Cannot vs. would not comment

Fairly regularly, I see sentences like this in stories:

"Mayor Jane Darby said she cannot comment because the lawsuit is ongoing." (Group sues Edisto Beach after town bans religious worship services from its civic center)

She certainly can comment if she wants to, unless there is a clear policy, law, etc., that prevents her.

And maybe there is. But too often stories say an official said he or she "cannot" comment. Often, a stock phrase that like "because the lawsuit is ongoing" is thrown in - phrases that when you parse them really don't say much.

And that subtly makes us complicit in one of the favorite parlor games of many politicians and too many public officials:  linguistic obfuscation.

She would not comment. It's a conscious decision. We should make clear to readers/users that's the case.

If an official says he or she can't comment, then the conversation should be like this:

Them: I'm sorry, I can't comment on that.

You: Why is that?

Them: It's an ongoing legal case.

You: Yes, but why can't you comment? Is there a policy or is this your decision.

Them: I just don't comment on ongoing cases.

You: OK, then you would not comment. I understand.

If, OTOH, there's this:

You: Yes, but why can't you comment? Is there a policy or is this your decision?

Them: Yes, we have a policy against commenting in such cases.

You: Oh, is that a written policy? Where can I get a copy of it?

Them: Uh ....

Then I'd probably still say the person would not comment and cited a (fill in your governing body) policy against talking about ongoing legal cases. (And you should continue pressing for that policy, just because ...)

If the person were able to produce details of that policy or say it was on the advice of a lawyer, etc., then "can't" is closer to acceptable. But you now know details of why and should tell folks.

And even then, I think I'd favor "would not" with the explanation.

The only times I think "cannot" is clearly called for is when there are legal repercussions if the person talks. So if the mayor says she can't comment because of a judge's gag order or she can't comment because state law says officials can't talk about such and such, then OK.

In most cases, whether to comment is a decision made with free will, which takes "would." Even with a "policy," a person usually is free to decide to ignore it. (All the time we use anonymous sources who are doing just that, don't we? So that little nicety doesn't seem to trouble us.)

"Can't" seldom should be used, and when it is it should always have solid explanation, not just a tossed-off stock phrase, because the subtle but important implication is that the decision is being taken out of the person's hands. If we acquiesce, it provides a veil of plausible deniability. It's a reason pols and public officials like to use it, just as they adore the passive ("mistakes were made").

Our job isn't to provide linguistic cover.


(Usage notes:

- The widely established form is "declined to", not just "declined," comment. You decline something offered to you (another piece of pie, perhaps), but you decline to offer something (in this case, a comment) to someone else. The argument could be that you are declining the chance to comment, shortened to declined comment, but that's really not the sense of the interaction. And why even use that bureaucratic form when "would not" is perfectly fine?

- Avoid "refused" - the connotation has overtones of malice on your part. But if you catch his or her honor carting away a bag of money and you ask what's up and all you get is stony silence, then, yeah, "refused" might fit the bill.)

(From the Common Sense Journalism blog.)

AEJMC - Editing profs' breakfast

Folks, I'm passing this along at the request of Deb Gump. It's a great session. If you teach editing - heck, if you happen to have an editing text on your bookshelf somewhere - I recommend stopping by -- Doug

The Breakfast of Editing Champions returns to the AEJMC national convention
in Denver next month.

The breakfast, sponsored by the Dow Jones News Fund and co-hosted by Deborah
Gump of Middle Tennessee State University and Andy Bechtel of UNC-Chapel
Hill, is free and open to anyone who teaches editing, appreciates editing or
simply likes to hang around editing professors — and that should be pretty
much everyone.

Coffee, tea, bagels and pastries will be provided. To attend, RSVP by e-mail
to Deborah at gumpdl@gmail.com ASAP.

Our agenda is simple, yet fundamental to journalism that matters: the future
of editing and editing education. Since the beginning of the breakfasts,
we’ve invited journalists to help guide our discussion. This year, we are
fortunate to have two journalists who can provide both a newsroom
perspective and an industry-wide perspective. Joining us will be:

• *Damon Cain*, managing editor for presentation and design at The Denver
Post. Damon oversees the news copy desk, and he is active in the Society for
News Design, which will hold its conference in Denver in September. Cain was
previously director of news design at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.
He has also worked as an editor and reporter at community newspapers in
Iowa. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa.

• *Teresa Schmedding*, the new president of the American Copy Editors
Society. Schmedding, a frequent presenter on managing creative people and
other newsroom issues, is news editor at the Daily Herald in Chicago, the
third largest paper in Illinois. Schmedding has an undergraduate degree in
journalism and a master’s in media management from the University of
Missouri.

***

*
Jim Bates, The Post’s night editor and college chum of Deborah’s, has
offered to lead a tour of the newsroom immediately after the breakfast. When
you RSVP, let us know whether you’d like to visit The Post.*

***

A highlight of the breakfasts has been the Teaching Idea Exchange, which
shares your best teaching ideas and strategies. Andy once again will handle
the exchange, so send your best teaching idea to him at
andy.bechtel@gmail.com ASAP. Keep it brief and be ready to
discuss it briefly at the breakfast.

We’ll also be compiling a list of resources. If you’ve discovered a website,
book, magazine article, video, YouTube clip or another resource that helps
you be a more effective teacher, send the details to Deborah. As always,
we’ll make all breakfast material easily accessible.

If you know someone who also would be interested in attending, please pass
along this invitation and point out the *requirement* to RSVP.

To sum up:

*TIME:* 8:15 - 9:45 a.m.
*DAY:* Friday, Aug. 6
*PLACE:* The conference hotel
*RSVP* (required): Send an e-mail to Deborah at gumpdl@gmail.com ASAP.
*TEACHING IDEA EXCHANGE*: Send your idea to Andy at
abechtel@email.unc.eduby ASAP.

See you in Denver!

Editing pre-con at AEJMC

Following up on the post about the editing breakfast at AEJMC, Susan Keith has also asked me to pass along that the Newspaper Division's pre-conference session on the future of editing has some space left -- Doug:

Dear COMJIG members,

There are still a few seats available for the Newspaper Division's pre-conference workshop, The Future of Editing, which runs from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Boston Sheraton. COMJIG members may be especially interested in two late additions to the lineup of speakers: Christopher Grotke and Lise LePage of iBrattleboro.com, a renowned citizen journalism site covering communities in southern Vermont. They will take part in a panel discussion of the future of online editing.

The workshop, which costs $35, will also feature discussions with top newspaper editors, including the Boston Globe's Marty Baron; copy editors; and professors who are teaching editing in innovative ways. It should benefit not only editing professors, but also faculty who want to incorporate discussions of editing or how newspapers are approaching newer media into journalism courses. To register, contact Susan Keith of Rutgers University at susank@rci.rutgers.edu or 718-683-7071

Here's a look at the workshop, session by session:

Session 1, The Future of Newspapers
A discussion on what's ahead for newspapers with some of New England's top editors:
-- Marty Baron, editor of the Boston Globe
-- Felice Belman, editor of  the Concord (N.H.) Monitor
-- Chazy Dowaliby, editor of The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., and The Enterprise of Brockton, Mass.
-- Leah Lamson, editor of the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette
Moderator: Newspaper Division head Jack Rosenberry of St. John Fisher College, a former editor at the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle and other newspapers.

Session 2, The Future of Copy Editing
What is the state of copy editing in the United States? What new roles are copy editors taking on? Those topics will be discussed by four veterans of copy desk transitions:
-- Gillian Charters, a copy editor at the Christian Science Monitor
-- Jim Franklin, assistant night editor/metro slot at the Boston Globe
-- Mike Richard, a New York Times Metro Desk staff editor who edits the Times' City Room blog.
-- Chris Wienandt, president of the American Copy Editors Society and business copy desk chief at the Dallas Morning News
Moderator: Susan Keith of Rutgers University, a former copy editor at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times and other newspapers.

Session 3, The Future of Online Editing
Does editing for online news sites mean something different than editing for print? What's the role of an online editor, anyway? Four professionals and a professor will take up these questions.
-- Christopher Grotke and Lise LePage, iBrattleboro.com
-- Damon Kiesow, online managing editor of the Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph
-- Jeanne Leblanc, former online editor of the Hartford Courant
-- John Russial, associate professor, University of Oregon
Moderator: Leslie-Jean Thornton of Arizona State University, a former editor at several daily and weekly newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Virginia.

Session 4, The Future of Editing Instruction
What does the evolution of editing in the industry mean for how professors should teach editing? Hear some ideas from three professors with innovative approaches:
-- Andy Bechtel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
-- Rick Kenney, University of Central Florida
-- Jill Van Wyke, Drake University.
Moderator: Susan Keith of Rutgers University

Editing Breakfast at AEJMC

I'm posting this on behalf of Deborah Gump. I've always found this breakfast to be a great help and fun time, and for anyone teaching community journalism, you'll come away with some good ideas -- Doug

Dear all,

A few seats remain for the Breakfast of Editing Champions at the AEJMC convention in Boston. The breakfast is free and open to anyone who teaches editing, appreciates editing or simply likes to hang around editing professors - and that should be pretty much everyone. To attend, RSVP by e-mail to gumpdl@gmail.com by next Friday.

Our agenda is simple, yet fundamental to journalism that matters: the future of editing and editing education. Since the beginning of the breakfasts, we’ve invited local journalists to help guide our discussion by sharing their views from the trenches. This year, we are fortunate to have two Boston journalists who can provide both a newsroom perspective and an industry-wide perspective. Joining us will be:

* David Beard, editor of Boston.com since 2006. He plays a key role in integrating the site’s news, sports, business, feature and multimedia operations with the Boston Globe. He previously served as an assistant managing editor of the Globe, in charge of the paper's five regional editions. Before that he ran the Globe's City Weekly section and served as the paper's deputy foreign editor. Beard also reported and edited for South Florida's Sun-Sentinel, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, and The Associated Press, for which his exotic postings included Argentina, the Caribbean, and Mississippi. He is a native of Pennsylvania and a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He is a former Inter American Press Association scholar and has taught news reporting at the Harvard Extension School. For an example of the kind of work David’s site does, check out its seven-part series on Ted Kennedy at http://www.boston.com/news/specials/kennedy/.

* Joshua Benton, director of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University (www.niemanlab.org), which was created to help journalism figure out its future in an Internet age. The Lab is trying to find the best business models to support high-quality journalism and to craft strategies that can make our work better. Josh spent 10 years in newspapers, most recently at The Dallas Morning News, before spending a year at Harvard as a 2008 Nieman Fellow. His reports on cheating on standardized tests in the Texas public schools led to the permanent shutdown of a school district and won the Philip Meyer Journalism Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors. He has reported from 10 foreign countries, been a Pew Fellow in international journalism, and three times has been a finalist for the Livingston Award for international reporting. Before Dallas, he was a reporter and rock critic for The Toledo Blade.

Also joining us this year will be Jan Freeman, author of the popular “The Word” column in the Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/jan_freeman/). If anyone would like to talk about the column or offer her suggestions for topics, she'd be glad to linger after the breakfast.

A highlight of the breakfasts has been the Teaching Idea Exchange, which shares your best teaching ideas and strategies. This year, Andy Bechtel from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill takes the reins of the exchange. Share your best teaching idea or tip by sending it to Andy at abechtel@email.unc.edu, also by Friday. Be ready to discuss it briefly at the breakfast.

We’ll also be compiling a list of resources, and I always depend on your contributions. If you’ve discovered a Web site, book, magazine article, video, YouTube clip or another resource that helps you be a more effective teacher, send me the details. As always, we’ll include all breakfast material on a DVD for easy packing. Much of the material from last year’s breakfast can be found at http://www.editteach.org/specialprojects?id=63. I also have a few extra copies of last year's DVD, which I'll bring along to this year's breakfast.

If you know someone who would be interested in attending, please pass along this invitation and point out the requirement to RSVP.

Oh, one more thing: We owe our coffee and pastries this year to Rich Holden, executive director of the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. The craft of editing owes much to Rich, and now we do as well.

To sum up:

• Time: 8:15 - 9:45 a.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 6
• Place: TBA, but the breakfast will be in the convention hotel.

RSVP (required): Confirm by sending an e-mail to gumpdl@gmail.com by Friday (July 31).

Teaching Idea Exchange: Send your idea to Andy Bechtel abechtel@email.unc.edu by Friday.
Deborah