Discuss why today’s journalists need to spend time interacting with real people and identify methods of doing so both in person and in the digital realm.

What will be an ideal response?

Journalists have always relied on personal interactions to make their job easier. In the past, those interactions were mostly limited to official sources, such as powerful public figures, who could provide story ideas or useful information. Today, in an era of increasing competition among news sources, journalists not only need to interact with their sources, but also with their readers to ensure that the stories they are producing are meeting the needs and expectations of the audience. This can be achieved either in person or online. Journalists attending events can visit with audience members and bystanders and ask what they like or dislike about the news stories they read and what types of stories they would like to see in the future. Online, journalists can read through comments at the end of their stories, solicit feedback through social media, and reach out to readers through email to get a better sense of what the audience needs and wants from the news.