"I mean, that's a storybook, man."
'Off the Record?' is something I hear more than you'd expect. It's not an every-once-in-a-while occurrence in a journalist's life like some people think. I've actually had people say 'Off the Record?' to me before relaying to me a sensitive fact of some sort, only to stop and giggle for a minute and confess, "I've always wanted to say that."
Rather, OTR is so common I have a protocol for it -- if the words are spoken, my pen goes down. That's why I secretly hate it when interview subjects say 'off the record' after they've finished a sentence. That's so irritating. I have to cross out everything I just wrote, and more often than not I'd just come up with a sensational -- meaning, fabulous -- lead for the story based on that fact that now must be flushed.
But the flip side of OTR is when people speak on the record and say things they probably shouldn't have. As a business and travel writer, I'm not as hard-nosed a journalist as some of my friends. But I do enjoy reading some of the things our intrepid public officials and smattering of ubiquitous celebrities say to journalists without a care in the world. Yale, for instance, just published their list of memorable -- that's memorable, not profound -- quotes for 2007.
Fellow blogger Sarah just made me snort my coffee with her own take on these soundbites , uttered by the likes of Sen. Joe Biden, Miss South Carolina (such as) and Don Imus (you all remember his contribution to 2007, no doubt. I won't repeat it here.) Biden's is an interesting take on the presidential election: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
Yeah, man.
Check out Sarah's views at thirtysomething . And hey, if you too are a 30something blogger, join the community at Ning.
...Happy New Year to all. Here's hoping we all have a few good things to say to each other next year - give peace a chance, globally and locally.
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