Can I add one extra point? It’s not as concrete as those in your post, but it can help a lot.

Try to trust the journalist you’re contacting.

This might feel weird; many people are nervous dealing with the media. They naturally wonder how they might be represented or quoted.

But a journalist of decent reputation will generally look after and protect you. If you approach them with a respectful and open attitude, you’ll find that you have more control over the situation than you might have imagined.

For example, you might soon find that you would like to speak freely about something that would give much-needed context to your story or situation.
But you might prefer not to be quoted on the subject (for a number of reasons, mainly your own political or strategic ones).

So you will ask for something to be ‘off the record’.

Now is the time when your initial trust will pay off: the journalist will almost certainly have no problem with your request.

(This is not to say that you can ramble on for half an hour and, at the end of the conversation, casually say: “oh, by the way, that’s all off the record”. That infuriates journalists.)