: Re: Why do news articles and press releases start with date and location? Here's what I'm talking about: PALO ALTO, Calif., January 5, 2016 — Example Inc. today delivered on the promise to

@Speyer920

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A dateline must be where the reporter reported from. As an analogue to web publishing, it is a location and timestamp on an article. For example, an earthquake may occur in a remote part of Brazil, and the dateline would be RIO DI JANEIRO if that's where the report was filed from (the reporter sat in an office in Rio and gathered the news and filed the report from there).

If you are filing for AP (Associated Press) or are a member newspaper, you use AP style for datelines. This includes which cities need or don't need state names, what abbreviations to use for states (hint, not postal abbreviations), etc.

Some might see datelines as archaic, but they absolutely serve a purpose in any filed report where the location and time of filing matter.

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