Help Desk 3.17.05
Q: I’m trying to get sources for a story. It’s not a big story and I don’t need extensive replies: 3-4 questions with brief, common-sense answers, as I’m almost baiting them to state the obvious. I’m going to attempt e-mail queries, but as a question of etiquette for a short interview/Q&A – would you include the questions with your source request (in the same message, asking for a reply), or is it better to ask first and (pending their cooperation) follow up with the questions? In the former case, you’re being a bit forward and people might feel put-upon; in the latter case, people who get lots of e-mails might find it grating that you’re sending two messages when one would do.
A: Personally, I would include the questions, as long as there are no more than 5 or so, if you’re on a tight deadline.
However, if these are experts in their field, i.e. professors, doctors etc who are really busy, you might want to check first, and if you ARE on deadline, you probably just want to call, which can be more of a pain but ultimately quicker (like tearing off a band-aid.) I know that when I ask people questions for this site, it helps to ask everything at once because if you ask them one question at a time you might not get the information you need for a week, as opposed to a day or two.
If they are good sources, you want to stay on good terms with them for the future, so be as polite as you can, even offering a mea culpa: “I’m sorry for the ambush questions but…” But if you’re in a time crunch, you’d rather be on good terms with your editor than your source.
Of course, all that said, it’s always faster and more helpful to just pick up the phone but I am assuming that for whatever reason, this is an email-only situation.
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