a single source, nothing corroborates it

Hold one message and assume nothing is off record

The journalist's incentive is a more dramatic angle than the one you brought, so go in with a single message and steer every answer back to it, consistently and simply. Treat everything as on the record, including the small talk, your office and the drink afterwards: part of a bar conversation one founder was barely part of appeared in print the next day. Save your guard for the question asked after the interview seems finished, which is the one they held back.

The method

1. 01

   Go in with one message and steer every answer back to it, since the journalist's incentive is to find a more dramatic angle than yours.

2. 02

   Behave as though every moment is on the record, including the small talk, your clothes, your office and the drink afterwards.

3. 03

   Prepare for the question that comes after the interview appears to be over, because it is the one they saved.

What it returned

• Rand Fishkin's rule is consistency, repetition and simplicity, and he names Nirav Tolia of Nextdoor as someone who does this exceptionally well.

• Rand Fishkin had part of a bar conversation in Seattle, which he was not even actively contributing to, appear in a tech publication the following day after a stranger joined the group and finished his beer with them.

• Two professional journalists used this on Rand Fishkin, both asking at the end what Google thought of his activities, which he now recognises as a hunt for a conflict angle rather than an afterthought.

Sources

• A Healthy Dose of Fear is Appropriate When Dealing with the Press - SparkToroRand Fishkin · sparktoro.com · 2012-04-16