Journalism/Yearbook Mr. Beary

 Quotes are the exact, word-for-word statements of the subject you are interviewing.  If the information makes up the skeleton of your story, then the quotes are the muscle. They’re what keeps the story moving!  Since you can’t make up the entire piece with quotes, it’s important to know how to select good, quality quotes.  Why might someone consider quotes to be even more important than the information?

 Simply put: A good quote is when someone says something interesting in an interesting way.  9 times out of 10, the more effective quote will be the more interesting one.  You don’t have to be as concerned with which quote provides information more clearly, because you as the journalist will provide the information.  The quotes will put the information in context, not provide it!

 “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. I’m going to make it worth our time and money.”

 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?

 Unclear speech.  Basic factual data.  Profane or offensive speech. Journalists may feel tempted to try and “clean up” or “fix” bad quotes. You can never ever add or subtract anything to a quote. NEVER. Why is this so important?

Take a sheet of paper and tear it in half. On one part, make up an example of a bad quote. On the other, make up an example of a good quote. These will be placed in a basket. Everyone will pull one example from the basket. Write a paragraph saying whether your quote is a good quote or a bad quote and why? What characteristics of each does it fulfill?

Facts:  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 fence. Because of a 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 was 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.  Marco Polio was not charged with a crime.

“And then I done saw a big ol’ truck swerve outta the way to avoid hittin’ 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 8:45am yesterday morning,” said officer Scott. “This dern government shutdown is more trouble than a jack rabbit in a briar patch. All them politicians refuse to work, but they still got their jobs, 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.

Using the information and the quotes that we have, in addition to what you know about leads and the Transition/Quote Inverted Pyramid, write a news article about the car accident. 1. Identify the WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY and HOW of the story. 2. List the information in order from most important to least important. 3. Write a lead that summarizes the WWWWWH of the story. 4. Present the rest of the information in order from most important to least important. 5. Follow each piece of information with a quote that expand, explains, or clarifies.

 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.  Keep your news articles in your binders.  Answer the following questions:  What are the characteristics of an effective quote?  Choose one of the differences between your neighbor’s article and yours. Who do you believe made the stronger decision? What makes their decision stronger?