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The journalistic approach when I interview somebody

A source agreed to talk. This is what my end of that conversation looks like.

Journalistic approach 4 min read why no author line

The three addresses

Nexus Market publishes these three onion addresses. Present as supplied, in no order, with no ranking. This site does not probe them and shows no uptime figure.

nexusb2l7fmqnefwphyy7m5zjhlkytlbo7qbb5lu5dlczr3azgii2gyd.onion
nexusma2iqgauqqvjcgds4ckv5xbf272tkfagq4epojjhsgleqpwxiqd.onion
nexusabcd6tyfhdwilyitaqiri6tisj2v2hueyjuj6qkvd6azvi5tuqd.onion

How we agreed to talk

We agreed to talk on a call, not in a chat, not on the market. The call is on a channel they picked. They record if they want; I do not record without their explicit yes, and even then I ask myself whether I need to record at all.

Voice is a slower medium than chat, which makes it a better one for asking real questions. It also leaves less written record.

What I ask about

Their experience of using the market. What the first visit was like. What surprised them. What has changed for them since they started. Their view of the design of the interface. What they would tell a friend who was thinking of trying.

I do not ask about specific orders, specific vendors, or specific amounts unless they raise them. Even when they do, I do not press for detail past what they offer.

What I do not ask about

Their account name. Their password. Their addresses. Their wallet. Their real name if they have not offered it. Their location if it is not already public.

Anything that if known to somebody else would put them in a worse position. That is the guiding heuristic. If the answer to a question makes them more legible to somebody hostile, I do not ask it.

How I take notes

On paper, in front of me. Not in a document that syncs. Not in a chat window. Paper stays with me and I decide when it goes anywhere else.

Anything they say that I might quote, I read back to them in the moment to confirm they said it and that they are comfortable being quoted on it. That is not journalism theatre. It is the smallest form of consent for a specific line.

What I promise

I promise to send them the passages I plan to quote before publication. I promise to hold anything they said before I ask a specific quote question as background, unless they say otherwise.

I do not promise anonymity as a blanket. Anonymity is expensive and I do not offer it lightly. If they need it, we talk about it before the interview, not after.

What I do after the call

I write up my notes on paper into a research document within a day. The document is not the piece. It is a structured version of what I heard, marked with what is on the record and what is background.

I do not share the document. It stays with me until the piece is written, and then it stays with me for a while after, in case of legal or editorial questions.

How this interacts with my visits to the market

  • The interview does not change what my visits look like. They stay the same slow, non interactive shape.
  • The interview does not add specificity to what I would publish about the market from my own visits.
  • The interview provides context, colour and human perspective. It does not provide primary evidence for any claim about how the market works, unless the source is willing to be on the record about it.
  • The three onion addresses at the top of this article are the same three regardless of whether I have interviewed anybody. Interviews do not change addresses.

The tone of the interview approach

Careful, quiet, and short on flourish. An interview about a market is not a chance to show off my range as a reporter. It is a chance to listen to somebody who is doing me a favour by talking.

The article is here so I remember to leave that ratio right on the day the interview goes well and I feel like pushing for more.

The opposite approach

The journalistic approach for a story I am not going to name, the version of the piece that never talks to anyone

What this article is not. This is not a guide to source protection. It is a description of one set of small habits that reduce the size of what I am asking of the source.

Read another in this approach

The journalistic approach in a shared CMSDraft visibility is a thing to manage, not to ignore. Half of my care is about what the draft looks like before the piece runs. The journalistic approach and what not to publishNot everything I know goes in the piece. The list of what stays out is the shape of the piece as much as what goes in. The journalistic approach for a story that names peopleNaming somebody in a story changes what the story owes them. The visits are the same; the responsibilities are not.
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