Journalism norms

On background

background · not for attribution

Definition

On background means the reporter may use the information but may not name you, or may name you only in a form you both stated (“a company official,” “a person familiar with the filing”). It is not off the record. The fact can print. Your name should not, if the agreement holds.

“Not for attribution” is a cousin: the fact prints, the identity is a label you negotiated. Get the label in one sentence before you talk. “A senior executive” and “a person briefed on the plan” are different grants.

How it works

Pause. Name the rule and the byline substitute. Wait for the reporter to repeat it. Then talk. If they need a named source later for a contested claim, they will come back; that is a new negotiation, not a trick.

Worked example

A security lead, on background as “a company official,” confirms that 12,000 tokens were rotated after a vendor bug. The story uses that number with the label. A named CISO quote sits next to it on a different fact (the product is back up). Readers can tell which line has a name.

How it differs

Off the record blocks use. On the record names you. Background is the middle. Deep background, in some D.C. usage, means the reporter may use the fact with no label at all. Do not assume that extra-strict sense outside the desks that use it.

Common errors

Saying “background” when you mean OTR. Granting background on a boast you later want a byline for. Briefing three outlets on background with three different labels for the same person.

Sources