The Associated Press has made public a memorandum promulgating standards for covering the Cordoba House / Park51 / Ground Zero Mosque story:

Aug. 19, 2010 Colleagues,

Here is some guidance on covering the NYC mosque story, with assists from Chad Roedemeier in the NYC bureau and Terry Hunt in Washington:

1. We should continue to avoid the phrase “ground zero mosque” or “mosque at ground zero” on all platforms. (We’ve very rarely used this wording, except in slugs, though we sometimes see other news sources using the term.) The site of the proposed Islamic center and mosque is not at ground zero, but two blocks away in a busy commercial area. We should continue to say it’s “near” ground zero, or two blocks away.

WE WILL CHANGE OUR SLUG ON THIS STORY LATER TODAY from “BC-Ground Zero Mosque” to “BC-NYC Mosque.” In short headlines, some ways to refer to the project include:

_ mosque 2 blocks from WTC site _ Muslim (or Islamic) center near WTC site _ mosque near ground zero _ mosque near WTC site We can refer to the project as a mosque, or as a proposed Islamic center that includes a mosque. It may be useful in some stories to note that Muslim prayer services have been held since 2009 in the building that the new project will replace. The proposal is to create a new, larger Islamic community center that would include a mosque, a swimming pool, gym, auditorium and other facilities.

It is continued here.