Quotes Journalism Mr. Dudek

Direct Quotes

Direct Quotes Ideally, if it’s between quotation marks it is exactly what the person said However… there are changes a reporter can ethically make and still print a direct quotation.

Direct Quotes You can remove redundancies that occur when people speak: “The new law will -- well it will do a lot of things -- it will help people that have lost their jobs. That’s what the new law will do.” “The new law will -- well it will do a lot of things -- it will help people that have lost their jobs. That’s what the new law will do.” “The new law will help people that have lost their jobs.”

Direct Quotes You can remove verbal pauses that occur when people speak: “The new law will, well… umm, you see, hmmm, it will help people that, er… have lost their jobs.” “The new law will help people that have lost their jobs.”

Direct Quotes Sometimes a direct quote is not best: Profanity Excessive poor grammar Facts and Statistics

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing Paraphrasing is a perfectly acceptable journalistic practice You are putting the speaker’s ideas into your own words Must still include a “he said” or “she said.”

Paraphrasing “The new law will -- well it will do a lot of things -- it will help people that are out of work, or have recently lost their jobs,” Tom Wilson said. The new law will help people that are unemployed, Tom Wilson said.

Paraphrasing “I’d say about 600 people came to the meeting,” Chief Tom Wilson said. Police estimate 600 attended the meeting.

Paraphrasing Don’t paraphrase a source then quote them saying the same exact thing. The mayor promised he would never embezzle money again. “I will never embezzle money again,” the mayor said. The mayor promised he has changed his ways. “I will never embezzle money again,” the mayor said.

Partial Quotations

Partial Quotations A good way to avoid too many quotes in a row, or too many paraphrases in a row. Good for when there is one interesting part of a person’s quote.

Partial Quotations The school needs a dress code, the principal said, because students are becoming “sloppy in dress and sloppy in thought.”

Attribution

Attribution Information must be attributed to sources Be as specific as possible Attributions carry the greatest weight when they contain a name, title, and established credibility.

Attribution Once you get information from a source, continue up the chain of command and confirm it again And again!

Attribution Never start attributions with “It was announced” or “It was claimed.” Identify your source right away.

Attribution You do not need to attribute common knowledge ,facts that can be verified by many sources, or facts witnessed by the reporter. Examples include: the population of a city, the weather at an event, the time of day.

Attribution said

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Group Discussion Discuss (and write) what is wrong with each quote in Exercise 8.2

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The Golden Rules of Quotes Journalism Mr. Dudek

Golden Rules of Quotes No quote should stand alone If it is important enough to get a quote from one person, it is important enough to get it from more than one Each should be attributed and usually be introduced with a transition Got a teacher quote? Get a student!

Golden Rules of Quotes Most quotes should be 5-20 words For really great quotes, or feature stories that focus on one person you can go as high as 40-70 words.

Golden Rules of Quotes Be accurate! If you are not 100% sure reconfirm with the source.

Golden Rules of Quotes Remove words sparingly Take out redundancies Take out “ers” “hmms” “you know” Use ellipses (…) if you really must shorten a quote.

Golden Rules of Quotes Only use said You can place it at the beginning, middle, or end of the quote for variety Always comes after the speaker’s name.

Golden Rules of Quotes New quote? New paragraph!

Golden Rules of Quotes Use squared brackets to clarify/replace unclear words (often pronouns) Bad: “I think they deserve a day off.” Good: “I think [teachers] deserve a day off.”

Golden Rules of Quotes Start with a capital letter If a quote is a complete sentence, start it with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence.

Golden Rules of Quotes Quote opinions, state facts.

Golden Rules of Quotes Use good quotes Good: “This was the most incredible experience of my pathetic little life,” he said. Bad: “It was great.”

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Group Discussion Change each of the quotes in Exercise 8.3. Write your changes.

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Individual Writing assignments Exercise 8.1 Exercise 8.4 The 8.4 writing must incorporate a lead, inverted pyramid, body paragraphs and transitions and must include a direct quote, partial quote and paraphrase.