Getting the inside scoop by way of sociology
Most reporters know slight sociological tricks to get people to tell you information. Nothing illegal (at least, not in my reporting bag). Just ways to talk with people to help them help you.
SPJ’s FOI FYI blog has a great example of using sociology to help reluctant sources give you information. The basic premise is that people will give information more readily to those who are “tall, white, blue-eyed, trim, and male.” But what to do if you are none, or only some, of those?
One of the Idaho journalists said she would take a tall white guy with her to the police station and they would talk to him. After a few visits they would take her seriously too. I’ve used this technique when covering tribes. I noticed that if I drove around a reservation alone I would get dirty looks - I’m a white guy who looks like a federal BIA bureaucrat. So I would find a respected tribal member and have that person drive me around. People were more likely to accept me and give me access to information.
This is brilliant! Granted, this blog is talking about public records that we should have by right, however, I can see the implications for reporting with reluctant sources, too.