Getting a good quote
One of the most important parts about being a journalist, next to telling the truth, is getting good quotes. It is the job of a reporter to go out and interview sources for their story then hope, pray and wish the source has something amazing to say that will add to the story. Sometimes it happens and unfortunately sometimes it doesn’t. But when it does, it is awesome. “Quotes can make or break a story,” arts editor Sarah Gilmore said, “They add the emotion that writing in an unbiased way lacks.”
Then there are the other quotes. The quotes that come out of the mouths of Mustang Daily staff when deadline is fast approaching and sleep deprivation sets in. Often times the quotes are witty and others are even shocking but mostly the quotes are hilarious and that is how they make it onto one of the newsroom walls, immortalized for all eternity. Or until the tape loses it’s stickiness and it falls off the wall. “They bring a sense of unity to the staff,” photo editor Christian Millan said.
Copy editor David Liebig dominates as quote master on the newsroom fridge.
Quotes bring life and laughter into a work environment that can be tense and stressful at times. Having the quotes to look back on are a reminder that the job is a pretty fun one at times too. Copy editor Cate Harkins said the quotes show what the staff is like. “We are clever, we are inappropriate, we are immature, but the quotes are a way to remember good moments in the newsroom,” Harkins said.
The board is where the quotes that are a little less family friendly tend to go.
Here are some of the most memorable quotes that have been said this year so far. Straight from the walls of the Mustang Daily newsroom.
A news reporter working on a story needed contact info quickly and toll-free.
Reporter: “What is Armstrong’s number?” Editor: “1-800-President Armstrong“
Discussing the finer points of web editing.
“My backend looks pretty good”
The perks of being left-handed?
“If you’re left-handed, that means you were a twin and you killed the other one in the womb.”
In a memo to all photographers…
“If you see any important people around campus, shoot them.”
The WOWies have arrived
“WOWies are people too.”
What is news…and what isn’t
“We are covering an investigation…when a sorority gardens on the weekend, that’s not news.”
Quotes are immortalized along the doorway of the editor in chief and managing editor's office.
Getting your first quote on the wall is a milestone. Yours truly made the coveted wall just days after beginning the position as news editor with…
“No one finds anything in the ocean.”
If you want to know the story behind that one, drop by sometime.
haha I definitely read a lot of these quotes the other day.