“Quote approval” No Longer Approved

09.21.12

Screen-Shot-2012-09-21-at-3-13-55-PMThe way the news business is conducted in Washington is in for some changes. On Sept. 20, New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson issued a memo outlining the paper’s new policy prohibiting the practice of “quote approval” – a long-standing but mostly Washington-centric practice that allowed spokespeople to review and approve quotes provided during interviews with journalists before they were published in a news article. The Times joins National Journal and Reuters in prohibiting the technique and we expect that other outlets may consider or adopt similar policies. The source-journalist relationship is constantly evolving and this new policy could change it forever.

Read the full memo regarding the policy change.