Okuzeka
Journalism & Media vocabulary · Interviews and Quotes

On the record

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

phraseCommon term

In journalism & media, on the record means: Said in a way that can be published and openly attributed to the person who said it, using their name and position.

In Turkish: kayıt altında, adıyla alıntılanmak üzere, resmi olarak

How it is used

The default rule in most interviews: unless something else is agreed, everything is on the record. Reporters ask, will you say that on the record? Officials may refuse to go on the record about sensitive topics.

Example sentences

  1. None of the employees wanted to speak on the record about the safety problems.

  2. Is this on the record, or are you just giving me background?

Common collocations

  • go on the record
  • speak on the record
  • say on the record
  • on-the-record interview
  • off the recordSaid privately to a journalist on the understanding that it will not be published, or at least not linked to the person who said it.
  • on backgroundGiven on the understanding that the information can be published but the source will not be named, only described in general terms.
  • quoteThe exact words that someone said or wrote, repeated in a story inside quotation marks; as a verb, to repeat someone's words and say who said them.
  • sourceA person, document or organisation that gives a journalist information for a story; also the place where a piece of information comes from.

More terms: Interviews and Quotes

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: