Quotations
Principles and practices

Introduction
Direct quotes give the reader a sense of the people making them
Used when the exact language comes closer to the revelation of the truth and essential to the story
Attribution of news is necessary in the story

What quotation does to story

It tells the story effectively
Carries conviction
Reader can visualize the colourful, confident/scared picture of the person in the news- captures the personality effectively
Succinctly summarize the points
Gives authority to the writing

Contd.
6. It can dramatize the incidents
7. Make the story convincing and memorable
8. finally, it can increase the interest of the reader in the news.

Rules for handling quotes
Rules to decide when to use a quote or paraphrase.
When it is necessary to put the person on record in his own words
Quote sums up what the person is saying
It lets the reader visualize the person/situation

More…
Essential in question and answer stories
To provide a break or a twist to the story

Improving quotes
What does a reporter do in case what is said contains bad grammar, factual errors, sentences that make no sense, etc.?
Does he clean it up or let it run with mistakes?
Correct the quote- purpose of story is to communicate information
Others- unethical to tamper, paraphrase such quotes

Forms of quotes…
Direct quotes- exact words of the source
Indirect quotes- the reporter paraphrases the quotes in his own words
Fragmented/partial quotes- quote the source somewhere in the middle of the sentence for emphasis
Dialogue- to present a conversation between two/more people either fully/partially