Jerz > Writing > Journalism

In movies and novels, reporters often introduce quotes with phrases like “when asked about…”  It’s shorthand for, “Hello, I’m a fictional journalist, here to advance the plot.”

But just as most French people don’t actually wear berets and say “sacrebleu!” and most scientists don’t actually stare at tubes of blue liquid, working journalists very rarely use phrases like “when asked about.”

	When asked about the habit he would most like his students to break, journalism teacher Dennis Jerz eagerly said, “When I see the phrase ‘when asked about,’ I look for things to hurl.” Clearly we can see just how much he really hates the phrase. (45 words, with a lot of fluff)
We would expect the gossipy Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter to write this way; it’s also how a daytime TV talk show host or podcaster might talk. But it’s very wordy. Let’s cut it down to the essentials.
	When asked about the habit he would most like his students to break, journalism teacher Dennis Jerz eagerly said, “When I see the phrase ‘when asked about,’ I look for things to hurl.” Clearly we can see just how much he really hates the phrase.
	“When I see the phrase ‘when asked about,’ I look for things to hurl,” said journalism teacher Dennis Jerz. (19 useful words)

When students first start doing journalism, they tend to gravitate towards this phrase they’ve seen in movies, in order to signal to the world, “I am doing journalism now.”

When it’s used without a good reason, it’s a lazy transition that emphasizes the reporter’s questions instead of the source’s answers. When overused, the results can be comic.

When asked how he was doing today, Smith said, “I’m fine, how are you?”

Commenting on whether he wanted to talk about the bloody bandage on his head, Smith said, “Not really, no.”

On the topic of whether he would like the reporter to leave now, Smith said, “Yes.”

Note that even if you avoid those specific words “when asked about,” the variations are still clunky transitions that break, rather than preserve, the flow of a story.

If the quote is, “I’ve always thought mustard was great but I prefer cheese,” context matters.

	When asked whether he liked cheese or mustard, Smith said, “I’ve always thought mustard was great but I prefer cheese.”
Boring. The “When asked about” adds nothing of value.

	After an aide dripped mustard on the podium, Smith said, “I’ve always thought mustard was great but I prefer cheese.”
	After a protester threw a packet of mustard at his feet, “Smith said, “I’ve always thought mustard was great but I prefer cheese.”
In these cases, the reporter is making the conscious choice to present context that affects our interpretation of the quote. But good reporters use intros like this selectively, only when a quote would give the wrong impression if it weren’t contextualized.

Sometimes, Asking the Question Is Part of the News

Usually phrases like “When asked about…” are filler.

Obama Shares Bizarre Bunny Wish United States president Barack Obama stunned a Paris crowd when he expressed a desire to be transformed into a small furry animal. “I would like to be a fuzzy bunny,” said Obama upon arriving at the Paris Convention Hall, where hundreds of European educators and financiers gathered for a United Nations conference on childhood poverty. Obama also expressed dissatisfaction with his ears. “I have big ears, but they’re not floppy and fuzzy.”

Sounds pretty bizarre, right? This is a made-up example, but in my imaginary scenario, here’s a transcript of what really happened, on the sidewalk outside the Paris Convention Hall, as Obama was rushing from his limo to the front lobby: Reporter: Mr. President! Mr. President! Obama: There’s time for just one question today, folks. Yes? Reporter: Mr. President, if you had to choose between being a giant robot with laser beam eyes, or a fuzzy little bunny with floppy ears, what would you be? Obama: (Laughing.) Those are my only two choices? Reporter: Yes. Obama. Well, then. Lasers robots can be scary. Too scary for children. It’s hard to do my job and help people if they’re scared of you. So okay then. I would like to be a fuzzy bunny. I’ve been told I have big ears, but they’re not floppy and fuzzy. When it comes to listening to solutions to the problems faced by the world’s children, I’m all ears. (Laughs.) Other reporters: Mr. President! Mr. President! Obama: Sorry, sorry. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to hop to it.

There are no fabrications in the news story with the headline “Bizarre Bunny Wish,” but the casual reader might reasonably assume the bunny statement was part of Obama’s prepared speech.

Here are several ways you might introduce this odd detail, if for some reason you felt it was newsworthy.

	Barack Obama let his playful side show when a grade-school reporter asked him to pick whether he would rather be a “giant robot” or a “fuzzy little bunny.” Quipping that being a “scary” robot would make it harder to do his job, the president chose the bunny. “Now, if  you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to hop to it,” he said, before disappearing into the convention hall.
You might instead try the more stark:
	Offered the choice of being a robot or a bunny, Barack Obama chose the bunny. “I’ve been told I have big ears, but they’re not floppy and fuzzy. When it comes to listening to solutions to the problems faced by the world’s children, I’m all ears,” he told reporters as he arrived at an economic summit in Paris.

On the steps outside the convention hall, Obama took a question from Pierre Clouseau, 7. Clouseau, with a pencil perched behind his ear, shouted in perfect English: “Mr. President, if you had to choose between being a giant robot with laser beam eyes, or a fuzzy little bunny with floppy ears, what would you be?” “I would like to be a fuzzy bunny. I’ve been told I have big ears, but they’re not floppy and fuzzy,” the president quipped.

The above example was lighthearted, but the question can become part of the news in more serious stations, as well.

When a 2-year-old was mauled to death by wild dogs at the Pittsburgh Zoo in 2012, a zoo official who is probably more used to delivering cheerful news about frolicking polar bears and baby elephants faced some unusually aggressive questions from a reporter. She is quoted as saying “There is no such thing as a failproof exhibit,” which, out of context, could be seen as harsh or dismissive of the tragic loss of a human life.

In order to avoid the potential misunderstanding, a journalist is ethically obligated to be proactive, describing the situation, so that the readers can put the quote in its proper context.

One reporter asked Baker whether she took responsibility for not creating a fail-proof exhibit. “Life is full of risk,” she said. “There’s no failproof part of risk in life. We do everything we possibly can and evaluate it every day. The safety not only of our visitors but our staff as well. We work with wild animals, we work with dangerous animals every day.” The reporter interrupted and pressed her: Do you take responsibility for not creating a failproof exhibit? “There is no such thing as a failproof exhibit,” she said. via UPDATE: Pittsburgh Zoo CEO says boy was killed by dogs, not fall – latimes.com.

The LA Times did not include the reporter’s question as a lazy way of introducing what happened next; rather, details about the way the question was asked provide important context — the zoo spokesperson was being pushed to make an extreme statement, and she pushed back a little. (Good for her! She’s doing her job.) This is a real-world example of a rare case when it is appropriate to mention the reporter’s question in order to help the reader understand the response. (See also “The Invisible Observer.”)