No comment

No comment is a phrase used as a response to journalistic inquiries which the respondent does not wish to answer. Public figures may decline to comment on issues they are questioned or have nothing to say about the issue at the time.

For other uses, see No comment (disambiguation).

No comment indicates that the speaker does not choose to say anything on the subject, and it is automatically invalidated if the speaker then comments or answers questions. It is not a request for the material to be considered off the record or otherwise kept confidential. If the speaker wishes to talk about the subject, but does not wish to be named as a source, he must obtain the journalist's explicit agreement in advance that the response is not to be used for attribution.

Etymology

The first recorded usage as a stock answer to questions was made in 1950 by Charles Ross (President Harry Truman's White House press secretary).[1]

Criticism

Some public relations professionals have argued against the use of no comment, stating that one of the goals of working with the press is to resolve issues before they become hot topics. Offering no comment allows the press to fill in the blanks, diverts the focus of the publicity, and sacrifices an opportunity to communicate key messages.[2]

See also

References
  1. etymonline.com narrowed search for "comment" accessed 2016-06-15
  2. Laermer, R. (2004). Full Frontal PR. New York: Bloomberg Press.
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