Style Bites

Identify a person by first and last name on first reference. On second reference, use last name only. Using first names on second and subsequent reference is OK, however, if it’s someone you know and you have made that clear to the reader in some way.

On first reference, you should also attempt to identify the person’s provenance, i.e., “popcorn mogul Orville Reddenbacher once said …” or “food blogger Jane Doe writes … “

Please use the paper’s full name, spelled out, on first reference; there are more than one Times in the world. You may use “the Times” in subsequent references. Do not use “NYT.”

EXAMPLE
The New York Times published a story about Mario Batali. Batali, the Times said, has red hair.

Spell out numbers one through ten. Use numerals for numbers 11 and greater. Please observe the use of commas in numerals: 1,234 or 12,345 — not 1234 or 12345.