'Says' versus 'said'

[lmcmillan33]

I think most people on here have the understanding of "said vs. says" down pretty well. There are rare cases where "says" is appropriate in news writing. However, the AP apparently disagrees. Especially in short news briefs, stories always have "says." The people in reference said what they said and might say it again if asked, but I doubt they are continuing to say it or that they say it repeatedly.

 

[cranberry]

"Says" is perfectly appropriate in limited instances for feature writing -- namely, when you're trying to put the reader "in the moment" or show real-time action, but that technique should be used sparingly. It's also the common attribution tense for magazine writing.

"Said" is usually appropriate is almost every instance, however ... especially in newspaper writing (or news writing in any medium).

But, for heaven's sake, don't mix tenses within the same story unless you absolutely know what you're doing.

Simply, reformedhack saved me the time.

This, of course, is the correct answer here. And as the rip-and-readers among us know the use of "says" is preferable in most broadcast writing where the idea is to keep topics in the present tense.

 

[RedCanuck]

I can see a time for both in the same story, but you're right, you have to do it well. If I'm writing something descriptive or in a narrative style - and it has a place in a feature or a gamer at times - I might talk about "Coach Ray says "I'm getting to old for this game" as he walks back to the dugout" as something that is present or in the moment. Then I might use "I'm going to think about retirement" Ray said in a recent press conference.