Testy Copy Editors

Hawkeye · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2003 11:35 am

My paper has gotten into the habit of doing Q&A stories. So far it's only appeared on feature pages and in entertainment tabs, but we've had at least one a week for the past month or two. I think they're interesting... sometimes. But do you think this is a sign of lazy reporting? The reporter could ask the same questions and frame the story in such a way so it's not choppy. Do other papers do it as much as once a week? Does anyone know if a reader is more likely to read a Q&A all the way through over a well-written story?

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Sun Oct 26, 2003 12:11 am

Sometimes a Q&A format is a good way to explain something in a sidebar: That is, the writer makes up the question and then answers it.But that's not what you're talking about.A Q&A with a reporter asking someone else questions is difficult to do well. The person interviewed needs to be articulate and interesting. These can have the benefits of a conversational tone, spontaneity and credibility. Again, these tend to work best as sidebars. Rarely do they work in newspapers if they get long.

mkolar · **Posted:** Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:44 pm

Q&A stories are really great, usually as sidebars to stories on complicated issues. I'm not wild about them for personality profiles, but for something like impact on the community from bug infestations, chemical spills, planned road work or development, etc., they can be a really clear and efficient way to answer the kinds of questions readers want immediate answers to. Questions have to be really good ones, and the answers should be kept as tight as possible. IMHO. <blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Hawkeye:
My paper has gotten into the habit of doing Q&A stories. ... do you think this is a sign of lazy reporting? The reporter could ask the same questions and frame the story in such a way so it's not choppy. Do other papers do it as much as once a week? Does anyone know if a reader is more likely to read a Q&A all the way through over a well-written story?<hr></blockquote>

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Sun Oct 26, 2003 7:16 pm

Q&As are more stenography than journalism.

RimRat · **Posted:** Tue Oct 28, 2003 10:32 pm

We use Q&As on occasion, especially with difficult to follow health or science stories and occasionally with mainstream news if the topic is interesting -- or complex. I'm somewhat ambivalent about their use. On the one hand, it's a kind of shorthand journalism; on the other, it can impart a great deal of (supplementary or expository) information quickly. In the main, I like them.

bwalsh · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2003 11:54 am

The Q&As I usually see in newspapers are fake ones, where the reporter makes up questions that she or he thinks Joe Average might ask. Q: When do the new regulations go into effect?
A: Jan. 1 of next year.
Q: Why didn't you just tell me that in your story?
A: I dunno. Answering questions is fun.
Q: Is this patronizing?
A: Yes.

ShiningPath · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2003 2:29 pm

Readers love Q&As, but most journalists hate them because such devices skip the middleman -- us -- and simply do the basic and simple job that newspapers no longer are interested in performing: reporting dispassionately what someone did or said.
The average reader is drawn to Q&As and pullout quotes and other devices that seem to have avoided the media's sieve. The reader only wants to know what the person said; he or she is not vitally interested in some reporter's spin about what they didn't say or might have hinted. A Q&A reflects a subordination of ego by the reporters and editors, and that's why they are so rarely seen in American newspapers. Problem is, most Q&As are severely doctored by the reporters or editors, so the device only becomes part of the overall spin or fraud.[ October 29, 2003: Message edited by: ShiningPath ]

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2003 2:36 pm

Rarely seen? Do a Nexis search of "Major Newspapers" on "Q&A" for the past 60 days and what do you get?
This search has been interrupted because it will return more than 1,000 documents.

pzicari · **Posted:** Thu Oct 30, 2003 12:04 am

Q&As work when you have some control over the answers or a source who will give succinct ones. A "fake" Q&A is great for summing up quick information. The style breaks down when you go to talk to Joe Bloviate, School Superintendent and feel obligated (to him) to quote every word. The worst I remember involved the late Pat Moynihan, whose every utterance was a paragraph and who never actually completed a sentence.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Thu Oct 30, 2003 12:47 am

An editor in Albany once assigned writers to take wire stories and turn them into Q&As for a weekly feature.[ October 30, 2003: Message edited by: blanp ]

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Thu Oct 30, 2003 11:55 am

I just did a Q&A with a married couple who survived an avalanche a few years ago. They described in detail what it was like to be caught in the avalanche and, in the woman's case, what it was like to be buried alive for 20 minutes, thinking she would die. I thought the story would be more powerful if told in their words rather than mine.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Thu Oct 30, 2003 2:20 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by ADKbrown:
I just did a Q&A with a married couple who survived an avalanche a few years ago. They described in detail what it was like to be caught in the avalanche and, in the woman's case, what it was like to be buried alive for 20 minutes, thinking she would die. I thought the story would be more powerful if told in their words rather than mine.<hr></blockquote>You sell yourself short, of course. As compelling as their accounts might be, they are only part of the story.

SeaRaven · **Posted:** Sat Nov 01, 2003 12:50 am

Don't forget the Q&A lede, in which the writer interviews himself:By Jay Hancock
(c) 2003, The Baltimore Sun
How strong is the U.S. economic recovery?
Pretty darn strong, if you read the headlines. The economy is running at its fastest pace since the 1990s bubble went pop, and the stock market and some business seers expect more of the same.

Jackie · **Posted:** Sun Nov 02, 2003 7:48 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by SeaRaven:
Don't forget the Q&A lede, in which the writer interviews himself:By Jay Hancock
(c) 2003, The Baltimore Sun
How strong is the U.S. economic recovery?
Pretty darn strong, if you read the headlines. The economy is running at its fastest pace since the 1990s bubble went pop, and the stock market and some business seers expect more of the same.
<hr></blockquote>
Oh, I so hate questions in stories, not to mention the lede.

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