SELECTING QUOTES

Journalism/Yearbook

Mr. Beary

QU0TES Quotes are the exact, word-for-word

statements of the subject you are interviewing.

Quotes make up the backbone of your story. They are the most important part of the story.

Since you can’t make up the entire piece with quotes, it’s important to know how to select good, quality quotes.

QUOTES Simply put: A good quote is when

someone says something interesting in an interesting way.

“We will use U.S. military force in an appropriate and decisive manner.”

“When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.”

Which of these quotes is better?

GOOD QUOTES Grab the reader’s attention. Evoke images. Show the speaker’s personality. Convey regional or cultural differences

in speech.

Think about the two quotes we saw earlier. Which one best fills these requirements? How so?

BAD QUOTES Unclear speech. Basic factual data. Profane or offensive speech.

Journalists may feel tempted to try and “clean up” bad quotes. You can never ever add or subtract anything to a quote. NEVER.

PRACTICETake a sheet of paper and tear it in half. On one part, write an example of a bad quote. On the other, write an example of a good quote.

These will be placed in the basket. Everyone will get one example. Write a paragraph saying whether your quote is a good quote or a bad quote and why? What characteristics of each does it fulfill?

IMAGINE A CAR ACCIDENTFacts: A Ford Fiesta collided with a cow on Old Barn Rd. The accident took place at 8:45am on a Tuesday morning. The cow had wandered out of Mr. Maddison’s farm through a broken gate.

Because of the government shutdown, Mr. Maddison hasn’t been able to file the paperwork required to build a new fence.

The driver of the Ford Fiesta, Marco Polio, was an out of towner from New York and not used to driving on country roads.

The cow’s name was Sasha. She did not survive. Marco Polio’s Ford Fiesta was totaled. Officer Scott responded to the accident immediately. One other person witnessed the accident, a homeless man named Larry

Clark who was picking up cans on the side of the road at the time.

IMAGINE A CAR ACCIDENT“And then I done saw the big one swerve out of the way to avoid hitting the cow, and that cow ain’t move an inch, so when the second car come round, he crashed right into her,” said Larry Clark.

“The accident took place at approximately 8:45 yesterday morning,” said officer Scott.

“This dern shutdown is more trouble than a jack rabbit in a briar patch. They all still got their jobs up in Washington, and what do I got? A dead cow a broken fence,” said Mr. Maddison.

“The government’s shut down right now, so it’s difficult to process the paperwork,” said Glenda Gale, a city employee.

“She died of blunt force trauma. I think it might’ve had something to do with the car that hit her,” said the town veterinarian Dr. Steven Lot.

“I almost didn’t believe it when I saw it. I mean, a cow? We don’t have those up north. It was like something out of a dream,” said Marco Polio.

WRITEUsing the information and the quotes that we have, write a news article about the car accident.

When you have finished writing, you will exchange articles with a partner. Pay attention to the differences in what information you and your partner chose to use. These will be used in a class discussion.

HOMEWORK If you have not yet conducted your

interview, do it now! The profiles are due next class. They should be typed. If there is an issue with your printer, email them to me beforehand.