We remember the importance of face-to-face reporting

“It might let you glimpse that almost imperceptible frown on your source’s face when you ask a question.”

What new digital disruption does 2022 have in store for journalists? This year is actually gearing up to have more of a vintage flavor. With the Covid crisis still fresh, the spotlight is turning back to the good old low-tech art of on-the-ground reporting,

Almost two years after a global health crisis forced newsrooms to improvise, coming back to the field and rekindling in-person interactions can be a challenge. Some reporters will tell you they’re feeling a little rusty. Others say it was easier to be protected by a screen when covering the world’s misery. Some will even admit that reporting from a sofa has its perks — and, in terms of comfort, definitely beats the uncertainty of meeting anonymous sources in the field.

Technology enables the production of more and more remote reporting — at a cheaper cost, from a business point of view. But there is a crucial need to get back to sources and events in the physical world. Only in real life is it possible to scrutinize the slightest signal without being limited by the time slot designated for a call. If you’re distracted by a source’s background on a Zoom call, you might notice what’s on their desk or happening in the corridor near them. Face-to-face reporting saves you from the burden of frozen Facetime images on a bad connection. It might let you glimpse that almost imperceptible frown on your source’s face when you ask a question.

It’s complicated to get to the truth. Getting to the bottom of an issue exclusively from a distance seems a nearly impossible task, even with the habit of a sedentary lifestyle imposed by curfews and lockdowns during Covid.

“When I was in Colombia to report the life and death of the socialist leader Maritza Quiroz Leyva, I had to check with no less than six sources, realizing that these six people could, at any time, give me six different versions,” recalls the French reporter Emilienne Malfatto. Margaux Benn, a journalist of dual French and Canadian nationality, had the same experience, where she had to consult 15 sources to check a piece of information.

Being online adds more complexity. There’s no hierarchy between people with no agenda, experts with an agenda, fake accounts, and so on. Hate, fakes, and data are one big mess; all sources are speaking at the same level and at the same time. To understand the facts behind a story on Instagram or TikTok, an organic exchange, an actual conversation, with all its in-person perks, as well as its annoyances, is essential. In a recent presentation to students at Sciences Po, Clarissa Ward, chief international correspondent at CNN, compared an interview to a dance. “You need to be in the moment to listen to what a person is telling you — it is a real engagement between two individuals, as opposed to a person reading a list of questions and doing their best impression of what listening looks like. Look at their body language and hear them.”

In 2022, as journalists strive to distinguish between sincere insights and questionable testimonies, getting back into the field is bound to come back into fashion.

Alice Antheaume is executive dean of the Sciences Po Journalism School in Paris.

What new digital disruption does 2022 have in store for journalists? This year is actually gearing up to have more of a vintage flavor. With the Covid crisis still fresh, the spotlight is turning back to the good old low-tech art of on-the-ground reporting,

Almost two years after a global health crisis forced newsrooms to improvise, coming back to the field and rekindling in-person interactions can be a challenge. Some reporters will tell you they’re feeling a little rusty. Others say it was easier to be protected by a screen when covering the world’s misery. Some will even admit that reporting from a sofa has its perks — and, in terms of comfort, definitely beats the uncertainty of meeting anonymous sources in the field.

Technology enables the production of more and more remote reporting — at a cheaper cost, from a business point of view. But there is a crucial need to get back to sources and events in the physical world. Only in real life is it possible to scrutinize the slightest signal without being limited by the time slot designated for a call. If you’re distracted by a source’s background on a Zoom call, you might notice what’s on their desk or happening in the corridor near them. Face-to-face reporting saves you from the burden of frozen Facetime images on a bad connection. It might let you glimpse that almost imperceptible frown on your source’s face when you ask a question.

It’s complicated to get to the truth. Getting to the bottom of an issue exclusively from a distance seems a nearly impossible task, even with the habit of a sedentary lifestyle imposed by curfews and lockdowns during Covid.

“When I was in Colombia to report the life and death of the socialist leader Maritza Quiroz Leyva, I had to check with no less than six sources, realizing that these six people could, at any time, give me six different versions,” recalls the French reporter Emilienne Malfatto. Margaux Benn, a journalist of dual French and Canadian nationality, had the same experience, where she had to consult 15 sources to check a piece of information.

Being online adds more complexity. There’s no hierarchy between people with no agenda, experts with an agenda, fake accounts, and so on. Hate, fakes, and data are one big mess; all sources are speaking at the same level and at the same time. To understand the facts behind a story on Instagram or TikTok, an organic exchange, an actual conversation, with all its in-person perks, as well as its annoyances, is essential. In a recent presentation to students at Sciences Po, Clarissa Ward, chief international correspondent at CNN, compared an interview to a dance. “You need to be in the moment to listen to what a person is telling you — it is a real engagement between two individuals, as opposed to a person reading a list of questions and doing their best impression of what listening looks like. Look at their body language and hear them.”

In 2022, as journalists strive to distinguish between sincere insights and questionable testimonies, getting back into the field is bound to come back into fashion.

Alice Antheaume is executive dean of the Sciences Po Journalism School in Paris.

Tamar Charney

Megan McCarthy

j. Siguru Wahutu

Jesse Holcomb

Julia Angwin

James Salanga

John Davidow

Ariel Zirulnick

Catalina Albeanu

Millie Tran

Joe Amditis

Kristen Jeffers

James Green

Sarah Marshall

Errin Haines

Gonzalo del Peon

Stephen Fowler

Burt Herman

Cindy Royal

Jonas Kaiser

Raney Aronson-Rath

Moreno Cruz Osório

Gabe Schneider

Kristen Muller

Juleyka Lantigua

Anika Anand

Joni Deutsch

Gordon Crovitz

Alice Antheaume

Andrew Freedman

Jim Friedlich

Matthew Pressman

AX Mina

Jennifer Coogan

Matt DeRienzo

Jesenia De Moya Correa

Laxmi Parthasarathy

Tony Baranowski

Christoph Mergerson

Francesco Zaffarano

Tom Trewinnard

Mary Walter-Brown

Natalia Viana

Kendra Pierre-Louis

David Skok

Whitney Phillips

Meena Thiruvengadam

Sam Guzik

Mike Rispoli

Amy Schmitz Weiss

Cristina Tardáguila

Simon Galperin

Sarah Stonbely

Kerri Hoffman

Melody Kramer

Mario García

Matt Karolian

Christina Shih

Parker Molloy

Cherian George

Michael W. Wagner

S. Mitra Kalita

Anita Varma

Jessica Clark

Victor Pickard

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Julia Munslow

Anthony Nadler

Stefanie Murray

Joshua P. Darr

Don Day

Chicas Poderosas

Candace Amos

Ståle Grut

Joanne McNeil

A.J. Bauer

Izabella Kaminska

Paul Cheung

David Cohn

Mandy Jenkins

Zizi Papacharissi

Larry Ryckman

Richard Tofel

Brian Moritz

Joy Mayer

Shannon McGregor & Carolyn Schmitt

Amara Aguilar

Wilson Liévano

Eric Nuzum

Kathleen Searles & Rebekah Trumble

Shalabh Upadhyay

Chase Davis

Daniel Eilemberg

Doris Truong

Robert Hernandez

Nik Usher

Simon Allison

Rachel Glickhouse

Jennifer Brandel

Jody Brannon