Why Off-the-Record is a Trap Reporters Should Avoid

Let’s talk about “off-the-record” — what it is, what it isn’t, why it’s a bad convention that’s antithetical to what we do as journalists, and why reporters should resist having off-the-record conversations.

There seems to be some confusion about the rules and ethics of off-the-record reporting following stories by Axios and The Daily Beast Friday night on a briefing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly that they didn’t attend, but learned about from sources who did.

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