The document discusses the issue of altering quotes from individuals when reporting or summarizing their statements. It argues that quotes should be reported exactly as spoken by the person to accurately convey their message and ideas, rather than cleaning up or changing their words. Altering quotes could potentially misrepresent the speaker and how they expressed themselves. Journalists have a responsibility to use quotes verbatim within quotation marks to truthfully report what someone said.

1. DO YOU THINK
we should
CHANGE QUOTES?
Jacky Northgrave

2. MANY TIMES
people will change, rearrange or even alter a
quote.

3. THEY THINK IT MAKES THE QUOTE
seem easier to understand
AND BETTER FOR THE AUDIENCE.

4. SO RIGHT
NOW,
YOU’RE PROBABLY
ASKING YOURSELF…

5. WHAT’S WRONG
WITH THAT?

6. SOMETIMES PEOPLE
MAY SPEAK
DIFFERENTLY,

7. AND MAY BE HARD
TO UNDERSTAND.

8. SHOULD THOSE
PEOPLE BE
PUNISHED FOR
NOT KNOWING
HOW TO
speak well?

9. Won’t they
FEEL
embarrassed
If you didn’t
FIX
their quote?

10. I BELIEVE
we each have something to say.

11. OUR
speech
makes us
WHO WE ARE.

12. “WE NEED TO REMEMBER
THAT HOW A PERSON TALKS,
Is part of their story.
IT MIGHT BE THE MOST
IMPORTANT PART.”
-MATT CLARK,
a freelance writer and medicine
editor for Newsweek

13. WHEN QUOTING SOMEONE,
we must use their words to show their message.

14. RALPH LANGER,
Senior Vice President
& Executive Editor of the
Dallas Morning News said…
“OUR JOB IS TO REPORT WHAT
people say and think,
NOT PUT WORDS IN THEIR MINDS
about what they
Might have said.”

15. BY ALTERING OR CHANGING
THEM JUST A LITTLE,
we could potentially be altering or changing their ideas.

16. MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT IT MAKES NO
Difference
WHETHER OR NOT
YOU CLEAN UP A QUOTE.

17. I believe it does make a
DIFFERENCE.

18. SOME SAY JOURNALISTS
QUOTE EXACTLY
ONLY
WHEN IT IS CONVENIENT.

19. WHEN WE THINK
OF QUOTING IN THIS WAY,
WE LOOSE SIGHT
OF ITS KEY ROLE
AND PURPOSE.

20. SO DO YOU THINK PUNCTUATION MARKS
SHOULD INCLUDE
every word as it was said?

21. “Of
Course!
What else are quote marks for?”
-ED CRAY,

22. IF YOU WERE THE INDIVIDUAL WHO
Was quoted and saw your
words Altered or changed. . .

23. HOW WOULD
YOU FEEL?

24. What if it was something you
never even said?

25. QUOTES ARE MUCH MORE
powerful
WHEN THEY ARE WRITTEN THE WAY
THEY WERE SPOKEN.

26. You shouldn’t clean up a quote
JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK IT’S
BETTER FOR THE PUBLIC.

27. WE ALL WOULD PREFER
Raw and honest thoughts.

28. WE WANT TO KNOW
exactly
HOW PEOPLE ARE FEELING.

29. SUSAN FEENEY,
Dallas Morning News National
Political Reporter said,
“WHEN YOU ARE PUTTING
quote marks around it,
YOU ARE TELLING THE
READER THAT THIS IS
exactly what the
PERSON SAID.”

30. By using quotation marks
correctly and not editing what is inside of them…

31. WE CAN DISPLAY
truth again.

32. SO WHAT ARE YOU
GOING
TO DO?