Oddly enough, there are few formal rules to guide writers' intent on turning speech into prose. The New York Times, for instance, has no written policy. USA Today, the Los Angeles Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer have drawn up guidelines. But even these guidelines are elastic at the Inquirer where reporters and editors sometimes disagree on application. Dialect is a delicate issue more sensitive than simply smoothing the grammar into proper style.
Editors worry about embarrassing sources or offending readers.
Fry, of The Poynter Institute, recalls two cases that invoked the wrath of readers for very different reasons. At the St. Petersburg Times, letter writers reacted angrily to a story about a black athlete who was quoted in black dialect. The writer, Fry said, had asked the athlete if he minded the quotations. He wanted to show that the athlete could shift easily between standard English and dialect. The athlete didn't mind.