In short
An AI transcription tool captures everything that was said, quotable or not. The journalist has to mark the status of each statement. In Verbatim, every quote has a status: ON by default, or OFF. OFF means the quote can be used without naming the source. This status can be set on a quote, on a whole document or on a person.
An interview often mixes statements that can be quoted with statements given on agreed terms. Automatic transcription does not tell them apart. The journalist has to keep track of the commitment made to the source.
On the record, off the record, background
These terms have no legal definition. Their meaning varies from one newsroom to another. “On the record”: the statement can be quoted with the person’s name. “Off the record”: depending on the newsroom’s practice, the statement can be used without naming the person, or it must not be published. “Background”: the information serves as context and is not quoted. The journalist and the source agree on what these terms mean before the interview.
The risk of a transcript without statuses
An automatic transcript presents the interview as a single block of text. A statement given on agreed terms can end up copied into the article at deadline. In France, the Charter of Professional Ethics for Journalists asks journalists to keep professional secrecy and to protect their sources.
Statuses in Verbatim
Every quote has a status: ON by default, or OFF. In Verbatim, OFF means the quote can be used without naming the source. The OFF status can be set on a quote, on a whole document or on a person.
Confirmed quotes
The agent copies a quote word for word and asks the journalist to confirm before creating it. During a live interview, a quote is kept only if the voice is confirmed and linked to a person. No name replaces a speaker in the transcript without the journalist’s confirmation.
Who decides the status
A statement that must not be published should not become a quote. The journalist decides this during the interview and when reviewing the transcript. Verbatim records the chosen status for each quote, each document and each person.
Questions
Can Verbatim tell that a statement is off the record?
No. The journalist sets the status, on the quote, the document or the person. By default, a quote is ON.
What does OFF mean in Verbatim?
The quote can be used without naming the source. A statement that must not be published at all is not saved as a quote.
Where do recordings go?
Recordings are hosted and processed in Europe. They are never used to train third-party AI.