Nice People Finish First
For reporters, sometimes the importance of developing a relationship with sources is clouded by the perceived need for objectivity. The reality, however, is that the building of trust between journalist and source is of paramount importance in securing good information. A reporter cannot and should not get into bed with his or her sources, figuratively or literally, but a cordial and even friendly attitude can go a long way toward alleviating a source’s fears, fears that might ultimately prove a poison pill in the interviewing process.
I’ve discovered this axiom through my somewhat limited experience, but I think it will hold true in perpetuity. My most recent encounter came from my interview with reporter Rick DelVecchio. Rick works at my newspaper, Catholic San Francisco, and over the past several weeks I have gotten to know him both as a reporter and an individual. I admire and respect his attitude toward the profession, and enjoy his writing very much. I have even gone to lunch with him on several occasions, giving us the opportunity to get to know one another in a non-professional setting.
Rick was happy to give me an interview for my ethics essay, and because of our relationship he made time to do so in the middle of an on-going investigation for a story he was working on that day. Had I not already developed a rapport with Rick, he likely would not have given me this opening. Busy people tend to make time for those they already know, and not so much for people whom they don’t.
Ultimately, Rick may have given the exact same answers to someone he didn’t know, though I have no way of knowing for sure. In other situations, people are often more likely to divulge information to someone they trust. The quality of an interview regularly hinges on nurturing this trust, so I would encourage any reporter to actively and genuinely court sources rather than treat them as tools to be used in the furtherance of an agenda.
Should we be careful to avoid prejudice and bias, the inherent problems of maintaining personal relationships with sources? Of course we should. The problem is that by attempting to maintain objectivity and aloofness, the reporter may find himself or herself without a source, or a friend, in the world.
You touch on both sides of the challenge. Ingratiating yourself — nuance matters; we may sub another participle — does open up your source. But it is also true that the process of being friendly — of acting like a friend — can have an outside-in effect, and the journalist starts to treat the source as a friend. It’s clear many journalists are a little schizo when it comes to this and are able to work on two tracks. I think it was Marshall Frady, a southern journalist who did books on George Wallace and Billy Graham, who said something like, “Sometimes I really didn’t know how much I disliked some of these people until I sat down and started to write.”
JM Robertson
October 12, 2007 at 9:21 pm