On condition of anonymity

[Garfield226]

@HubZilla

I thought I did. How’s that for a cite?

In 1995, my alma mater Nebraska had an issue with girls assaulting football player’s fists with their faces. After one notorious instance, the media descended on Lincoln, led by CBS’s Bernard Goldberg. In the middle of a post-game press conference He asked our coach if the player assaulted his daughter, would he let them play again? The coach refused to answer as he resented the question.

Later, in the hallway, the coach was asked the same question. “Off the record? Yes, yes, I would”. That’s how it read the Lincoln newspaper. I’d dig up a cite, but am trying to figure out the Journal-Star’s archives. I don’t suppose “I swear I read that” counts as a cite?

I found this, but it doesn’t exactly say “off the record”, just that they met outside privately.

http://www.dailynebraskan.com/sports/sports-cornhusker-football-osborne-offended-by-query-1.302564

If I’m reading that right, it says the coach was talking to another reporter out in the hallway. Not the reporter who wrote that story, who apparently overheard the coach’s remarks. That’s not even close to being off the record.

[HubZilla]

@Garfield226

If I’m reading that right, it says the coach was talking to another reporter out in the hallway. Not the reporter who wrote that story, who apparently overheard the coach’s remarks. That’s not even close to being off the record.

Yep, that’s my memory from 1995 was my only cite that he prefaced it with “Off the record, yes, yes, yes”. The article I found using google doesn’t get into that detail. I followed the story very closely as I’m a huge Husker fan. In those days myopic enough to blame the media for the whole scandal, because my favorite team could do no wrong.

Nonetheless, I’ll cry uncle and I admit “I got nothin” and likely remembering incorrectly.

(How often does one hear that on an MB?)

[Siam_Sam]

@friedo

In 90% of cases, they are speaking anonymously because their organization wishes to leak the information but doesn’t want to go on record with it officially. In 10% of the cases, the official is providing a low-value tidbit to develop or support a mutual-benefit relationship with the reporter.

That happens a lot over here. Reporters have told me there are even stories where the same person quoted by name earlier in the story suddenly becomes an “anonymous source” in later paragraphs. It may be something that person is not personally authorized to say, but more usually it’s information the company or agency does want out but does not want a specific name to it.