Every new presidential administration brings up the same question: Why do news outlets refer to the president as “Mister”?
The tradition often sparks a misunderstanding that the term is disrespectful.
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It’s actually the opposite.
The practice of referring to the president as “Mr.” on second reference has been in place for generations as a sign of respect because all other world leaders are referred to by only their last name on second reference.
A CBS news article explained the tradition well during the Obama administration:
On first reference, it’s “President Obama.” But on second reference, it’s “Mr. Obama.”
The reason for this is simple. It would be very bad and tiresome writing to repeatedly refer to “Pres. Obama” in sentence after sentence. So on second reference, he’ll be “Mr. Obama” or just “the president.”
And during President Donald Trump’s first term, CBS News added:
It is CBS News practice to refer to the president and former presidents on second reference with the honorific ‘Mister.’ Everyone else in the political universe is referred to only by their last names.
That goes for Putin and Pelosi, Pence and Pompeo. After identifying President Trump, we use “Mr. Trump,” or “Mr. Bush,” or “Mr. Obama,” on second reference as a sign of respect for the office.
In fact, news outlets like WJXT go against Associated Press style in following the tradition. AP style, which News4JAX typically follows, instructs journalists to refer even to the current president by only their last name on second reference.
We follow this practice in our written content, but on television, we follow the “Mr.” tradition -- as a sign of respect for the office.
Perhaps one day, it will be Mrs.?