Where would journalists be without their sources who provide expert insights, exclusive access and juicy soundbites that make their stories possible and successful?
But like any relationship, trust and care need to be mutual and the better journalists treat their sources, the better their current and future stories will be. Elizabeth Lepro sources expert advice on how to cultivate a good working relationship with sources, writing for IJNet.
Pre-interviewing is a technique that many journalists use to help their sources open up to them. This is something the Solutions Journalism Network's online engagement manager, Allen Arthur, advises for any deeply sensitive or personal topic.
"If I could drill one thing into journalists’ brains, it's how delicate and how precious people feel with their stories," Arthur says in the article. "They want to know how we're going to hold them, and how we're going to use them."
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