#muckedup No. 9 recap: quote approval
@ckanal agreed, quote approval is generally ridiculous. It’s like telling chefs we must approve their spices used #muckedup
— Alastair Goldfisher (@agoldfisher) July 25, 2012
This week we brought back the #muckedup chat to a new time and day and decided to cover the contentious issue of quote approval.
We had participants from a lot of major news outlets and made so much noise that the chat became the top trending topic on Muck Rack on Tuesday. Which means you guys rock!
Thank you to everyone who came and helped make the chat a roaring success. Below is a taste of some of the best comments from the chat.
Q1: How does your news org deal with #quoteapproval? If everyone’s doing it, is it selling out? Background: http://owl.li/ctt8B #muckedup
@muckrack A1 I’ve never given anyone #quoteapproval on a piece, and believe it’s not a best practice to allow it. #muckedup
— Mike Roe (@MikeRoe) July 25, 2012
@muckrack everywhere I worked, not allowed. HOWEVER, in TV, they freq “butt” bites to keep it short. That can also change msg #muckedup
— Barrett Tryon (@tryonb) July 25, 2012
Q2: Have you ever been asked by a source to approve your quote before it ran? What did you do? How do you say no?
@muckrack only appropriate response to source asking for quote approval is uncontrollable laughter #muckedup
— Ivan Lajara (@ivanlajara) July 25, 2012
@muckrack A2) Yes, I laughed and thanked them for their time. #muckedup
— Ryan Gorman (@GormoJourno) July 25, 2012
Q3: Was Dan Rather right when he said #quoteapproval is the media’s way of selling out? Background: http://owl.li/ctu7n
@muckrack Rather is right. Capitulation to #quoteapproval comes at the erosion of public confidence. #muckedup
— Peter Leung (@peterleung) July 25, 2012
@muckrack A3) Of course its selling out, when a journalist no longer asks why and does what he/she is told they are a publicist. #muckrack
— Ryan Gorman (@GormoJourno) July 25, 2012
Q4. Does it matter who asks for quote approval? Should it? Is access worth it?
@muckrack A4 In practice, it matters. No, it shouldn’t. And I’m still torn on whether access to important people is worth it. #muckedup
— Mike Roe (@MikeRoe) July 25, 2012
@muckrack A4 No. Not at all. #muckedup
— Barrett Tryon (@tryonb) July 25, 2012
Q5: Tell us about some of your experience navigating through quote approval
Q5: Tell us about some of your experience navigating through quote approval #muckeup
— Muck Rack (@muckrack) July 25, 2012
Catering to sources is a bad habit. Before you know it, you’re their PR person. #muckedup
— Luis Gomez (@RunGomez) July 25, 2012
#quoteapproval RT @ckanal: @muckrack Not allowed. Against policy. Not cool to do in #journalism. Any or all of the above. #muckedup
— Muck Rack (@muckrack) July 25, 2012
Q6: Does your news organization have a policy when it comes to#quoteapproval? Has it changed? Background: http://owl.li/ctvhz
@muckrack since I freelance and now work for myself I have one rule: be smart. #muckedup
— Barrett Tryon (@tryonb) July 25, 2012
@adampopescu granting favors for access is never worth it. I’ve been burned too many times to waver ever again. #muckedup
— Alastair Goldfisher (@agoldfisher) July 25, 2012
Q7: How do you deal with sources who ask you to clean up quotes and make them sound intelligent? Seriously?
@muckrack Q7 I’ll do some minimal cleanup so that it reads cleaner, but not with the purpose of making anyone sound smarter. #muckedup
— Mike Roe (@MikeRoe) July 25, 2012
Agree. Can’t change meaning though. RT @elanazak: A7 Getting rid of “um’s,” “you know’s,” “yeah’s” is fine IMO. #muckedup
— Craig Kanalley (@ckanal) July 25, 2012
Q8: Is quote splicing acceptable? Do you share people’s quotes with them before publication, and if so, how?
@muckrack A8 I generally try to make it clear when quotes come from separate times in a conversation, though clarity is tough. #muckedup
— Mike Roe (@MikeRoe) July 25, 2012
@ckanal @adampopescu No, of course, I never change the meaning. Just unnecessary “um’s” and “yeah’s”#muckedup
— Elana Zak (@elanazak) July 25, 2012
Thanks to @muckrack and @adampopescu for a great chat! My first time here — it was fun! #muckedup
— Angelique (@afmarcom) July 25, 2012
Nice going @adampopescu on making this a trending topic!!! #muckedup
— Alastair Goldfisher (@agoldfisher) July 25, 2012
See you next week at 5pm PST / 8pm EST for #muckedup. Be there. RT @gregory: @adampopescu @MonicaRicci @tryonb @afmarcom Yeah, let’s do it!
— Muck Rack (@muckrack) July 25, 2012
Again, thank you to everyone who joined #muckedup this week. We’ll be chatting again next Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.
—AP
