloo]

29. I used to agree with you, until I found out that see SEEKS to be called "Hilary".

EDIT: I still call her "Clinton", however. But I can't in good faith tell others to do so.

[Stephanie]

43. Please read my post.

[Deep13]

30. I think "H '08" makes a great bumper sticker. nt

[mtnsnake]

32. Yeah, and Ike's name was Dwight. nt

[fasttense]

36. As a feminist, I understand what you are saying.

Women are always referred to by their first names while men are referred to by their last names. It bugs me, but obviously others, and the Clintons, don't mind. I once did a paper on Mary Wollstonecraft. You have no idea how tempting it was to use her first name instead of that long last name. But I persevered. I sometimes slip up and call her Hillary on posts her on DU. I guess my principals are slipping.

[sandnsea]

41. She needs to be warmed up

and "Hillary" does that. Nancy Pelosi is "Pelosi", so I think your concerns are misplaced.

[Stephanie]

42. My concerns are exactly what you have illustrated -

Calling her "Hillary" indeed makes her warmer. Which is UNFAIR to the other candidates.

[sandnsea]

46. I don't like her at all

But the last thing I care about is that she's being called "Hillary". We need a Democrat as a President though, and if it takes calling her Hillary in the long run, then whatever.

[michaelwb]

64. Not far enough.

The fact the Obama & Edwards are better looking than Kucinich gives them an unfair advantage.

I think that all the candidates should have to wear burkas so that appearance, race & sex don't count and be assigned random numbers rather than have name recognition of any sort - so that we finally judge them on the ACTUAL ISSUES!

[AuntPatsy]

48. Anything they can do to show disrespect to a dem they do...sickening.

[Stephanie]

50. please read my post, and not just the thread title

thanks

[AuntPatsy]

55. I did? My comment was on the real fact that the media does constantly

call her by Hillary instead of Sen Clinton, I have heard it many times?

[11 Bravo]

70. I have to congratulate you, Stephanie.

By this time I would have torn my hair out by the roots and posted a reply so patently vile, vituperative, and downright obscene, that I would have been tombstoned with no possible hope of reinstatement. How such an obvious point can be so repeatedly misinterpreted or ignored is indeed amazing.

[Stephanie]

72. I am about to lose it - thanks for your support.

If they'd just read the FIRST SENTENCE of the OP maybe they'd get the point, but apparently that is asking too much.

[MonkeyFunk]

56. I'm one of her few defenders here

but calling her Hillary is fine. It reduces confusion with Bill, and it's what she calls HERSELF!

Her website calls her Hillary. Her posters call her Hillary. It's fine with me if it's fine with her.

[hughee99]

57. I see what you're saying...

it's not that the press is "disrespecting" her, it's that their giving her an advantage by letting her choose the name by which she is known. Her campaign has embraced using "Hillary" and the press is going along. For the most part, I agree with you on this. The only thing is that the press was referring to her as Hillary long before she declared for president, so it's not like they're changing their practices just because she's running, though that doesn't really change the effect of the current situation.

[Stephanie]

73. Thank you. Was my OP unclear in any way?

I state the point several times and then provide examples, but the "Hillary" supporters on this thread are either carelessly or deliberately obtuse.

[hughee99]

76. I was slightly unclear after reading the OP

but probably only because after reading the title I think I was suspecting that you were a Hillary supporter trying to make the case that she was being disrespected by the media, but after reading your follow up post it was clear what you were getting at. When I reread it without my preconceived notions, it seemed pretty clear, though.

[mmonk]

58. She is who she is. I don't think it matters.

[Laughing Mirror]

60. Hillary rhymes with Military

Headline writers might have thought it sounds snappier than just, say, "Senator Clinton & the Military." Does this title break the Washington Post style rules? I don't know, but in any case the piece does not appear to be a news article by a real journalist but an opinion column by a writer.

[yurbud]

65. they call her hillary to avoid confusion with that OTHER Clinton

Roger or something.

[yurbud]

67. I would prefer that we call politicians by their first name to their face and in print

Using honorifics and titles reinforces the fallacy that they are our masters not our servants.


Which question would you feel more obligated to answer:

• "Mr. President, did you lie about uranium from Niger?"
  
  
• "George! Did you lie about uranium from Niger?"

The first sounds like begging a king for the pleasure of an answer.

The second sounds like an adult asking another adult for a straight answer, or in the case of Bush, and an adult asking a retarded sociopathic child.

[Connie_Corleone]

68. I think the media and a lot of us use Hillary instead of Clinton because

we want people to know we're talking about Hillary Clinton, not Bill Clinton. Many people, including myself, immediately think about Bill when Clinton is used, even if the article is about Hillary.

When Carol Mosely-Braun was running for president, no one referred to her as Carol.

[murloc]

71. Hillary has made a choice to run as Hillary

How can we blame anyone for calling someone what they wished to be called?

[Stephanie]

74. please read my post before responding

:eyes:

[murloc]

75. I tried, but I lost interest halfway through

Wasnt exactly inspiring or interesting. No offense intended (if I wanted to offend, Id emulate your use of rolling eyes).

Just respect what she wishes to be called is all Im saying.

:shrug:

[Stephanie]

77. You really should refrain from replying to a post you haven't read.

You risk looking foolish when you completely miss the point.

[murloc]

78. Actually you did entice to read the rest.

I stand by my original comment.

Address people as they wished to be addressed. Its ok if you disagree with that, but thats how I feel.

You have a good day