This Is Off The Record! Maybe its not...

By Eric Ivanov on 09/23/2009

Are we off the air? No? What about off the Record? No to that too? It seems like no matter where we are in this world people are always listening and have the ability to record and report every word you utter, and every gesture you make.
The world we live in today allows anyone, in practice, to become a journalist. The cell phone has become one of the greatest tools to the public. They can communicate information instantly, from a conversation to a video and a sound bite to a picture; cell phones are rapidly changing the way we conduct ourselves in public. Then presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, was caught by just this type journalist activity. A woman used her every day tools to remember what Obama said in a "No Press Zone" and spread the word on the Internet. It was suppose to be off the record, so much for that belief.
People are beginning to realize that there is no such thing as off the record anymore. Someone is always listening, and someone is always recording. Sounds creepy, but in the age where we can stalk people on Facebook that we never met, it seems normal to us. Public figures are caught off guard by this fact. When they expect to be off the record, they wouldn't dare think someone would break the rules and publish what they really think about something. President Obama has yet to learn that lesson yet, as his latest slip up has showed.
In the case of public figures, it seems the public's appetite for tabloid stories is insatiable and the many media outlets are happy to oblige. Journalists and many other Americans use phones that function like mini computers. These allow them to access the Internet and post material. The latest fad for people is twitter, and it has provided quick and precise information as to what is happening, when it is happening.
The technology we have is making this archaic idea of "off the record" even more of a joke than it is now. Today people have better gadgets than James Bond; I can conceal a voice recorded, video camera, computer, phone and a flashlight, in the form of a cell phone, into my pocket, and have security tell me I am clear to go into a press conference. Off the record interviews don't exist. The information you give will come back and one day will come back to you.
Cameras and microphones are always on. Too many world leaders have had o learn that the hard way. It is becoming normal for people to transmit information as soon as they hear it, so people may expect to be talking in confidence, but the reality is that they aren't. This practice is good for us, if you want to get around the PR guys. We get the facts from the man in charge. We get what they don't want us to know. Its great to hear the president swear or make fun of someone. That's what happens in this wired world we live in.
On the record, people have to respect public figures privacy, and only report what they say on the air. The end of "off the record" ma be coming soon, but its not here yet!

Additional Photos: ["computer", shutterstock.com, "Obama", abcnews.com]