I read a few stories today that I had not read before and noticed a dire need for attribution. The amount of attribution depends on how controversial the statement is. The more controversial, the more attribution is needed. Anything having to do with money or value judgements needs attribution.
Where to put the attribution: at the end, or in the middle of a quote. Here are some examples from our Journalism Today textbook:
America's poor need free legal advice or they will lose their rights, Professor Pat Braintower told a group of law students Thursday.
"Our students are mature," Kuzinski said Tuesday, "but they do not always act like it."
Use said instead of says. Use said instead of replied, exclaimed, claimed, or nearly anything else. You want the quote to stand out, not the verb. Said doesn't call attention to itself.
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