3 ms·

If I was writing this story i'd scour social media replies to the major telco's and then get in touch with people. Likely picked telco's since they rank so low

If I was writing this story i'd scour social media replies to the major telco's and then get in touch with people. Likely picked telco's since they rank so low on customer satisfaction, ditto with banks Large part of being a good reporter and getting the story right is networking and finding where the story leads you This is certainly right in this case - if you count the sources in the story you'll see the reporter spoke to at least 9 people and cited a few reports and previous reporting edit: it's also possible the reporter didn't fly to IL - she may have done the interview over the phone/video and the editor sent in a local freelance or bureau photographer

dredmorbius 7y ago
From some cases in which I've been interviewed: - A very large online footprint associated vaguely with the story. - Knew the reporter socially. - Knew the reporter through previous contacts. (Emailing the publication can do this.) - Chaining through other contacts -- "oh, you should talk to ...". That includes a decade or three's experience. Today with social media the task is much easier. Various public filings (court records, consumer complaints to gov't offices, to watchdog groups) can also trigger journalist follow-ups, depending on the case. The reporter very likely talked to 10x the people cited in the article -- one reason good journalism is hard. As with high-quality video and audio production, it's what's left out that makes what's left in much better.