The taping issue

For those of you who follow Miami media, the firing of columnist Jim DeFede from The Miami Herald for taping former Miami City Commissioner Art Teele (who committed suicide in the lobby of the newspaper after talking with DeFede by phone) is a shock, but not entirely unpredictable. The same kind of law that makes it illegal for the cops to wiretap your home makes it illegal to record telephone conversations without permission. That's anybody, not just reporters.

Think what you may of DeFede's unfortunate situation, one basic move you can make to avoid trouble is, first off, ask permission tape any interview and, second, get that request and a solid "Yes, you can tape me" on the actual tape.

Then, if it weren't obvious, keep the tape. I generally don't record much. It makes for a lot of work later transcribing. But if you need to tape sources, and you do a lot of phone work, then a few simple questions on the record in advance can save you a lot of legal headaches later.