Am I ready to share my story?

For most media interviews, you will need to be named (first name and surname) in the published article.  

But in very sensitive situations (for example if you are a victim of abuse), it is possible to be anonymous. You will still need to identify yourself to the journalist, but they will not publish your name or other details which could identify who you are.

In some situations, it may also be possible to use a genuine but alternative name to the one you usually use professionally, for example your maiden name.

If you wish to remain anonymous, use an alternative name or you are not willing to provide a photograph/be photographed, you need to make this clear to the journalist before the interview begins.

If the journalist is only able to use named and/or pictured interviewees for this article, they may not be able to proceed with the interview. The decision as to whether or not anonymous case studies can be included usually rests with the editor, not the journalist.

For most articles about a personal story, you will be expected to be pictured in the published article. This means you will be asked either to provide a photo of yourself or be photographed by the publication’s photographer.

If you are anonymous, a photo will not be used (see above: Do I have to use my real name?).

If you are sharing a story about your child, there is often more flexibility around whether or not they need to be pictured. Journalists are understanding about your child’s privacy, so it is often possible for only the parent(s) to be pictured or for pictures of children not to show their face.

If you have any concerns around pictures, raise it with the journalist as early as possible in the conversation.

The journalist will chat with you directly, either over the phone, on a video call or face-to-face. They will ask you to explain what has happened and ask additional questions to clarify details and to ensure they have fully understood the chronology of events correctly. They will also ask you to share how you feel about what happened.

They will need some basic details, including your:

• full name

• age

• occupation (something general like “manager” is fine if you’re unable to give specifics)

• where you live (again, you can give the nearest city or county if you don’t want to specific the exact town).

Don’t worry about speaking in perfect sentences – humans naturally ramble! The journalist is trained to pick out the most relevant information and summarise this.

Bear in mind, anything you say during the interview can be quoted and attributed to you. This includes when you agree with statements. For example, if the journalist asks: “So this was a nightmare for your family?” and you reply: “Yes”, the journalist can quote you as saying “It was a nightmare for my family.”

You do not have to answer all the questions you are asked. If at any point, you do not feel comfortable, you can stop or ask to move on to the next question.

If you feel a question goes too far or asks for personal details you do not want to share publicly, it is totally fine just to say: “I’d rather not go into that”.

 Bear in mind, the more information you are able to share, the more this will help people understand the background and context of your story. If you are unwilling to share enough details to make the story make sense to the reader, the journalist may not be able to include your story.

But the decision around how much to share is always your choice.

If you feel uncomfortable at any point during the interview or editing process you can back out - but you are more likely to feel happy to go ahead if you’ve read all these FAQs first and know you are ready.

If you no longer wish for your story to be published, you must make this clear as soon as possible to the journalist.

Do not just stop replying to them, as the publication may still run your story without you expressly withdrawing your consent.

If you are a sharing a personal story, you should have the opportunity to have a “read-back” of your story before publication, where the journalist calls you and reads you the article or the sections featuring your story. You can use this to highlight any issues or additional details you want to add.

This is particularly important if the article is going to be written in the first person (as if you had written it), as you need to be happy with what is being submitted in your name.

If you are not offered an opportunity for a read-back, just ask the reporter about it at the end of the interview.

Bear in mind, that often the journalist is only able to read-back the version of article they are submitting to the editor - it will then undergo further editing (this usually involves cutting out words and some details might be lost, as well as adding headlines and subheadings).

Some publications will also offer a read-back of the edited version of the article, but that is not common.

Note: Journalists cannot send you the full written article to read before publication, for legal and copyright reasons.

Once the journalist has submitted their finished article, it will be edited. Sometimes very few changes are made, sometimes the article is significantly rewritten several times by different editors – this usually depends on the publication.

Editors often have additional questions, so be prepared to have a few follow-up messages or calls from the journalist after your interview to check information and get extra details.

During editing, editors or subeditors will choose which pictures to use, write captions for these pictures and write a headline for an article.

 Note: The journalist who carried out the interview with you does not normally have any control over the editing process or headlines – in fact, they often only see the headline once the article is published.

Often, journalists will be in a rush to speak with you, sort out pictures and ask follow-up questions as they often work to short deadlines. But don’t be surprised if everything goes silent for a while – it’s usual for stories to be “held” for days, weeks or even months until there a suitable slot in the publication becomes available.

If your story is time-dependent or it has been a long time, feel free to contact the journalist to ask for an update. But bear in mind they might not know much more information than you, as publication dates are decided by senior editors.

Journalists do not always get advanced warning about when an article will be published, but if they do they will let you know. Once it is published, they will be able to send you a link and/or a PDF copy.

You have been brave in sharing your story, now is your time to celebrate that and shout about it!

Copyright rules mean you’re not supposed to share pictures of a newspaper or magazine page (including screenshots and photographs of the publication you take yourself), but sharing the link is fine – and encouraged.

If you spot a factual inaccuracy in the article, contact the journalist ASAP as they should be able to request this is changed (for online articles).

If you have any concerns about the headline, please do raise these with the journalist and they will pass your request for any changes on to their editor.

Bear in mind journalists have to request changes and rarely have the power to edit a published article themselves.

If you are feel the article misrepresents you and should be removed or substantially edited, you can file a complaint with the press regulator IPSO: https://www.ipso.co.uk/making-a-complaint/

Never read the comments!

A tiny proportion of readers (fewer than 0.01%) leave comments under articles - and often they have not actually read the article. Just one ignorant comment can really affect us, so don’t take the risk.

A wise editor once said: “No one, in the entire history of the internet, has ever said anything of importance in an online comment.”

Remember your story will have hugely helped the silent majority of readers - you don’t need to hear the thoughts of idiot commenters.

And if you do really want to know, ask a friend to read only the nice ones out to you.