Being misquoted is among the loopholes for almost almost any spokesperson. It can lead to profound consternation for your interviewee, that must sheepishly explain to her coworkers that she did not really say exactly what the reporter asserted she did.
There is bad news and good news. The good thing is that you could never ensure that the writer will receive your quotation perfectly perfect. Journalists, being subject to individual defects, will sometimes get it wrong. Nevertheless, the great thing is you’ve got much more control than you think – and also may exponentially increase the chances that the writer will get your story right.
Four ways of being misquoted:
Click, Clack, Duplicate: If you are giving a telephone interview, then listen to the sound of registering on the opposite end – you will hear it if you state something which intrigues the reporter. That is your cue to slow down, so ensure that the reporter has the time to catch every word, and repeat what you have just said.
The exact same goes during an in-person interview if a reporter is scribbling notes in a notepad. When you visit her scribbling, slow down and repeat!
Click, Clack, Send: Many reporters let their interviewees to answer queries over email. If you are lucky enough to have a reporter consent to an email interview, then you’ll have complete control of your own words. Just make sure you have a colleague assess your answer for casual meanings and phrases which may be taken from context.
Today, What Can I Say: Though reporters are under no duty to read your quotes back to youpersonally, a number will. If you do not like how that you mentioned something, they might not change it but should you misspoke and said something factually incorrect, then they’ll. You need to ask them to read your quotes back through the interview, not later.
Give Them the Truth: Let us face it the more you say, the further you ramble. A whole lot of spokespeople become misquoted since they say a lot. Rather than spending most of your interviews providing strangers with infinite history, write a one or two page fact sheet that lays out the fundamental details for them. Supplying a reporter using a written fact sheet accomplishes a number of things. Most of all, it lets you tell the reporter what the story means throughout your interview rather than telling him exactly what the story is. By doing this, your quotation will include your interpretation of these facts rather than raw details devoid of context.
You may even offer to assist the reporter reality check the final story. If you do not like how in which the reporter framed the narrative, she is going to be unlikely to alter it. However, if she’s become true, she’ll almost always fix it.
