I couldn't quite get ahold of Liz Johnson, who is running in the Democratic primary. At what point does inquiry turn into harassment? In a final attempt, I sent her an email quoting the following post on her Facebook page:
I asked her to let me give her a voice in my article. I thought this was pretty clever. She still hasn't gotten back to me.
Sometimes I whine to my boyfriend that Journalism is haaaaarrrrrd. My article on the insurance commissioner race was one that sparked a lot of this.
Either I'm a student, so I'm not taken seriously enough for an interview, or I'm a big bad journalist, so I'm feared by people who've got something to lose. None of my stories have ever been easy, and one of the hurdles is always landing that interview.
I landed Ralph Hudgens. We had a great conversation lasting about 20 minutes, where he shared with me his ideas about Obamacare and a quick thought about the qualifications of the other candidates, Keith Heard and Liz Johnson.
It was real fascinating stuff. Locking down that interview was a long, arduous process, and the interview came with a minute's notice. Honestly, that added to the excitement of it all. I had been thinking about this story for weeks, so I knew exactly what I wanted to ask. In the final moment, I was ready.
I haven't found the secret to finding people eager to talk. And I think that the best sources are probably those you're willing to work for.
My article was published by Georgia Health News.
