'Says' versus 'said'

[RecentAZgrad]

"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.

I agree whole-heartedly. I've had issues with hard-headed copy editors over this who won't allow "says" in the paper "because that's the way it's always been done." Well, shirt, if you don't allow room for growth from what's "always been done," then how the heck is the industry supposed to grow?

"Says" can absolutely be used in feature stories, so long as it's done right and you don't switch between tenses.

 

[awriter]

Always "said" in a quote attribution or paraphrase. "Says" is common in PR writing, but not in news writing.

Not always. Ninety-nine percent of the time, yes, but there are instances where "says" works, particularly in featutres where you're trying to draw the into the scene.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

As noted earlier, "says" in an in-the-moment writing of a feature is okay. I'll go to the Pultizer collection for citations.

Straight news, no.

o-<

 

[Bamadog]

Said in all usages. That's our rule here.

 

[Bristol Whipped]

'Says' is present tense, 'said' is past tense, so your tense should determine which you use when. If you're using says in a feature, then it's a stylistic choice regarding using present tense to tell that feature story as opposed to the more traditional past tense, and you should stay consistent with that.

In straight news, though, says can also be used for attributing a statement that someone has consistently repeated and continues to repeat, ie "Coach Bristol Whipped says the 1996 allegations are false," but even then I would find a better way to phrase it and I would be cautious that coach Bristol Whipped hasn't changed his mind and left you with egg on your face. In fact, while you technically can use 'says' in this instance, I wouldn't recommend it and would say something instead like, 'Coach Bristol Whipped has denied the allegations ..."

 

[RickStain]

I'm not really sure why "said" doesn't work to set the scene in feature stories. The readers know that newspaper stories are never real-time.

 

[Den1983]

I know others disagree, but I prefer "says" in profile or feature stories, particularly when the quote expresses an ongoing opinion.

"SportsJournalists.com is a complete waste of my finger movement and brain space," JackS says.

In straight news, "said" is pretty much mandatory, because quotes are usually part of a snapshot in time.

"I walked past Penn Station, and I didn't see any fight," JackS said.

I've never used 'says' but I have seen it used often in profile and feature pieces, as you said.

I just can never get comfortable using it because it seems so odd.

 

[Double J]

I used "says" in my book for each quote from a person whom I personally interviewed.

When I used a quote that someone else elicited, I used "said."

And I properly attributed the source of each and every borrowed quote.

 

[broadway joe]

Sports Illustrated is pretty much nothing but "says."

 

[checkswinger]

What drives me nuts is when writers use 'says' and 'said' in the same story, arbitrarily. Guy at my shop does that all the time.

 

[BYUSportsGuy]

And Sports Illustrated's quality of journalism has also died over the years, Broadway...

I'm sure there are instances where "says" would be ok, but there aren't many of them. I hate reading both of my local papers because they use "says" all the time and never "said"—even in hard news stories.

In school we hardly ever used "says", so for me, it sounds a bit odd.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

I forget which paper had this style, but we were to use "says" when you are reflecting a statement is basically timeless, unchanging, not confined to a specific event, often repeated by that person:

"The Bible says do unto others ..."

"The AP Stylebook says to use 'that' for an essential clause and 'which' for a non-essential clause."

"The football coach says life is a shirt sandwich and every day you take another bite."