Incomplete reporting
The Associated Press Stylebook says:
obscenities, profanities, vulgarities Do not use them in stories unless they are part of direct quotations and there is a compelling reason for them.
Try to find a way to give the reader a sense of what was said without using the specific word or phrase.
What silliness! If a word is newsworthy, report it in the news. If not, don’t even mention it.
The absolute worst thing to do is to write about it in the lede (where the Most Important Stuff goes) and then make no further mention anywhere else in the story.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Steelers linebacker Joey Porter ridiculed the Browns following Pittsburgh’s win Thursday night, calling tight end Kellen Winslow a derogatory name and saying the team is too soft to be a true rival to the Super Bowl champions.
Emphasis mine. And here’s the closest we get to an explanation:
“He came up and tried to shake my hand before the game, but he doesn’t know me,” Porter said. “You’re not my friend, why are you trying to talk to me? He talks too much and doesn’t do anything. He’s weak, he’s soft. He should move to wide receiver because he doesn’t want to block anybody, he doesn’t want to be a tight end.”
Weak? Soft? Wide receiver? None of those seem to be “derogatory names,” which means either the first paragraph was misleading or the story is incomplete.
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