http://concord.patch.com/articles/verrill-farm-harvest-festival-raises-12000-for-emerson-hospital-pediatrics
The topic of this article is in the headline, and the article is clearly a press release. The single quote is hollow and ineffective. I have written many a press release myself, having worked for small nonprofits for the last twenty years, and boy is my face red. Wish I had taken this course a long time ago. The (yawn) quote is below.
"How can we possibly express our gratitude to Steve and Joan Verrill for what they have done for pediatric patients at Emerson," said Kay Liebmann, nurse manager of Emerson Hospital's pediatric intervention team. "Any words we might say seem inadequate."
"How do we thank two people for giving so much of themselves to benefit the emotional well-being of the children of our community? On behalf of all the children who come to Emerson and the staff who care for them, we offer our appreciation and sincere gratitude."
Molly, I feel your pain...despite the fact that i was a reporter for a long time, when I became a PR person, the fluff quotes became part of many of my releases. The only thing that made me feel better was knowing that reporters pay absolutely no attention to them. I could go on and on about how today's press releases aren't really for reporters at all, but I'll spare you as you probably know these points all too well. Best, Nancy
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious! I recall being quoted by a local Vermont (my home state) paper when I was in college in Montréal. There was an ice storm that hit northern VT and parts of Québec, and I was interviewed about it. Of all of the brilliant things that came out of my mouth (or so I liked to think), the only quote they used was, "It is really cold here," says Lium.
ReplyDeleteI was incensed that, though the reported used my words, she took them slightly out of context and made the story somewhat anemic, when it could have been interesting.
True, I do not see many journalism tips given to us in practice like one-breath lede, clear nutgraf and succinct quotes.
ReplyDelete