PressEthic

I don't own a Blackberry. I'm guessing I couldn't afford one, and it's just another mystifying electronic investment I'd drop or spill coffee on anyway.

But if that one elusive interview I needed didn't have one, I would have never tracked him down. It's true that what the American Journalism Review calls inbox journalism can be a tricky way to get a story.

Any way can be a tricky way to get a story.

If we're lucky we get face-to-face interviews - see how people respond to different things, what makes them laugh, if they fidget when they're nervous. And until I get that job writing profiles for Esquire, it will probably be the rare subject who has a couple hours to kill with me.

So we call. And call. And leave messages. Since phone calls are the next best thing to in-person interviews, we try not to mind the phone tag. And if we need e-mail interviews (and that's the key - if we absolutely need them), everything needs verified just like it would coming from any other method. I've interviewed, or at least gotten a hold of interviews, through Instant Messenger and even on Facebook. If it's there, and can be used responsibly, then why not use it?

The most important thing is that talking without speaking isn't a crutch. Hopefully interviews can be complemented with meetings or phone calls. Maybe some color gets lost - but at least the whole story doesn't.