Student Understanding of the Use of Quotes and Paraphrases

Students are told from practically their first day of journalism school that one of the most important elements of any good news story is the direct quotation. News writing textbooks instruct students to include quotes regardless of the subject matter, noting that direct quotation "can be the soul of a news story or feature" (Itule & Anderson, 1997, p. 91). Mitchell and West (1996) go so far as to state that, "In the most general sense, quotations are the basis of all news stories" (p. 51). Textbooks argue that personal testimony from sources makes a news report more believable, understandable, lively, easy to read, and natural sounding (Brooks, Kennedy, Moen & Ranly, 1996; Itule & Anderson, 1997; Mencher, 1997; Rich, 1994). Brooks et al. (1996) suggest that "Quotation marks signal the reader that something special is coming. Direct quotes provide a story with a change of pace, a breath of air" (p. 121). One journalism text has even provided a rule of thumb for the use of direct quotes: Include one direct quote for every two paraphrased quotes (Izard, Culbertson & Lambert, 1971). The use of a direct quote indicates, of course, that what is included between the quotation marks is an exact replication of a speaker's words. A 1976 study (Culbertson & Somerick) showed that readers are generally aware of this intended meaning of quotation marks: Eighty percent of the 283 Ohio residents surveyed knew that quotation marks signaled the inclusion of the exact words of a speaker. Some editors may allow reports to "clean up" a quote to avoid poor grammar or profanity, but they insist that no changes be made to the meaning of the original words (Itule & Anderson, 1997). But the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (1996) is firm in its guidelines for using direct quotes: "Never alter quotations even to correct minor grammatical errors or word usage" (p. 172). Regardless of whether journalism instructors and editors allow any type of alteration to a direct quote, they seem to agree that quotes are a key component of a news story. One text (Fox, 1977) even warned potential reporters. In every significant news story, editors look first for direct quotes from the principals. If they are not to be found, the writer will need an exceptionally convincing excuse if he is to escape the wrath of the city desk (p. 74). While much power is attributed to a quotation's ability to liven up and add credibility to a news story, little attention has been paid in journalism textbooks to the actual persuasive impact of a direct quotation. Recent research (Gibson & Zillmann, 1993,1998) shows that direct quotes can serve as powerful tools in influencing a reader's perception of an issue addressed in a news report. It has been shown that direct quotes have more influence than paraphrased quotes - a fact that has not been addressed in journalism textbooks. This study will investigate beginning and advanced journalism students' awareness of quotation practices to determine if they detect differences in use of quotations that could lead to potential biases in news reports. Early research examining the effects of quotation usage focused on how the inclusion of direct quotes influences the perceived quality of a news report, A 1974 study (Weaver, Hopkins, Billings & Cole) found no significant differences in readers' ratings of the quality of stories with direct quotes and those with paraphrased quotes. In that study, both beginning and advanced journalism students evaluated newspaper articles containing identical information, one version with direct quotation and one with paraphrased quotation. All versions relied heavily on the quotation of only one individual. The respondents rated the stories similarly in terms of informativeness, accuracy, objectivity, believability, interest, conciseness, readability, and colorfulness. The respondents also similarly evaluated the individual cited in the news report in terms of believability, informativeness, interest, effectiveness, colorfulness, and precision. …