Romenesko

American Journalism Review
E-mail interviews eliminate rounds of phone tag, but skeptics say they also eliminate the candor, spontaneity and natural dialogue that make for engaging conversations and compelling stories, writes Kim Hart. J-prof Mike Foley tells her: "There's something to be said for the old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting. E-mail requires no shoe leather... It's easy, like quoting from a press release, and then your stories are sterile and boring, neither of which compels me to read them."