How Do Journos Make New Sources?

Now that there is a new administration in town, how does the process work for cultivating new contacts and sources? by Washington, DC

Answer: The same old way — cash payouts in brown paper bags left at phone booths for good sources. Kidding (and there aren’t any phone booths anymore, anyway).

It’s an odd job: One day, you’ve got the names and phone numbers (cell phones, too), of 1,000 primo sources, and the next day, they’ve all left town and there’s another thousand people in charge (22 of whom you’ve actually met).

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