In a very interesting article from the Chicago Tribune (via Romenesko), the paper’s editor discusses the quandry newspapers sometimes find themselves in when deciding how to quote sources in articles. Should reporters clean up grammar and syntax? Should they attempt to infer meaning that might otherwise not be clear?

- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, if he were quoted literally, would be all but unintelligible most of the time, because his command of English is minimal. Is our purpose in quoting Guillen to demonstrate his abilities as a wordsmith or to present his knowledge of the game of baseball? And what does this mean for a reporter who must decide whether and how to “clean up” Guillen’s quotations?

Anyone who has heard Guillen give an interview in English knows how hard it is to understand what he’s saying. Whenever I read his quotes in the paper, I have to laugh because I’m sure a bunch of reporters got together and agreed on what he said for their stories. The same practice has been true among NBA beat writers who for years have been trying to decipher the likes of Shaqulle O’Neal and other.