Chapter 9 Week 9

1. It is usually safer to leave quotes as they are because meaning can change when quotes are 'corrected'. I would probably leave the quote as is, but try to make it sound more clear and consise. Try paraphrasing or using partial quotes in order to make the quotes more effective and useful.

2. Journalists should never resort to making threats to people in order to get information, it is simply unethical.

3. Journalists get their information by relating to their source, so some sort of relationship is formed through this procedure. The extent of the relationship is important to consider though, because journalists can become bias when they become emotionally attached to a story they are writing about. The relationship should remain professional in order to be ethical.

4. Becoming emotionally involved with a source can be bad for a journalist because is can result in a bias araticle.

5.George Bush regularly makes mistakes in his speeches. Whether to correct the mistakes would depend upon the topic of the article being written. Whether is was a serious or not so serious piece for example.


Points of Interest

- Journalists have to be very careful when quoting sources as a mis written quote can result in the journalist going to court having to explain why the edited someones quote etc.

- Journalists have to ensure sources and interviewees understand when things are on or off the record, this concept can become confusing for some people. If a source is unclear on what is on or off the record a journalist can get into trouble if the source sees a public quote that they thought was off the record.

- A good interviewer can put themselves in the interviewee's place without becoming emotionally involved. They can empathise and understand the position of the interviewee. It is important not to express opinion in your writing when you are a journalist. Your writing is supposed to allow the public to decide their opinion for themselves.