One of the core tenants of journalism is providing a voice for the voiceless. The majority of our readers are not in power and have no inherent way to change the world by themselves. The media provides those people, the vast majority, a place to have their voice heard. Let’s make it count.
Here’s the problem: Kids suck at asking questions and giving answers.
For some reason, their natural curiosity and drive falls apart when learning journalism techniques because they think that interviewing for a publication is somehow wildly different than having a plain conversation, which leads us to good, juicy quotes.
My own students struggle with identifying the good quotes not only in the moment of the interview, but in the writing stage when choosing what goes in the final story. This is what I coach my writers on.
1. Does it have emotion?
The only real reason to include people is to provide color, the emotional side of the news. Theoretically, journalists could write entire stories every time without quotes. Our job is simply to collect and then distribute information. But, that’s boring. Readers don’t want boring. Compare these two quotes.
“I think the dance was great.”
“I danced so much I literally fainted. That DJ was fire and had everyone bouncing.”
Only the second gives me an accurate impression of how the dance made people feel. Sure, the first gives me their opinion. But if all we have are six interviews that say the dance was great/OK/so-so/awful, and nothing else, it’s going to disinterest readers and they’ll bail out.
Great news organizations include emotion both to keep readers interested, but also for the reasons that follow.
2. Does it help a reader understand why the story matters?
But that doesn’t always help the reader understand WHY a story matters. Take this fictional story for example:
The Cityville ISD School Board unanimously passed a new proposal last night, purchasing ramps that will make the football stadium more accessible.
“The ramps will be placed so that handicapped attendees can sit along the front row,” Board President John Q. Public said.
There’s nothing wrong with that story in terms of information. We all know what happened, but the general reaction would be an inglorious shrug.
Instead, use quotes that get to the heart of why we should care that the board bought ramps.
The Cityville ISD School Board unanimously passed a new proposal last night, purchasing ramps that will make the football stadium more accessible.
“My son has played soccer for four years and I’ve had to watch from a corner,” CHS parent Jane Smith said. “With these ramps, I’ll finally be able to watch him do what he loves where he can see me, too. I’m just so happy; I’ve cried all day.”
Everyone understands that feeling of wanting to do something but not being able to. The emotion is what is relatable, not the board president’s comment that tip-toes around the big impact here. Sure, you might include him at some point, but his comment should add to the other, more impactful dialogue.
3. Does it paint a picture you didn’t see as a reporter?
Journalists should absolutely use their own eyeballs as eyewitness testimony in a story. You don’t have to attribute “the sky was blackened by a thick, acrid smoke that roiled out of the exploded petrochemical refinery” if you saw it. However, if you weren’t there, the fewer firsthand details you can include.
Quotes can be that source of description for people that weren’t there.
“We were eating dinner when we heard a bang so loud, I thought one of our guns went off. It shattered a window and knocked pictures off the walls. It wasn’t until about an hour later that we realized it was from the plant blowing up.”
Even if, as writer/reporters, we want to stretch our literary legs a bit when crafting a visually compelling story, sometimes it’s good to take a break and let the audience do it for us with quotes like that. Ask the interviewee to describe the scene, mood, tone, visual elements, etc. of the scene and then you have not only one more potential reader, but also compelling quotes that give readers not there a sense of how the story felt.
4. Could you have said it?
A good question to ask yourself. There is no intellectual property rights to facts. For example, there’s nothing stopping you from rewriting all the tips on this page and using it in a classroom setting. So, why does that apply here?
Quotes should not be a resuscitation of fact. It goes along with choosing quotes that are emotional, but is important enough to have its own section. Many times, fact-based quotes can be rewritten into paraphrased sentences to transition. Most people speak in patterns of giving you some fact, then their opinion on it. For example:
John Smith: We had to close the school due to the flood. I never thought water would get in. It rose so fast, we could barely make it upstairs, much less save the furniture.
The first line of Smith’s quote is really a fact, which makes for a boring quote and, assuming that’s what the article is about, it’s sort of a “duh” statement. Plus, as a journalist, you can factually write that. The second sentence is sort of dry because it is a throwaway opinion. However, rewrite that second sentence as a paraprased quote to transition to the real, meatier quote, which is the last sentence. Example:
John Smith said he never thought water would get in.
“It rose so fast, we could barely make it upstairs, much less save the furniture,” Smith said.
It’s short, sweet and much more entertaining than direct quoting all three sentences.
Students haven’t gotten those solid quotes? Make them go out and get more. Keep talking to people, re-talking to them and pushing with better questions until they do.
5. Does it reflect diverse points of view?
The student publications are, well, for students. Sure, teachers and administrators will read them, but the kids are the ones you really want excited about it. It’s the whole point really no matter what end goal you look at. There’s one sure-fire way to get people excited about a product: seeing themselves in it.
Here’s the thing, though, we have to come to grips with the fact that we tend to interview the same people over and over and over again ad nauseum. My students are, inexplicably, enamored by the fact they can interview the district superintendent and he actually answer. So he, and the principal, get interviewed for everything. But you have to get different points of view including:
- Alternative Opinions: Sometimes there is an issue that many people agree with, but a smaller group disagrees for various reasons. These should be included, within reason, to provide as many different world views as possible. In addition, it helps a reporter keep their bias in check by making sure that the quotes they have don’t accidentally weight the story in favor of the view they have. Sometimes students come from backgrounds where parents do not ever discuss alternative viewpoints, so they take their opinion as fact.
- Race/ethnicity: Different cultures and experiences from every racial and ethnic group provides some potentially worthwhile, and many times vital, perspective.
- Sex/gender/sexuality: Men, women, and those on the gender spectrum all have their own set of unique issues that add value to stories and coverage.
- Political: Students have a wide and … interesting … set of political opinions, many times uninformed. Presenting them with alternative viewpoints can be good in widening their own perspective on political issues.
- Religion: One often overlooked demographic in journalism is religion. However, religion plays a major role in almost every aspect of life. Don’t ignore it.
- Adults vs. students: While students may be tempted to only talk to adults, or only talk to students, all of them are part of the school community. They get a say, too.
- Popular vs. the unknown students: Just because the football captain gets interviewed all the time doesn’t mean you can’t talk to the kicker or lineman.
The list above is by FAR not exhaustive, but they are perspectives quotes can provide.
Hot tip: Do a retrospective look at your publication from the year before. Who got quoted a lot? What stories aren’t being told? What groups at our school are left out? Who goes to school here? Are we leaving some voices out of the debate? Are certain people being left out in the cold? How can we include those people?
This is NOT to say you should have a quota of types of people per story. However, representation matters. It is one way to get people turned off of the publication if we only hear from the same people over and over again.
6. Is it something only that person could have said?
The best, truly best in my opinion, quotes are ones that are unique to that person and that story. The phrase, “I couldn’t have made it up if I tried,” comes to mind.
Not every quote is going to be wildly bizarre or filled with compelling emotion. However, we can avoid the trite soundbites that get recited on cue, as if by training.
You know them:
- We tried our hardest.
- We went out on the field and gave it everything we had.
- We worked well as a team.
- I had a lot of fun.
- It was good.
- I liked it.
- I’m excited for X to happen.
Borrriiiiiinnnngggggggggggggggggggggggggggg.
Sure, they have an opinion. They happen to share it with millions of other people. Coooolllll. Where’s the emotion?!
Why did you try hard? What were you thinking on the field last night when you first stepped onto the grass? What are things you do as a team to bond? Why was it fun? Why was it good? What about it did you like? What makes you excited?
Simply asking the “why” question about 506,000 times to a person makes them come up with something. They are usually not used to being asked what they think and, as a result, give an answer that’s about the same.
You want THEIR story. The one about that they only got into debate because their uncle was. About how they have to Uber to work because their family can’t afford a car. The story about overcoming a disability no one knew they had. Those are the things that make quotes special.
In sum, I want quotes that engage me, make me happy/sad/angry/disappointed/excited, make me want to do something, entertain me. It should make me want to hear more of the story, not fill the gap from point A to point B.
7. Does someone else in the story already say that?
If so, don’t use it.
If Johnny says he “doesn’t like the cafeteria food,” then Janie says “the cafeteria food really just isn’t for me,” then Lillian says “the food here is whack,” what did I really learn? Nothing after Johnny’s quote. Janie and Lillian, as sweet as I’m sure they are, added nothing to my story. It’s not their fault, it is the reporter’s. Read over copy and make sure each quote provides something new, something fresh.
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