" ... for list members to condemn all journalists is
like condemning all beekeepers for using bad
management procedures."

I have to agree with the basic premise, but as one who
has been interviewed several times for bee-related
stories I find it difficult not to paint journalists
with a broad, unflattering brush.

Let's talk quotations. When I majored in journalism
(25-plus years ago) I was taught that quotations were
sacred -- you just did not put anything between
quotation marks that the interviewee did not actually
say. But that seems to have changed. Now the tendency
is to take what the guy said and paraphrase it,
summarize it or even change it to what you wish he had
said. I base this on several of my own experiences and
those of others I've talked to.

IMHO, reporters are taught (if not in J-school, then
at the papers where they work) that putting words in
quotes gives a story an aura of authenticity. But
unfortunately, people don't always say what you want
them to say, so sometimes you just gotta get creative.

Eugene Makovec
Kirkwood, MO USA

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