 |
|
January 22, 2006
Common Media Bias Red Herrings
Posted by Bill The Commissar makes a common blogger observation about reporting style ... Not sure why the scare quotes, but this is good news. ... in response to this sentence in a BBC report about the US Navy capturing suspected pirates off Somalia: The US navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain and patrols the Indian Ocean, received reports of “an attempted act of piracy” approximately 50 miles (80km) off the Somali coast on Friday, it said in a statement. Not to pick on the Commissar (his suspicion sure isn't baseless with the BBC), but those are just quotes, sans "scare." When a reporter wants to use the exact phraseology employed by the source - which is both precise and conveys added meaning about how the source described the action - it's good form to incorporate a directly attributed quote into a sentence. Yes, the technique is sometimes abused in a biased way via an injected undercurrent of irony - usually when immediately juxtaposed with contrary "analysis" by the reporter, or a conflicting source's quote which is assigned more credibility by the reporter - but incorporation of quotes into a sentence is also good journalistic style that conveys added, emotionless specificity. I've seen a lot of bloggers react negatively when a report employs this technique, but I think it's relevant to recultivate the perspective that the use of quotes does not default to questioning the source's credibility. Helps keep the blood pressure down, too. UPDATE: Florida Cracker delivers the short version in the first comment. Posted by Bill at January 22, 2006 02:35 PM | TrackBack (2) Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsMemo to self: always check if journalist is using quote marks simply to quote someone. Posted by: Donnah at January 22, 2006 04:25 PM Yeah, that's the, uh, short version. One might be surprised at how many memos a lot of people need. I have one that reminds me to take off my shoes before I try to remove my pants, for example. But sometimes I still forget. Posted by: Bill from INDC at January 22, 2006 06:28 PM sounds right, bill. duly noted. Posted by: The Commissar at January 22, 2006 07:42 PM As hosti humanis generis, pirates are liable to summary execution. Now that would have been funny. Posted by: David Gillies at January 23, 2006 04:16 PM At one time they hung pirates from the yardarm now they just send them to prison Posted by: BIRDZILLA at January 29, 2006 02:45 PM ionolsen21 Your home page its great Posted by: tester at October 18, 2006 08:11 AM ionolsen23 Your home page its great Posted by: timoshka at October 20, 2006 03:34 PM ionolsen40 Your home page its great Posted by: kolyma at November 6, 2006 12:06 PM Posted by: viagra gum at November 13, 2006 12:15 PM dnpjox jrdxztpm lvqn dhzqbeu lscj yvwgi preohlwfj Posted by: dzkpc rybkgtze at March 9, 2007 09:02 AM London-born rapper Sway is to be honoured at the BET Hip-Hop awards in the US... Posted by: Malachi Esparza at April 16, 2007 07:28 AM London-born rapper Sway is to be honoured at the BET Hip-Hop awards in the US... Posted by: Malachi Esparza at April 16, 2007 07:29 AM London-born rapper Sway is to be honoured at the BET Hip-Hop awards in the US... Posted by: Malachi Esparza at April 16, 2007 07:29 AM Microsoft and Peter Jackson postpone the making of a film based on the Halo video game after backers pull out... Posted by: Kirk Toscano at April 16, 2007 04:48 PM Microsoft and Peter Jackson postpone the making of a film based on the Halo video game after backers pull out... Posted by: Kirk Toscano at April 16, 2007 04:50 PM Microsoft and Peter Jackson postpone the making of a film based on the Halo video game after backers pull out... Posted by: Kirk Toscano at April 16, 2007 04:50 PM Record company EMI sign a deal with the estate of crooner Dean Martin to use the singer's likeness... Posted by: Tyson Mccloskey at April 17, 2007 03:01 AM Record company EMI sign a deal with the estate of crooner Dean Martin to use the singer's likeness... Posted by: Tyson Mccloskey at April 17, 2007 03:02 AM Record company EMI sign a deal with the estate of crooner Dean Martin to use the singer's likeness... Posted by: Tyson Mccloskey at April 17, 2007 03:02 AM |
Feed Me, Seymour
bill *at* indcjournal *dot* com
Support Our Advertisers
Search
Archives
June 2008May 2008 April 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004
Extras
PDARSD Atom RSS 2.0 RSS 1.0
Credits
Our Blogroll
|