Off the record?
As one of the main media trainers at Citigate Dewe Rogerson, one of the most common questions that I get asked is about ‘off the record’.
There is clearly something alluring and mystical about the notion of ‘off the record’. However, it is not something to toy with or use in a Machiavellian House-of-Cards-esque way. It should be treated with extreme diligence.
In short, ‘off the record’ doesn’t exist as a legal concept. If you say it, in theory it can be printed.
It is, of course, highly unlikely that a journalist will break this tacit agreement – but it happens, usually because it wasn’t clear what was and wasn’t off limits. Sometimes it is broken in the interest of the public good, but this is very rare.
Just to complicate matters, there are two, competing versions of what ‘off the record’ actually means: firstly, that what you say can be printed but NOT attributed to you; or secondly it can’t be printed at all (sometimes this latter point is also referred to as ‘on background’).
If you want to have an ‘off the record’ conversation, it is paramount to know which of the above this refers to.
Most commonly, off the record conversations take place between people that a) have met before; and b) trust each other implicitly. Trust is a key part if the process.
‘Off the record’ and ‘on background’ play an important, usually straightforward role in the communications and media engagement process. Almost always both parties understand the rules (when I was journalist I always respected off the record comments – I saw them as non-attributable and non-printable).
‘On background’, in particular, is a great way to discuss wider market themes and insights, and help set the context. It is also a useful platform to simplify complex topics and scenarios, and bring journalists and other stakeholders up to speed on issues and events.
Notwithstanding, if in doubt, be careful. Make it clear what is and isn’t on record and whether it’s non attributed or not.
And don’t say at the end of the interview, “oh, and that was all off the record”… make it clear at the start. You’ll be facing an angry journalist in this case – and you really don’t want one of those!
Communications, Consumer PR, Corporate PR, Interview, journalist, Media training