How to quote from a press release


Here are two people quoted in a press release.

Dominic Stinton of TalkTalk commented: “Now we are all exposed to a huge wealth of information every day – not just online but across all media – which makes us better informed than ever about what’s going in the world. However the internet does enable us to access so many different interpretations of a news story – from FOX News, to Al Jazeera and the BBC, meaning we can often make a much more informed opinion ourselves.

“Some of the most interesting findings in this research demonstrate how people have come to rely on the internet for news above any other medium, and how much credibility they give it. Despite concerns about misinformation on the web, it seems that people are going to news sources they trust and now view surfing the internet as much a part of their news routine as watching the evening bulletin on TV.”

Commenting on the research, former Newsround presenter, John Craven, said:

“It is amazing how news broadcasting has changed since I started Newsround on BBC One in 1972. Hard to believe that at 5pm it was the first television news bulletin of the day. Now we have 24 hour news channels on television and radio and something we could never have dreamed of only a few years ago and the internet giving us the latest news the instant we want it. I have always been a news junkie waiting for the next big story to break. Now it seems everyone else is, too.

And now quoted in the Telegraph:

Dominic Stinton, from Talk Talk, who commissioned the survey, said: “We’re all exposed to a huge wealth of information every day which makes us better informed than ever about what’s going on in the world.”

John Craven, the former presenter of Newsround, said: “It’s hard to believe that at 5pm Newsround used to be the first television news bulletin of the day.

“Now we have 24 hours news. I have always been a news junkie – now it seems everyone else is, too.”

And now the Mirror:

TalkTalk’s Dominic Stinton said: “We’re all exposed to a huge wealth of information every day which makes us better informed than ever about what’s going in the world.”

Legendary presenter of TV’s Newsround John Craven added: “It’s hard to believe that at 5pm Newsround used to be the first television news bulletin of the day.

“Now we have 24 hour news. I have always been a news junkie – now it seems everyone else is, too.”


One response to “How to quote from a press release”

  1. A sound bite quote will never allow for a “However…”-type nuance.
    It’s our (the news consumer’s) own bloody fault. Nuance, to the average news consumer, is like pearls for the swines (what with me being a stoopit forrinner, I’m not even sure if that’s a known expression in English, but it expresses what I think fairly accurately).

    Since the media are catering for us swines these days, I think it’s impossible these days to make a weighted statement about a complex subject in an interview and NOT get ‘malquoted’ in the mainstream media.

    Sad? Yes, far as I’m concerned.