ABSTRACT
The methodology described in this book—using documents, observation and talk as the basis for a news story—is hard to argue with as a matter of principle, but when events happen and deadlines loom, theory sometimes gives way to reality. Many a story has been reported and written without the support of documentary evidence. Just as document dives aren’t always necessary, observation is often left out of the mix when reporters are putting a story together. In some situations journalists can do nearly all their reporting by working the phones or using electronic communication so that they have little to no need for going out and getting a firsthand look at their subject. But it is nearly impossible to conceive of a news account that does not in some way rely on talking to sources, whether for on the record quotes from officials or just to get directions to the scene of an accident. Thus of all the skills in the DOT methodology, talking is the one that reporters use the most.
