Reporters People Speak Speaking Story Eslpod Avoiding Press

When the "press" (newspapers, magazines, TV news shows, and the reporters associated with them) is "investigating" (researching) a "controversial" (with many strong opinions for and against something) or "scandalous" (involving inappropriate behavior) story, the people involved in the story may not want to speak to the "media" (press). One of the strategies that people can "employ" (use) to avoid speaking to the press is to simply say "no comment." For example, in a "breaking" (happening at the moment; still developing) story, news reporters might surround an individual, holding up microphones and shouting questions. If the individual does not want to speak, he or she can say "no comment," meaning that he or she does not want to say anything. Or the individual can just be quiet and not say anything at all.

In other "instances" (cases; situations), people might be willing to speak to reporters, but they may not want to be "quoted" (have one's words shared with other people) or have their comments "attributed to them" (with an indication of who has said something). They might want to speak to the reporters "anonymously" (without sharing one's name), but the reporters normally want to know who they are speaking too. So instead, the people might ask to speak "off the record." This means that they are willing to share information with the reporter, but the reporter will not be able to share their name or any other "identifiable information" (information that can be tied to a specific person). So in the story, the reporter might attribute the information to a "knowledgeable source" (person who knows important information) without indicating who that person is.