This article pursues three major goals. The first is a critical one. It confronts the widespread bias that off-the-record communication briefings are inferior – including professionally and ethically – to other techniques of communication, especially to its counterpart of on-the-record communication. The second goal is a practical one. Discussed are cases of both failed and successful off-the-record strategies, from which basic rules – prerequisites for such interaction – are extracted. And the third goal is a theoretical one. Off-the-record is conceptualised as more indirect and, in this sense, more strategic mode of communication than its counterpart. Affinity rather than trust is the core quality of the source-media relations here. A new distinction is made between advertising and public relations. On the record, one controls the message but due to the obvious self-interest of the source – attributable or unattributable – its credibility is low. Off the record, one cannot control the message, but other and more credible influencers take ownership of it and increase its impact. On the record is advertising; off the record is public relations.

中文翻译：

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交流记录

本文追求三个主要目标。第一个是关键的。它面临着普遍的偏见，即唱片下的交流简报不及其他交流技术，包括在专业和道德上，包括其在唱片上的交流。第二个目标是切实可行的。讨论的是失败和成功的唱片策略的案例，从中提取了基本规则（进行此类交互的先决条件）。第三个目标是理论上的。唱片外的概念被认为是比对应的唱片更间接，更有意义的沟通方式。亲和力而不是信任是这里源媒体关系的核心素质。广告和公共关系之间有了新的区分。根据记录，一个人控制着消息，但是由于消息源的明显自身利益（可归因或不可归因），其信誉度很低。没有记录，一个人无法控制该消息，但是其他更可信的影响者拥有该消息的所有权并增强其影响力。记录在案的是广告；记录在案的是公共关系。