House style is the internal rulebook a publication, broadcaster, or organisation uses to standardise how its content is written and presented. It covers spelling choices (e.g. organise vs organize), punctuation, capitalisation, treatment of numbers and dates, use of titles and honorifics, abbreviations, foreign words, and politically sensitive terminology.
Major outlets publish their guides, and several have become reference works in their own right. The Economist Style Guide, the Guardian and Observer Style Guide (freely available online), the AP Stylebook (Associated Press), Reuters' Handbook of Journalism, and The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage are among the most cited. The BBC maintains its News Style Guide for broadcast usage. Academic and governmental bodies have their own equivalents: the Chicago Manual of Style, the EU's Interinstitutional Style Guide, and the UN Editorial Manual.
For political researchers and MUN delegates, house style matters in three practical ways. First, it shapes how a story reads politically: whether a group is labelled militants, fighters, terrorists, or insurgents is a house-style decision with framing consequences. Reuters, for instance, has long been cautious with the word terrorist, while other outlets apply it more readily. Second, it determines place names and contested terminology — Myanmar vs Burma, Kyiv vs Kiev (most Western outlets shifted to Kyiv in 2019–2022), the Gulf vs the Persian Gulf vs the Arabian Gulf. Third, it affects attribution norms: when sources can be anonymous, how quotes may be cleaned up, and what counts as on-the-record.
When citing journalism in research papers or position papers, recognising house style helps you read sources critically. Two outlets covering the same event may diverge less on facts than on the vocabulary their style guides prescribe — and those word choices often signal editorial stance on contested political questions.
Example
In 2019, the Associated Press updated its stylebook to use "Kyiv" instead of "Kiev" for Ukraine's capital, a house-style change later adopted by the BBC, Guardian, and others.