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Strange reporting style - Is it common? (feddit.de)

submitted 8 months ago by manucode@feddit.de to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I just stumbled across this post linking to this article. In its reporting, the article keeps alternating between short descriptions of events and short quotes by people somewhat involved in the case.

Wilson's friend tried CPR, but it was too late.
Det. Marc McLeod: It sounded like it started off near the door … and went backwards. Like she was trying to get away or there was some sort of struggle.
Austin Police Officers Marc McLeod and Jonathan Riley worked the case from the beginning.
Det. Marc McLeod: Whoever shot her at that point stood over top of her and shot her at least once.
Investigators wondered who could have murdered this promising young athlete. As they canvassed the immediate area, police discovered a possible clue. Wilson's expensive racing bicycle had been discarded in the bushes.
Det. Jonathan Riley: So, at that point … OK. Is this a burglary, a robbery gone wrong?

I've seen this style of reporting in other English-language news reports before, and found it quite confusing.

So, my questions: is this style of reporting common in English-language media, or maybe just in the US, or is it more of an outlier? And what do you think about it, as an English native speaker or as a non-native speaker like me? Do you like it, dislike it, neither?

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[–] velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml 18 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

This is an interview-transcript style of news report. It is not that common in any language. Since English happens to be the lingua-franca in multiple non-western countries, there's this illusion that this is an American-only thing. I've read similar style of report in Indian media before, and yes, I like reading them.

[–] manucode@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Do these Indian interview-transcript style news reports feature the same very frequent switching between report and interview? That's what I found so confusing.

[–] velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

There are a few artistic variations, but yes, the general format should look the same. Here's one by The Wire, a left-leaning Indian news media.

[–] manucode@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

That appears to be just a regular interview, alternating between the interview questions and the answers of the person interviewed.