Combat Journalism

The frightened interviewee is pretty much a staple of journalism movies. "I can't talk to you." "I'm risking my life just talking to you." "Talking to you is incredibly bad taste." Etc. etc.

Turns out this is a real thing. I've been a journalist about as long as I've been a professional football player, but I have been working on a piece that might be considered journalistic. And what do you know: the second interview I tried to schedule — probably the fourth interview I've conducted in my entire life — has been held up because the subject is "afraid to talk to a journalist." Not only did I never suspect this would be an issue regarding the subject matter I had in mind, I really didn't even suspect it was actually a thing.

I suppose this is part of the learning process. I will learn to deal with it. I'm just surprised to find it raising its head so early in my nascent mini-career as a journalist. It makes me wonder if I should just go ahead and get myself one of those tan jackets with a hundred pockets, or maybe a fedora with "press" printed on a little card in the hatband.