J. Jonah Jamison, editor, Daily Bugle, Spider Man, Marvel Comics.
“Attribute everything,” the editor said.
Nearly all information in a news report should be attributed, either directly or indirectly. The only major exception is the information gathered by a reporter who is an eyewitness to an event.
Indirect attribution: In a short news item, the attribution may be to a generic official source. For example:
The highway was closed for two hours, police said.
If there is more information that came directly from police, you don’t have to keep repeating “police said … police said” if it’s already clear what your main source is.
Paraphrase: Suppose you are conveying information that comes directly from a source but does not need a direct quote. Then you might use a paraphrase.
The accident took place on a sharp curve during a thunder storm, state police Sgt. James Millbrook said.
Broadcast attribution:
Usually in radio or television the attribution comes first, and we use actualities (short video or audio clips of the source) instead of direct quotes.
- Good: Police said the accident was a result of poor road conditions.
- Not OK: Police said the accident was a result of quote – poor road conditions — unquote. (Seems like “scare quotes”)
- Best: Sgt. Jenny Malone explains how the accident occurred.
[CLIP #1 MALONE – OUTCUE: “…do our best under the circumstances.”]
Direct quotes: Web or print attribution
In a written news story, for web or print, direct quotes are used for color, for explanation, for helping readers understand emotional drama or to get a sense of a broader outlines of the issues.
Direct quotes should be selected carefully as the best representation of a news source’s opinion or point of view, since they let the source speak directly to readers.
Don’t use direct quotes for basic facts or other mundane material.
Correct: “The city is growing so fast, honestly, we are having a problem keeping up with road repairs,” said Redford city mayor Fred Smith. “But we are trying,” he added.
Not a good quote: “The city has experienced 2.3 percent growth over the past ten years,” said Redford city mayor Fred Smith. “Current projects are to build two new bridges and repair 12 existing roads.”
Note the structure of the direct quote:
Quote marks, capitalize first word, sentence begins, sentence ends in a comma, then quote marks close, then attributional verb (said is the usual neutral choice) and then the name. Use full name and title on first reference, but only last name on second and subsequent references. Vary this by using the appropriate pronoun.
Attributional verbs in news articles should always be neutral in tone or implication. Consider these examples of biased attributional verbs:
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- “… we are having a problem,” Smith claimed. (implies falsehood)
- “… we are having a problem,” Smith pointed out. (implies truth)
- “… we are having a problem,” Smith screamed. (implies inept or undignified statement)
- “… we are having a problem,” Smith testified. (implies court hearing).
Of course, if the mayor is in a court hearing, or is screaming, that should be noted. But in the ordinary course of events, “said” is the most neutral attributional verb. Reporters don’t need to worry about repeating that word throughout a story.
Anonymous attribution
Under extreme circumstances, it may be appropriate to keep the name of a source confidential. These circumstances would include the need to shield sources during an investigation or following an ethical duty to minimize harm by protecting the identities of a witness to, or victim of, a crime.
Anonymous attribution should never be used to cover up lazy reporting. Example: One student said “we were excited to have one of the best hip-hop artists on our stage.” Here there is no reason to protect the identity of the source.
Sourcing agreements
On the record — Everything is on the record in any public hearing or statements generally made to the media by public figures or officials. That means that direct quotes can be attributed to a fully identified source. On rare occasions, there may be a specific agreement otherwise.
On background — Sometimes, when government or industry officials are involved in delicate negotiations, the press needs to be briefed in a non-official way. Thus, a Secretary of State may become a “high level State Department official.” Editors will insist on knowing who the source is and why the source has to stay on background.
Deep background — On very rare occasions, especially in areas of national security, information may be attributed only to “a source” or perhaps “a government source.” Editors will insist on knowing who the source is and why the source has to stay on deep background.
Off the record –– In professional cases, this means that the information will not be used, ever, by the reporter, even if it is confirmed by other sources. It is a promise of complete confidentiality. It’s not a promise to be made lightly.
There is usually no reason for a reporter to agree to go “off the record” with a public person, but private people who are not used to talking with the media may need to explain the context of some public issue in a confidential way.
In those cases we agree to “on background” status, which means withholding the private person’s name or details. Again, this may be particularly important for regular private people who are victims of crimes, and the default ethical choice when victims do not wish to be identified.
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Also see
Journalists use of anonymous sources – A discussion of how and when sources are allowed to go on background.
Protecting sources — A discussion of shield laws, newsroom searches and trespass.
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* That kind of routine information can be paraphrased or (better yet) displayed in an easy to understand map or info-graphic.