#muckedup chat Tuesday: Quote Approval
Last Monday The New York Times ran a front page article detailing the shocking trend of quote approval, the process wherein politicians tell reporters what quotes they can and cannot use for publication. This means reporters only using quotes that get approval from (Boss Tweed) a political press office. Is this the price we have to pay for the money quote?
Fallout from the article has a slew of news organizations clarifying their stances and views about a phenomenon Dan Rather calls selling out and a “jaw dropping trend in journalism.”
But if everyone’s doing it, is it selling out? Is this the new norm or is this just another arrow lodged in the heart of 21st century journalism?
After a mini-hiatus we’re restarting the #muckedup chat this Tuesday, July 22 at 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST; we’ll examine this trend and try to answer these questions, and extend quote approval from just political purposes to celebrities, corporations and everyday people. Chew on this for tomorrow: How do you deal with sources who ask you to clean up quotes and make them sound intelligent? Is quote splicing acceptable? Do you share people’s quotes with them before publication, and if so, how?
Journalists and PR pros please join in and tweet to us at @muckrack using the hashtag #muckedup. I’m taking the reigns after a great run from Elana Zak. I’ve previously hosted #journchat and #socialchat and have tackled how to make twitter chats work for you as a contributor to ReadWriteWeb. Hope to see you Tuesday.
—AP
