As George Bush explained about Iran-Contra, Mistakes were made. Reporters also write in the passive voice because their editors print sentences in the passive voice. Count the active and passive sentences in a couple of typical stories in your section. Your reporters gauge what s acceptable by reading the paper, by reading what you print. Sentences are easier to write and read in the passive voice because the vast majority of English sentences are spoken in the passive voice.
Passive sentences sound more like conversation.
Harder to read too. If readers find passive sentences easier to read, perhaps we should write all our sentences that way. No, we shouldn t, because the Founding Fathers included us in the First Amendment to reveal the actors behind the actions. Coaching editors can help their reporters write in the more vigorous, more revealing active voice. First, we make sure our reporters understand active versus passive and the resultant effects.