NPR Will Stop Referring To Obama As ‘Mr.’ On Second Reference To Avoid Appearance Of ‘Favoritism’

[jonthebru]

52. I personally would follow these guidelines:

The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper is a style guide created in 1950 by editors at the newspaper and revised in 1974, 1999, and 2002 by Allan M. Siegal and William G. Connolly. Although it was written for New York Times journalists, it was also published for use by others.[1] Much of the information is specific to neither The Times nor New York.

The Times's book requires that the surnames of subjects (sports-related columns being the most notable exceptions) be prefixed with a title (such as Dr., Mr., Ms., or Mrs.).

It doesn't say anything about "second reference."
And yes Cokie Roberts is junk and NPR News has generally gone down hill...