After persistent requests I was interviewed for a podcast some years ago. The next day I wrote to them to ask not to use the recording as I had serious brain fog and was recovering from an illness [I was not happy with my responses] They complied, or so I thought. I have just discovered that there is a book about to be published which contains my interview verbatim. I am massively disappointed and feel betrayed. I was not informed, and in fact, told them not to broadcast or use the interview. The book is for a major publisher and will get a lot of publicity because of the content, which is entertainment related.
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1What is your question? I suppose you want to some advice about the situation, but you forgot to include the question and as it is it reads as if you just wanted to pour your heart out, which is not what this site is for. Also, please keep in mind that your rights and options might not be the same depending on the jurisdiction.– DiviznaCommented Jul 1 at 7:33
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Two things. Firstly, when you say they "complied", did they send any kind of written confirmation that they planned to comply? Secondly, are the authors of the podcast also the authors of the book, or have the book authors somehow obtained a copy of your interview from them?– F1Krazy ♦Commented Jul 1 at 7:52
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Divizna - the question is implicit in the statement. F1Krazy, thank you. Yes, the interviewer of the podcast is the author of the book.– Nick RamonaCommented Jul 1 at 10:07
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I’m voting to close this question because this sounds like a matter for legal advice rather than about writing– motosubatsuCommented Jul 5 at 9:38
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1 Answer
Can you stop the publication?
If you have signed a contract before the interview, look at what it says. Does it offer you the opportunity to forbid the publication of the interview after it has been conducted? If no, you may be out of luck.
If you have not signed a contract, where there written communications or spoken communications in front of witnesses? What was agreed upon? If you did not explicitly discuss that you may retract publishing rights after the interview was conducted, again, you are probably out of luck.
If there are no documented communications, the fact that you took part in the interview may be interpreted as implicit agreement for the interview to be published. After all, publishing an interview is usually the sole purpose of conducting one. Whether or not the law requires explicit agreement to the publication of an interview will depend on your jurisdiction.
In any case, if you want to keep them from publishing the interview, you should write to them immediately (ideally as a registered letter so you have proof of sending it) and make that clear to them. If they don't reply in a timely manner or if they reply that they are going to publish the interview despite your objections, you will need to get the help of a lawyer.
What can you learn from this?
- Do not agree to be interviewed if you aren't comfortable with making mistakes in public and having those mistakes documented for all eternity.
- Do not agree to be interviewed if you haven't sufficient control over what you are going to say (e.g. because you are ill, under the influence of a psychoactive substande, suffer from an impulse control disorder etc.).
- Do not agree to be interviewed out of vanity.
- Prepare before an interview.
- If possible, let them give you the questions they want to ask beforehand or discuss the topics you are willing to discuss.
- During the interview, think carfully about what you want to say before you reply and don't answer spontaneously.
- Only say what you want attributed to you publicly.
- Decline to answer if a question makes you uncomfortable.
- Sign a contract that allows you to read, edit, and amend the text of the transcribed interview before it is published.
- Let a lawyer look at the contract before you sign it.
