That awkward question
Whenever I do media training, I can guarantee I’ll get this question: ‘After you’ve finished an interview is it OK to ask the journalist to see their copy before it’s published?’ My answer’s always the same, ‘You can ask, but don’t be surprised if they say no!’ Indeed, it reminds me of the humorous notice you occasionally see pinned behind the bar of a pub: ‘Please don’t ask for credit as refusal often offends.’
However, there’s clearly a serious side to the question and from my perspective as both a media trainer and former journalist my response is why would you want to see the copy in advance? Is it because you don’t trust the journalist to get the story right…or at least ‘right’ from your perspective? Did the interview involve lots of facts and figures they might get wrong? Worst of all, are you worried you might have said something off-guard that will appear in print or on-line, with unexpected consequences? And what if the journalist writes something you disagree with, or (horror of horrors) puts their own interpretation on what you’ve told them?
If you want to make sure a journalist gets things right, it’s your job to ensure your messages are clear, unequivocal, and easy to grasp. And if those messages involve lots of financial information, production figures, or market stats you should make it easy for the journalist by giving them a fact sheet or memory stick with the correct data on it that they can quickly reference without having to re-read their notes. Last, but not least, stick to the messages you want to deliver. Don’t speculate or guess, don’t get distracted by irrelevant questions no matter how ‘interesting’, and don’t try answering questions that are outside your own bailiwick or authority. In short, it’s all about preparation, preparation, and preparation.
It’s one thing asking a journalist to see their copy when an interview has finished. It’s another saying ‘Of course we want to see your copy before it’s published’ before they’ve even opened their mouth. That infers they’re incapable of doing a professional job and I guarantee it’s likely to put their back up. How would you like your competency questioned like that?
There’s another reason why journalists won’t want to show you copy in advance. It’s their story not yours. It’s their interpretation and contextualizing of your comments and information. It will also be written in the house-style of their publication, in their own way, for their audience. Outspoken journalists get read, viewed, or listened to precisely for that reason, not because they recycle your PR or marketing speak.
If you must ask to see advance copy then wait till the interview is over and say it’s ‘strictly for fact checking, and not to change style or substance.’ Only don’t be disappointed if the answer is an equally polite no. Above-all-else, if after the journalist leaves the room, you suddenly decide that you’ve changed your mind and want to answer a question differently, or retract something you’ve said, then it’s too late. You should have thought of what you wanted to say, before you started saying it.