Style question for the old-timers

[MC Sports Guy]

For instance, after a local team neededn 11-point rally in the final minutes to win the game, I asked the coach about the comeback. The quote read, :"That's a pretty good gameplan, huh," Coach joked. Perhaps the sarcasm is implied, I don't know. but I always felt adding "joked" helps. Like someone said earlier, it's not so bad to do it in extreme moderation.

Why not use Coach said, jokingly.
Our rule is "said." If you are interviewing two people at once such as after a game. One person says something, followed by the other without another question being asked, then it's OK to use "Coach added" because he did in fact add something to what was previously said.

To me, simply because saying "Coach joked" is shorter than saying Coach said, jokingly. Maybe that's not good enough a reason, but my best journalism professor always told me when presented with two ways to say one thing, pick the shorter one.

but like I said, I'm not one to allow implied, stated, etc. into stories. I only find myself doing it in this situation to convey sarsasm.

 

[Ellis Redding]

A lot of our reporters don't put the attribution in until the end, either. It always reads funny to me. I'll change it if it messes with the flow of the quote and the comment having a natural breaking point.

Which is something else. They'll put four sentences of quote before "Doe said". I was taught to always put the attribution after the first sentence of the quote. Sometimes I'll split a one-sentence quote with the attribution when it feels right to do so.

"Some days," Doe said, "you can't be the lead dog."

The worst is stringers who do something like --

"Man, that defense really sucked tonight," Haywood Jablome, Bumfork U's coach, said.

 

[OTD]

"he remarked" was a favorite of someone whose copy I used to edit (and who has been ripped on this board before). I changed it to said everytime, and he never figured out why.

Another thing that pisses me off: using "he says" instead of "he said." The same guy used to use "says" for features--how that made it more featurey, I never figured out.

 

[SF_Express]

"he remarked" was a favorite of someone whose copy I used to edit (and who has been ripped on this board before). I changed it to said everytime, and he never figured out why.

Another thing that pisses me off: using "he says" instead of "he said." The same guy used to use "says" for features--how that made it more featurey, I never figured out.

Actually, OTD, my old friend, I'm not against the present tense in certain feature contexts. Not all the time, certainly, but to me it's not black and white.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

I don't mind present tense when talking about someone's philosophy or oft-repeated sentiment

Joey Doe says there's nothing like a little rim action in the morning.

 

[PHINJ]

"Say Say Say" is not a forking Beatles song.

 

[OTD]

"he remarked" was a favorite of someone whose copy I used to edit (and who has been ripped on this board before). I changed it to said everytime, and he never figured out why.

Another thing that pisses me off: using "he says" instead of "he said." The same guy used to use "says" for features--how that made it more featurey, I never figured out.

Actually, OTD, my old friend, I'm not against the present tense in certain feature contexts. Not all the time, certainly, but to me it's not black and white.

I understand, and wouldn't blindly change it if it made sense. But in this case, that was how this person defined it as a feature--and it was annoying as heck.

 

[m2spts]

It's like exclamation points!
Bristled, exclaimed, quipped ... no.
It's he said, she said.
Enough said.
Also, the "said" should come as close to the comma close quote (e.g., said M2spts or M2spts said) and not after a name, job title (e.g., Bob Knight, the coach of the Texas Tech basketball team, said.)

 

[Mystery_Meat]

What about interrobangs‽ Can we use them‽

 

[Ike Broflovski]

I'm confused.

Is it, "Blah, blah, blah," said Said.

Or, "Blah, blah, blah," Said said.

 

[Boobie Miles]

A lot of our reporters don't put the attribution in until the end, either. It always reads funny to me. I'll change it if it messes with the flow of the quote and the comment having a natural breaking point.

Which is something else. They'll put four sentences of quote before "Doe said". I was taught to always put the attribution after the first sentence of the quote. Sometimes I'll split a one-sentence quote with the attribution when it feels right to do so.

"Some days," Doe said, "you can't be the lead dog."

So no matter what the quote is you always put the attribution after the first sentence? I think that's typically the way to go but sometimes if it breaks up one thought that is two sentences, I'll put it after the second sentence.

"This was a total team effort. It's great anytime you can have five players score in double figures," coach Jones said. "Now we just need to keep this up going into the tournament."

 

[Mystery_Meat]

A lot of our reporters don't put the attribution in until the end, either. It always reads funny to me. I'll change it if it messes with the flow of the quote and the comment having a natural breaking point.

Which is something else. They'll put four sentences of quote before "Doe said". I was taught to always put the attribution after the first sentence of the quote. Sometimes I'll split a one-sentence quote with the attribution when it feels right to do so.

"Some days," Doe said, "you can't be the lead dog."

So no matter what the quote is you always put the attribution after the first sentence? I think that's typically the way to go but sometimes if it breaks up one thought that is two sentences, I'll put it after the second sentence.

"This was a total team effort. It's great anytime you can have five players score in double figures," coach Jones said. "Now we just need to keep this up going into the tournament."

In that case, I'd be more likely to change the period into a semicolon

"This was a total team effort; it's great any time you can have five players score in double figures," Jones said. "Now we just need to keep this up going into the tournament."