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February 20[edit]

Journalistic etiquette[edit]

Is it convention that a newswriter says "this is on the record?" I imagine that it would be proper to specify if you're, say, playing tennis with somebody, but wouldn't be if you call them at work. Temerarius (talk) 22:07, 20 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia's discussion of such issues is at Source (journalism) and Journalism ethics and standards, but I don't see it specifically answering that question. --69.159.8.46 (talk) 23:13, 20 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I think that decency requires that journalists identify themselves as such if they may quote or report what someone tells them. If the other person is a public figure, they do not have to be explicit that the conversation is on the record, also not on the tennis court or in a bar. Otherwise, they should normally ask permission to quote them by name. There may be exceptions to that rule; see Undercover journalism, especially where it quotes the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics. --Lambiam 23:34, 21 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]