Off the record
An agreement with a journalist that information will be neither published nor attributed to the source, provided both sides have clearly agreed it.
An off-the-record conversation allows a company to explain the context of a story to a journalist without the information being published. In practice the term is understood in different ways. For some it means no use at all, for others use without attribution. The terms must therefore be agreed explicitly and before the information is shared, not afterwards.
The arrangement rests on trust and good journalistic practice. It does not offer full protection: the information may be confirmed by another source, and the conversation may come to light in other ways. A simple rule applies: say nothing off the record that the company could not accept seeing in print.
For board members, the safer option is usually a background briefing led by an experienced spokesperson, or simply a clear on-the-record position. Off-the-record conversations during a crisis should be the exception and agreed with the communications team.
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