Reference

Resource library

Free guides, outlet policies and research behind this manual, grouped by what they help with, with the date each was checked.

Every link below was checked on October 18, 2026. We re-check them every year; the next check is due October 18, 2027. We receive nothing from any of these publishers, and none of the links carries a tracking or referral code. Several outlets describe their own practice here; none of it binds a reporter, and a podcast or creator may follow none of it. Where two sources differ, the chapter says so.

Before you say yes, and the ground rules

Resource	Publisher	What it gives
Five tips for scientists handling media requests	SciLine (AAAS)	The four questions to ask before you agree, and when to refer a colleague.
Five tips for scientists speaking to reporters	SciLine (AAAS)	Default to on the record, keep three points, and say when you do not know.
Ask a Reporter Anything	SciLine (AAAS)	Working journalists on deadlines, headlines, embargoes and fixing a bad quote.
Faculty support: working with the media	North Carolina State University	A university tip sheet on news values, read-backs and corrections.
Preparing for a media interview	University of Texas at San Antonio	What counts as on the record, including before and after.
Media contacts	University of Colorado system	A short example of saying which hat you wear: expertise, experience or the institution.
Media and mass communication policy	University of Connecticut	An example that separates official statements from personal speech.
Protected concerted activity	National Labor Relations Board	A pointer: some employee speech about working conditions is legally protected. Ask a lawyer.
On background is common journalism lingo	Poynter Institute	What the term means to different journalists, and a case where an email marked off the record was published.
Embargo agreement	EurekAlert! (AAAS)	What a reporter agrees to when they accept an embargo.
Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide	Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press	One-party and all-party consent for recording a call. A legal summary, not advice.
Reporter's Recording Guide	Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press	State-by-state recording laws, as a pointer.

How outlets handle quotes, review and corrections

Resource	Publisher	What it gives
News Values and Principles: Telling the Story	The Associated Press	AP's definitions of on the record, background and deep background, and its rules on quotes and corrections.
Statement of News Values and Principles	The Associated Press	AP's short statement, including no advance approval and no full question lists.
Ethics Handbook: Independence	NPR	NPR's rule against previewing stories with sources, and its exceptions.
Ethics Handbook: Fairness	NPR	How NPR treats interviewees, editing and pre-interviews.
Ethics Handbook: Honesty	NPR	Recording someone without their knowledge, and online contact.
Ethics Handbook: Respect	NPR	Extra care for people new to interviews, children and people in distress.
Ethical Journalism	The New York Times	Sharing drafts, fact-checking with sources, recording and identifying yourself.
Journalistic Standards and Values	Reuters	Quote review, quote editing, ground rules and recording.
SPJ Code of Ethics (revised October 2026)	Society of Professional Journalists	A voluntary code. Compare any guide that still quotes the 2014 version.
RTDNA Code of Ethics	Radio Television Digital News Association	The broadcast industry's voluntary code.
The New York Times bans quote approval	Poynter Institute	The 2012 background to quote approval.
Corrections	NPR	A live example of an outlet's corrections page and how to report an error.
NPR Public Editor	NPR	An example of a route above the reporter.
Correcting the record: experts weigh in on ethical news corrections	Center for Journalism Ethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison	The difference between an update and a correction.
Times Public Editor blasts sneak interview	Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists	The norm against ambush interviews, with a case.
Editorial Guidelines, privacy section (doorstep interviews)	BBC (a UK comparison)	The most explicit published doorstep rules. Not a US source.

Main points, plain language and timing

Resource	Publisher	What it gives
The Message Box	COMPASS Science Communication	A five-part worksheet: Issue, Problem, So What, Solutions, Benefits.
The Message Box, blank worksheet	COMPASS Science Communication	The one-page blank form. Free for personal and educational use.
Communication Toolkit	AAAS	Bottom line first, then the so-what, then detail.
Message Mapping	Vincent Covello, in an archived EPA copy	The source of the 27-word, 9-second, three-message rule. One practitioner's method, with no cited basis.
CERC: Messages and Audiences	US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	First messages, credibility and the known, not known, being done formula.
Plain language guides	Digital.gov	The federal government's current plain language guides.
Would you say it that way? Tips on writing for your voice	NPR Training	Writing for the ear.
Soundbite essentials	NPR Training	How producers choose clips: 5 to 15 seconds is ideal.
Speaking rate	Tools for Clear Speech, Baruch College (CUNY)	How to measure your own speaking rate.
Towards an integrated understanding of speaking rate in conversation	University of Pennsylvania (Interspeech 2006)	Measured American phone-conversation rates, and why the number depends on how pauses are counted.
Sound Bite Democracy	Daniel Hallin, Wilson Quarterly (1992)	The fall in average soundbite length in network election coverage, 1968 to 1988.
Sound Bite Democracy: network evening news presidential campaign coverage, 1968 and 1988	Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School	A second study of the same period with slightly different figures.
Media Interview Skills (WC114)	University of Florida IFAS Extension	Two or three points, 20-second answers, a recorded mock interview.
Media training resources	UNC Health	Five likely questions plus the one you hope not to get, and blocking and bridging.
Interview tips	Saint Louis University	A university tip sheet on practicing aloud.

Radio, podcasts, video and TV

Resource	Publisher	What it gives
Tips for TV interviews	SciLine (AAAS)	How broadcast editing works, and what to ask before agreeing.
Catch audio problems in radio interviews before they happen	NPR Training	A producer's checklist for the room, the phone and headphones.
A glossary of audio production terms	NPR Training	Tape sync, room tone, actuality and other terms.
Reporting audio interviews and scenes	NPR Training	What a producer does in a pre-interview and why.
Five ways to ace your media pre-interview	Throughline Group	One practitioner on the pre-interview as an audition.
How to conquer your remote video interview	University of British Columbia	Camera, light, background and looking at the lens.
Tips for remote media interviews	Bangor University	Delay, staying on until you are clear, and mics that stay on.
Interruptible foldback (IFB)	Clear-Com	What the earpiece is.
What to wear on camera	Ohio University	Solid mid-tones and avoiding large areas of pure white or black.
Tips on what to wear to broadcast interviews	University of Toronto Mississauga	Clothes for broadcast interviews.
Green screen	University of Nebraska Medical Center	Why not to wear green in front of a green screen.

Hard questions and false claims

Resource	Publisher	What it gives
CERC: Spokesperson	US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	The fullest government list of what to ask and the common pitfalls. Dated 2014; its TV advice predates remote video.
CERC: Working with the Media	US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	The questions reporters ask in a crisis, and how to correct an error.
Media interview bridging: is bridging an outdated practice?	Throughline Group	A practitioner's view of bridging.
Why lie when you can evade?	Harvard Kennedy School	An experiment on how often listeners notice a dodge.
Interview tips	William & Mary	One university's tips, including on leading questions.
The Debunking Handbook 2020	Lewandowsky, Cook and colleagues	Research-based advice on correcting false claims.
Consider using a truth sandwich to counter misinformation	PBS Standards	The fact, the claim, the fact.

Uncertainty and numbers

Resource	Publisher	What it gives
CERC: Introduction	US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	The six principles of crisis and emergency risk communication.
Communicating risk in public health emergencies	World Health Organization	Guideline recommendations on being transparent about what is known.
Communicating Science Effectively: a research agenda	National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine	What the research says on uncertainty, verbal probabilities and numbers.
Communicating uncertainty about facts, numbers and science	van der Bles and colleagues, Royal Society Open Science	A framework and nine ways to express uncertainty.
The effects of communicating uncertainty on public trust	van der Bles and colleagues, PNAS	Experiments on numeric ranges and verbal hedges.
Model uncertainty, political contestation, and public trust in science	Kreps and Kriner, Science Advances	Evidence that emphasizing uncertainty can reduce trust in some contexts.
Negative consequences of failing to communicate uncertainties during a pandemic	Batteux and colleagues, BMJ Open	Overstated certainty backfires when contrary information arrives.
No harm in being self-corrective	Altenmuller and colleagues, Public Understanding of Science	Evidence that admitting error can raise credibility.
Guidance note for lead authors of the Fifth Assessment Report	IPCC	The IPCC likelihood and confidence scales.
Intelligence Community Directive 203: Analytic Standards	Office of the Director of National Intelligence	The US intelligence probability scale.
Communicating risks and benefits: an evidence-based user's guide	US Food and Drug Administration	Ten recommendations on numbers, including absolute risks and constant denominators.
Helping doctors and patients make sense of health statistics	Gigerenzer and colleagues, Psychological Science in the Public Interest	The 1995 pill scare as the standard relative-versus-absolute example.
Making Data Talk: a workbook	National Cancer Institute	Plain rules for numbers in public communication.
Fact boxes	Harding Center for Risk Literacy	A format that shows benefits and harms side by side.

Bad news, personal stories and children

Resource	Publisher	What it gives
Advocating with the news media	US Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (2024 archive)	The fullest US government checklist for a victim deciding whether to do an interview.
A news media guide for victims and survivors of crime	North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission	Benefits, risks and a victim's rights in an interview.
Tips for bias crime victims interacting with the media	Oregon Department of Justice	What you say to the media is public and permanent.
Considerations for speaking with the media after mass violence	Voices Center for Resilience	A survivor- and family-facing guide.
Ethical reporting guidelines	UNICEF	Interviewing children, including consent.

Other courses, for reference

These are listed so you can see what else exists. We have not used their lessons. Prices and schedules change; we do not state them. Nothing here is an endorsement, and nothing on this site is for sale.

Cost	Course	Provider type
Free	SciLine, Engaging with the media (AAAS)	Nonprofit
Free	AAAS Communication Toolkit	Nonprofit
Free	COMPASS, The Message Box	Nonprofit
Free	NPR Training, guides for reporters	News organization
Free	CDC, Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication manual	Federal agency
Free	FEMA EMI, IS-29.A Public Information Officer Awareness	Federal agency
Paid	LinkedIn Learning, Media Training Essentials	Course vendor
Paid	LinkedIn Learning, The Media-Savvy Professional	Course vendor
Paid	Coursera (Packt), Media Training: Radio	Course vendor
Paid	PRSA, From TV to TikTok: Next Gen Media Training	Professional association
Paid	COMPASS, Communicating Risk	Nonprofit
Paid	Maven, Media Training 101	Course vendor

Limits

A source appears here because it says something this manual relies on or compares, not because its advice fits every interview. Several are written for scientists, officials or crime victims. Guidance from a government agency or a university is not legal advice about your case.