Leave your books at home!
Not me. Frankly no one gives a shit whether your article has been edited.
I know they teach this at DINFOS and I agree PAOs should know something about AP style. But please, stop worrying about commas.
Worry instead about prose, content and context. Worry about the larger implications of the information you are about to release. There are so many things to think about that have nothing to do with subject-verb agreement … whatever that mean.
Pro-tip: If and only if your office is the release authority- designate one person to do a final copy edit. If you’re sending the release to the post paper let them edit. If you’re sending to higher headquarters for release, let them do it. Having just one edit avoids time consuming repeated changes based on style and opinion. Controlling the edit allows the appropriate people to focus on the appropriate things.
