Bob Hodge, Knoxville News Sentinel outdoor editor, discussed issues that journalists deal with on a daily basis with JEM 315 students.

            Hodge earned his undergraduate degree in broadcasting with a minor in journalism and got his first experience in writing with the Smoky Mountain Star.

Hodge has worked for the News Sentinel since 1991 and has been the outdoor editor since 1995.

            One important issue that Hodge addressed was the ability of the writer to change the quote of the speaker which he or she is writing about.

Hodge told students that changing the quote does not always compromise the integrity of the writing. He said it is sometimes better to change the quote to make the writing more readable.

"It's almost situational," Hodge said.  He told students that if it is not necessary to change a quote, then it should not be done. If it improves the writing and eliminates pauses and filler words, it often makes the writing more fluid.

            One reason why he does not feel it necessary to print every word a person says is that people are often unprepared for the questions the journalist presents. "You're going to spend time with people who aren't public speakers," Hodge said. He told students to leave out the filler words the speaker uses. They often lack importance and make for a less interesting story.

            Hodge said that putting the quote in an aricle word for word makes for bad writing and boring reading.

He said he knows people, some of which he even works with, who will leave words in to make a person sound less intelligent. Hodge, however, emphasized that writing to portray a person in a negative light is not his job.

"You don't make people sound stupid," Hodge said. "It's not my job to ‘get people' and make them sound stupid even if I'm covering a story about someone I don't like."

Although Hodge said that he sometimes does change a speaker's quote, he emphasized that the meaning of what the person said must never be changed. "The only thing you can't do is change the meaning of the quote," Hodge said.  Changing the meaning of the quote

Hodge also gave some helpful advice to students about interviewing. "If they don't say anything, keep repeating the question," Hodge said.  Additionally, Hodge said that sometimes when you ask someone a question you know what they are going to say, but you still need to give them the opportunity to say it.

"In all my years 20 years of writing, I have only been accused of misquoting someone once," Hodge said. "I must be doing something right."