It’s uncommon, but it still happens occasionally. I’m talking about sources for stories taking control and giving their version of what’s newsworthy or worse, thinking it’s up to them to approve the story before you print it. Neither of these are very helpful to writers. In fact, it can become a royal pain in the backside to have to wrestle with third parties for ownership of your article (which technically is your editor’s story, but is yours until the bill is paid).
The REAL Story
Those who suggest or insist your story take a different path sometimes mean well, but they defeat the entire purpose of your conversation, rendering it an entire waste of time. Most often this happens at the source-gathering stage, which makes it easy to weed them out. Still, there’s the occasional source who answers your first question with “Here’s the real story” and then has to be cut off at some point in the monologue to get him/her back on track.
Recently, I did have one PR contact send me his client’s info complete with this line: “We need to go one step further in this article and focus on….” Really? You’ve talked to my editor? She’s okay with that? Honestly, my first reaction was to check the name and email address of the sender. The tone was so authoritative I was almost convinced this was my editor’s boss. When I realized it wasn’t and this was someone wanting to steer the conversation in order to impress his clients, I deleted it.
Worse is when the source himself tries to get you going in the opposite direction. Early in my career I had the displeasure of being held captive by a source who answered my very pointed question with “Here’s what you really need to be talking about…” After a few minutes of indulging him and trying to glean future ideas from him (no luck), I interrupted. Or tried to. He raised his voice and sped up his cadence. I tried again. Again, the decibel of his voice went up and he talked faster. By the end of 45 minutes he was shouting and rattling on like a freight train with no brakes coming down a mountain. Eventually he took a breath. It was all I needed. “Thanks for your time, I really must go.” I hung up.
The Seal of Approval?
Others have said either at the beginning or end of the interview that they expect to review the article before it goes to print. While most who ask this are content with simply vetting their quotes, one or two others have pressed the point to ridiculous levels. One in particular said “I really can’t approve this article for publication unless my legal department gets to review it.” Really? So if we print it, it will be without your approval? Works for me. Her insistence on having complete control soon escalated to the level where I gave the editor a call and he dealt with her. He was livid because she’d agreed to the interview and had made no mention of any “condition” prior to the interview. It was after that she decided control was hers to dole out. She found out, from him, how wrong she was.
Who owns your article? Your editors do. In a case where the source expects or demands approval rights, it’s your editor’s call, not yours. And while technically it’s not theirs until they pay for it, in my opinion they own the rights of ownership for the content. That means no matter who’s asking, demanding, or threatening, that copy goes nowhere else but between you and your editor unless your editor says otherwise.
And when your source goes off topic, put aside all the etiquette your mother taught you about interrupting people – interrupt. Tell them you can’t talk about that because the editor needs this instead. If they insist, it’s okay to say you think perhaps they’re not the person you need for this particular article. If they keep insisting, interrupt, thank them, and hang up.
Have you had a tussle over ownership? How did you handle it? How did it work out?
Hi Lori.
I've have every one of those experiences, but I especially liked the one recenly where the guy tried to get me to have his legal department "approve" the article. Whah?!
I'd never heard that one before, and I don't remember what I said. Whatever it was, the guy backed down and wrote me an email shortly after telling me his legal department said no review was necessary.
Wow, thanks, pal. I can now go forward with the article that has nothing to do with your company and easily could have been done with a source other than you.
People never cease to amaze!
Yes! I once interviewed a book publisher for a magazine article and when she asked to review the article before I sent it to my editor, I innocently saw no problem. BIG MISTAKE.
She began telling me that I should be including A B and C in my article – even though her suggestions were NOT within the scope of the topic. She got so heated when I tried explaining that I was unable to expand the story to include her ideas that she refused to consent to having her interview/comments published. I had to let the editor deal with her. Luckily it all worked out.
The editor was really quite understanding and advised me not to let sources review an article before publication in the future to save myself that kind of headache. Whew – And I thought I was a control freak!
My worst experience with that was last fall (and fully recounted in my comments to one of your blog posts).
What I dislike is when the interviewee or their publicist tries to make it sound as if I'm being the unreasonable one. "But this is how we ALWAYS do it!" Right. Only when people are stupid or gullible enough to let you get away with it. When this last woman tried that, I said, "Then apparently you have no idea how the editorial process works." Of course, she never stopped talking, so I doubt she heard me.
Gabriella, I hope you just cut out his comments and kept going. If he's not your sole source it's easier. I had a case recently in which the source wanted to review his quotes. Since the story was a Q&A, I granted him that. I didn't feel right printing that story without his approval. If he'd been one of three people, no way, but when he WAS the article, I made that exception.
Kim, does she not realize it wasn't up to her to rescind consent? Talking with you in the first place was her consent. No take backs. 🙂
Paula, I had a PR dude try that with me once. No way!
I've had the approval problem with insurance agents. Some captive agents have to get their compliance department involved. Since I record interviews I usually just send the MP3 to the compliance officer and get the go ahead, but I have had to cut some people that I've interviewed out of the story when their compliance department did not get back to me in time. Pain in the rumpuss is what it is.
Oh, one time I interviewed a woman in person. Told her where I was from and what I was doing there, showed her my card, took notes on what she said and then, after the interview, she said, "I don't want you to use any of that in the paper." Um… maybe you could have said that when I introduced myself?
I can't say I've been led anywhere by an interviewee before. Can't wait until that happens… I'm not as pleasant as you are 😉
Yo, don't you LOVE the "Oh, but you can't use that" interview? I have had one myself, but luckily it was one I could omit easily. Waste of almighty time, though.
I've not had too many agents turn me down. I've had the insurer's legal department go catatonic once or twice at the thought of their people talking willy nilly. Yes, workers comp IS the hotbed of controversy, so they think! Sheesh. Lighten up, people!