Learning to Get It On the Record

By: Joe Strupp Eric Nalder, an investigative reporter with the Seattle Post-Intel-ligencer, actually teaches courses in keeping sources on the record and convincing them to shed the anonymous shield. Entitled "Loosening Lips," the reporter's workshop offers guidance at places like Poynter and for groups that include Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. (IRE).

"Too many reporters don't take the steps necessary to get things on the record," Nalder, a newsman for 35 years, tells E&P. "In most cases, when you have an anonymous source, there are steps that can be taken to get them on the record."

The first, Nalder says, is to research as much about the person as possible to put them at ease. Next, tell a source up front that, even if you grant anonymity, you will try later to get them on the record. "It gets them thinking about that possibility," he adds. Then, Nalder says, ask for something small to be on the record, something minor or less sensitive. He calls this "ratcheting," in which lesser items are put on the record little by little. Another technique is to interview someone more than once ?but not in an annoying way, says Nalder, who also recommends asking if sources would allow something on the record if it is phrased differently.

"There is a difference between using anonymous sources as the meat of the story, and tracking down the meat of the story," Nalder says. "The key is to use the best interviewing tools."