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Quoting your own paper's columnist in a story

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Baron Scicluna, Jan 17, 2015.

  1. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I was looking at the Indy Star's story by Dana Hunsinger Benbow on weather for the AFC title game, and it seemed like your typical weather story. Except for this part, in which the Star's columnist, Gregg Doyel, is quoted:

    Weather could threaten Colts' chances at a victory

    It just seems, oh, I don't know, a little unseemly to be quoting your own paper's columnist in your story.
     
  2. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    The Star goes outside the sports dept to send an additional scribe and she writes about ... weather. Sigh. In addition to the Doyel quote, she quotes Pats fans from the mall and Panera. Sigh again.
     
  3. mediaguy

    mediaguy Well-Known Member

  4. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Sports reporter or no, to me, unless your paper is a part of the story, which generally isn't a good thing in itself, you shouldn't be interviewing your coworkers.
     
  5. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Wait till Natalie gets ahold of this story.
     
    Doc Holliday likes this.
  6. wheels89

    wheels89 Active Member

    This sounds like one of these sports entertainment positions that Gannett is adding to the 'Newsroom of the Future"
     
  7. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    That's gotta be new, probably like wheels89 said. She's been a lifestyles/feature writer there for a long as I've read the paper.
     
  8. albert77

    albert77 Well-Known Member

    Bingo.
     
  9. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Well, I wasn't going to take a Gannett shot, but is this a part of the "Newsroom of the Future"? What's next, quoting your publisher on the economic impact of Christmas?
     
  10. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    I'm reminded of a story too many years back, when a young reporter was assigned a man-on-the-street-type story about holiday traditions. Every person quoted in the story had a connection to the paper, as either a clerk, ad sales-type or other work.
     
  11. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I would like to point out that Mr. Doyel was 100 percent correct.

    Hell, if you are going to do a weather story, it's better to quote him than some TV weatherman or talking head from ESPN about the same subject.
     
  12. gravehunter

    gravehunter Member

    I recently quoted a co-worker for a story I was writing but without mentioning the fact that he was a co-worker. I was writing about the various sports bars in the area (and neighboring towns) that were screwed by the recent dispute between DirecTV and CBS (for football playoffs). My co-worker, who lives in a neighboring town, mentioned how the two bars in his town use DirecTV for their games.
    I quoted him for the story and, after using his name, merely wrote that he was a resident of the neighboring town. The fact that he was a copy editor at the paper was not relevant to the story one way or the other.
     
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