Alessi Loves To Seduce Sources

From Hotline’s Friday Feature:

Ryan Alessi has served as political writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader in KY since ’03. He started his career as DC corr. for the Ventura County Star (CA) at Scripps Howard News Service. But today Alessi’s our Friday Feature: …

What’s your most embarrassing on-the-job moment? (Or as embarrassing as you’d like to reveal?)

When I was a new reporter in Washington, D.C., I was trying to develop sources. I had to call over to the U.S. Treasury for something and was helped out by a bureaucrat. I can’t remember what exactly I said to her, but in the course of trying to see if she’d be willing to meet with me sometime, I pretty much asked her on a date — something stupid like, “You sound really nice, I’d like to take you to lunch.” In return, I heard, “Um.” Click. The veteran reporters sitting near me had fun with that.

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