That's always been my test for what makes a story: is this something journalists would gossip with each other about?
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It's all storytelling, you know. That's what journalism is all about.
Gossip is conversation about people.
Gossip is essentially storytelling: storytelling about people whom we know.
I know that gossip comes with a territory. It's a professional hazard, and while initially, I'd get a little riled, I''ve now learnt to handle it well. And honestly speaking, it's all very good publicity, isn't it?
I think any journalist who spends time in a place realizes that there are lots of stories around beyond their primary story. You meet so many interesting people and have all kinds of experiences.
I think, though, that people will read into a reporter's story a bias that they want to see in a reporter.
God, newspapers have been making up stories forever. This kind of trifling and fooling around is not a function of the New Journalism.
Gossip is called gossip because it's not always the truth.
Reporters do decide what is news, but they don't invent it, even if they sometimes become part of the story by risking their lives in a danger zone, as in the case of ABC's Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt.
My inclination, as an old-school, classically trained journalist, is not to go with a story unless I have it hard. It's not good enough to say something based on rumors that were flying around.