Editorial
Style Guide
The standards that govern the writing, presentation and conduct of the Courant van Lazia, across its English edition and its Dutch edition.
The Courant van Lazia is the newspaper of record for the Confederation of Mahuset and the wider micronational world. We report factually, neutrally and with care on the affairs of the state and of the community of nations.
Our first commitment is to accuracy and even-handedness. Affairs of state, public finance, diplomacy, technology, culture and the lighter moments of national life are reported with the same rigour, the same neutral framing and the same careful attribution. We let the facts speak; we do not editorialise in news copy.
In register, the prose seeks the gravitas and precision of a paper of record together with clarity and economy of expression. It is authoritative and measured. A light touch is welcome where a story genuinely invites it, but never at the expense of fairness or seriousness.
- English edition: British English. colour, favour, organise, recognise, defence, centre, programme; -ise endings, not -ize. "Among", not "amongst"; "while", not "whilst".
- Dutch edition: standard Dutch per the Groene Boekje and Van Dale.
- Each edition is a true translation, not a transliteration; idiom and rhythm are adapted to the language.
- Place names take their proper form in each edition; the masthead never changes. The paper is always Courant van Lazia. So Lazia (EN) / Lazië (NL); Wentherton-Vryfstadt (EN) / Wenterton-Vryfstadt (NL).
- Sentence case in both editions. Capitalise only the first word and proper nouns. No full stop.
- Single quotation marks in headlines (the space-saving newspaper convention); double in body copy.
- Keep headlines to roughly seventy characters. Prefer active verbs and the present tense for news.
- Kicker: the short category label above the headline, set in capitals — DIPLOMACY · PUBLIC FINANCE · HONOURS · TECHNOLOGY · SPORT.
- Standfirst: a single sentence that advances rather than repeats the headline, ending with a full stop.
- "Chad" is a formal honorific and is used before the name on every mention where the person holds it: Chad Lord-Stadtholder Emiel van der Huijsen.
- First mention: full style and full name. Later mentions: style and surname — Chad Lord-Stadtholder Van der Huijsen, or simply Van der Huijsen.
- Nobiliary particles follow Dutch practice in both editions: capitalise the particle when the surname stands alone (Van der Huijsen), lowercase it with the forename (Emiel van der Huijsen).
- Offices and titles are capitalised when attached to a name (Lord-Stadtholder Hardy) and lowercase when generic (the lord-stadtholder said). In Dutch, function titles in running text are always lowercase (lord-stadhouder, minister, premier).
- Institutions are capitalised in full on first use — the Confederation of Mahuset, the National Convention of 2019, the Chadly Chancery, the Ministry of Digital Affairs — then a shortened lowercase form thereafter (the ministry). The National Convention of 2019 is an exception: use the National Convention on later mentions, never the convention.
- Acronyms are spelled out on first use with the abbreviation in brackets, then used alone; no full stops within them.
- The paper refers to itself in the third person in news copy — when approached by the Courant van Lazia for comment.
- Double quotation marks for direct speech; single for a quote within a quote.
- Logical punctuation: place a stop or comma inside the quotation marks only when it belongs to the quoted words.
- "said" is the default verb of attribution and is almost always sufficient. Prefer X said to said X.
- Attribute claims plainly and frame them neutrally — the government said, officials described.
- Numbers: spell out one to nine; use figures for 10 and above. Figures always for ages, scores, percentages and measurements.
- Percentages in figures with the symbol — 20%. Scores and ranges take an en dash — 6–4, 2012–2026.
- Dates: day, month, year, no ordinal and no comma — 14 June 2026 (EN) / 14 juni 2026 (NL, month lowercase).
- Time: the 24-hour clock with a colon — 14:32, 20:20 — with a timezone abbreviation where it matters (14:32 CET).
- Currency: the Mahusetan guilder, symbol ƒ, immediately before the figure with no space — ƒ25. Likewise £25, €25, $25.
- Oxford comma: not used by default; added only to prevent genuine ambiguity.
- Dashes: a spaced em dash for asides in English — like this; a spaced en dash in Dutch – like this. Unspaced en dashes for ranges.
- Generics such as state, government, confederation, ministry are lowercase unless part of a proper name.
- Italics for the names of publications and vessels and for foreign expressions not yet naturalised. Diacritics are kept: Blåhaj, Çakar, Lazië.
- In-world bodies and abbreviations are explained for the general reader.
- Inverted pyramid for news. The opening sentence answers who, what, when and where in thirty words or fewer.
- One idea per paragraph; paragraphs kept short. Detail, context and reaction follow in descending order of importance.
- Bylines: By Forename Surname (a second name joined with &). Unbylined pieces are credited to the Courant van Lazia editorial staff.
- A dateline line records where correspondents reported from.
The principal desks are Diplomacy & Intermicronational Affairs, Politics & Government, Public Finance & Economy, Technology & Digital Affairs, Culture & Media, Honours & Ceremony, Sport, Opinion and Live.
Columns and leading articles may use the first person and let the argument breathe, but they remain grounded and literate. Their headlines stay in sentence case, and the genre is labelled clearly.
Honours
Mahuset declares a national holiday for Thor's birthday as cats gain a new style
Cats in Mahusetan public office are to be styled 'gentlenyan' under a decree that also makes a national holiday of the birthday of Lord-Mouser Thor.
Cats serving in public office in the Confederation of Mahuset are henceforth to be addressed as "gentlenyan", under a decree of the Chadly Chancery that also elevates the birthday of Lord-Mouser Thor, the state's most senior feline official, to a national holiday.
The chancery, which administers the Confederation's honours, said the measure recognised "the longstanding and distinguished participation of cats in the civic life of the Confederation". Asked to comment, Chad Lord-Stadtholder Hardy declined to issue a written statement, replying instead with an animated image of a cat.
A live update is set as a time and a short headline, followed by a sentence or two: 21:45 — Polls close across the Confederation. Counting begins immediately in Lazia and Kompasstad.
Corrections are published plainly and without euphemism: An earlier version of this article said the National Convention of 2019 had four members. It has five. This has been corrected.
This guide is maintained by the editorial staff of the Courant van Lazia. Where it is silent, follow the practice of the leading quality press in the relevant language.
