“But as we’ve told you many times: These people [the press corps] have only the dimmest sense of what a ‘fact’ (or a ‘quotation’) is. In their remarkably unimpressive minds—this may be our dumbest elite—there’s a very fuzzy line between a quotation and a paraphrase.”
That would be — for the most part — NewMexiKen’s personal experience too. While reporters don’t always get it wrong, in my experience they almost never get it right. There’s something about seeing your byline in print or your image on the screen I guess that — for many — creates a sense of knowing more than they ever do.