Presser quotes

Penn State has a habit of editing out bad quotes from Joe Paterno's press conferences.

A few years ago, Bob Flounders from The Patriot-News challenged Joe Pa in an exchange that was played on Dan Patrick's show, among other places. Guess what quote didn't end up on the quote sheet?

 

I didn't say that. What I said was I disagree with "if they say the person said it, they said it."

And I said if there's audio for you to hear, you should hear it. Just to make sure.

If your only option is a statement or a quote sheet, then that's all you have. But when I covered college games, and I was in a post-game presser and then I got the quote sheets, it was not even close.

 

We are explicitly forbidden to write "in a conference call" or "in a press conference" or the like in our copy. The desk is directed to edit it out if we try.

The argument is that, in most cases, this kind of information is superfluous and sentence-fattening. I tend to agree.

There are some exceptions, of course. But for the most part, I agree.

Otherwise, do you people include this info on every quote? What if you are writing a story that includes quotes from a live press conference, a conference call, a post-game pow-wow with the coach?

Every single quote could have come from a different interview. Do you specify where you got each one?

 

No doubt, if you have access to the audio, you use that. That isn't even up for debate.

 

I think we're all in agreement that using the stuff is fine. It's better if you're there to hear it yourself, but there is nothing wrong with using supplied quotes if that's all you can get.
I tend to explain where I got it on the first reference. I don't think that is fattening -- I think it is valuable information to the reader.
But either way, I'd say to go ahead and use the quotes you have.

 

As a reader, I don't care whether Joe Blow said it in a mid-week press conference, jogging around campus or sitting on the bowl.

It doesn't matter that much to me.

 

I really don't think the reader cares where you get the quotes, unless it's something really spectacular.

"Get the hell off my lawn," Carr told a reporter who was hiding in his trash can.

But something from a Monday presser than happens every week? Blah.

 

I was taught to be transparent. I try to do that, as long as it is reasonable.
I think it's worth spending half a sentence to explain where the quotes came from once in the story.

 

If it was on the teleconference, just use it.

I will point out where it was from if it was something coach said at a presser and there was no way you could be there. Such as:

"I can't believe how horrible we were," Carr told reporters in Michigan on Monday. "We don't deserve to ever be ranked again."

Now if he had said that on the Big Ten teleconference, I would just say Carr said.

I tend to over-attribute at times. That is certainly better than under-attributing. And if the desk edits it out, so be it. At least you did the right thing.

 

I think the first sentence of this post is an excellent rule of thumb for anyone.

 

Doesn't matter until something goes awry with quote, like it later turns out to be sanitized and some blogger points it out. It's your rep on the line, and you should more fully attribute quotes that were not directly spoken to you.

Press release: "said in a statement."

Transcript of a teleconference: "according to a transcript of the conference posted on the xx website."

 

"told this reporter while eating a grilled cheese sandwich at Monday's weekly media luncheon, which is a luncheon for the media that occurs every week at the Bumblefuck U. dining hall. And also milk came out his nose."