Re: permission from interviewees

Hilary Cantwell <hilary[_at_]deakin.edu.au> writes
>
> The radio station gave permission for the cassettes to be made BUT said
> that we should also obtain permission from the interviewees.
[snip]
> Can anyone think of any basis for need to get permission from the
> individual interviewees?

Even if there were no "legal" reason to contact the interviewees, there is a very strong reputational one. It's a pretty simple matter to call or write a letter to someone saying "we were so impressed with your radio interview that we'd like to use it for . . . " than it is to mend fences after the interviewee finds out from another source and raises a big stink. Word travels fast about unauthorized usage, particularly if the work is being used in critiquing situations. Not only may you piss off that person but everyone else in the field, geographic area, etc. Any they don't attack just you personally; they blame the whole institution.

I spend a fair amount of time convincing people who were once burnt in similar situations to permit me to use their face, name, work, etc. It's annoying, to say the least. So "do the right thing" and call those folks.

Jayne Sebby
Nebraska ETV
jsebby[_at_]unlinfo.unl.edu Received on Wed Oct 29 1997 - 20:44:26 GMT