Memorandum from White House Press Secretary Ron Nessen to White House Staff Regarding Ground Rules for Interviews with Newsmen
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OCR Page 1 of 4THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
May 7, 1975
MEMORANDUM TO THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF
FROM:
Ron Nessen
Press Secretary to the President
SUBJECT: "Ground Rules" Regarding Interviews with Newsmen
Most White House officials have occasion to be interviewed by
the news media concerning matters pending before them or to
discuss general Administration policy. The President supports
and encourages increased accessibility to the media, balanced,
of course, with the need to insure a proper and timely flow of
information to the public.
There are certain ground rules to be observed when talking to
a reporter. The most important rule -- and the one most often
misused or misunderstood concerns the attribution of infor-
mation given to a newsman by someone on the White House staff.
It is the responsibility of the person releasing the information
to set the level of attribution on the record, on background,
on deep background, off the record, or for guidance.
It is the reporter's job to seek the highest level of attribution
for his story. If no discussion of attribution occurs, the
reporter is correct to assume the information is on the record.
The five types of attribution under which the Press Office
operates are as follows:
ON THE RECORD: : All statements are directly quotable and
attributable, by name and title, to the person who is making
the statement.
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