Something said 'off the record' means it must be kept confidential.

In the field of journalism, it is very important to follow it as an ethical obligation to the source.

Suppose, you are a journalist. You are interviewing someone in regard to corruption charges against their office. Now, that person says, "This is off the record, but I think my boss took money illegally."

In that case, the person you are interviewing has made it clear that they do not want that comment to be reported publicly.

Often people make comments to make a point or to prove a ground but do not necessarily want that to be quoted or reported. In that case, a journalist must keep that part of their comments a secret. If someone says something off the record, it clearly means that they do not want it to be publicly reported. A journalist must respect the source and keep the trust.

To sum up: saying something off the record is to saying something unofficially, or in confidence, and not for publication.

But, what if you HAVE TO publish the comment?

First of all, you cannot and must not publish what has been said off the record.

Secondly, let us say that this is an exceptional scenario e.g. involves national interest. Then, you can do the followings:

- Try to convince your source (the interviewee) to make that comment on record i.e. officially.

- If not convinced, then ask them whether you can publish the comment without mentioning the source.

- If they agree to that point, then publish the comment very carefully so that it cannot be traced back to the source. Make sure, the source is not in any risk of being exposed very easily.

- But, if they are not convinced to publish it in any way, then do not force them. Rather, try to investigate the matter separately based on that comment. Follow your investigation and gather evidence from different other sources.

A journalist must keep it in mind that if they break the trust, that particular source, and others also, may not and will not trust them again. And a journalist is nothing without their sources.