Journalists need more than a block of plausible text. Their accountable starting point is to record interviews with explicit source consent and preserve the unedited source file. The useful destination is searchable interviews, quote logs, source notes, and timecoded review copies, and the review plan must explicitly address attribution, off-the-record boundaries, names, numbers, and quotations that require direct audio verification.
Decision signals
- Prepare the source: record interviews with explicit source consent and preserve the unedited source file.
- Deliver useful artifacts: searchable interviews, quote logs, source notes, and timecoded review copies.
- Set the review rule: replay every published quotation and keep editorial judgment outside automated summaries.
Start with an accountable source
Before processing, record interviews with explicit source consent and preserve the unedited source file. Record who may access the source, how long it should be retained, and which downstream uses were actually authorized.
Review the evidence, not just the prose
Correct the transcript while listening to the recording. Pay special attention to attribution, off-the-record boundaries, names, numbers, and quotations that require direct audio verification. Keep machine suggestions visibly separate until a person accepts them.
Hand off a controlled result
Build searchable interviews, quote logs, source notes, and timecoded review copies. For final quality, replay every published quotation and keep editorial judgment outside automated summaries. Export a stable approved copy so later revisions or product changes do not erase the decision record.
Boundaries to keep visible
- Automated output is a review draft: attribution, off-the-record boundaries, names, numbers, and quotations that require direct audio verification.
- Recording rights, notice, consent, confidentiality, retention, and accessibility duties depend on the organization and jurisdiction; the product does not make that decision for the user.
Reviewed sources
- W3C WebVTT specification checked 2026-07-19
- W3C guidance for prerecorded captions checked 2026-07-19
- NIST Privacy Framework checked 2026-07-19