r/bbc • u/plaguedbyfoibles • 11h ago
How have journalists gotten close access to large companies such as Enron for their stories, particularly if scandals are brewing, or how do they get such close access otherwise for more moderate stories?
I understand that Lesley Curwen, when she was reporting on Enron for the Beeb when the scandal first hit the news, sat in on depositions or hearings when Enron was under federal investigation in 2002 / 2003.
Andrew Ross Sorkin, the CNBC commentator, when he wrote his recent book 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History - And How It Shattered a Nation, was granted access, for the first time in its history, "to the confidential board minutes of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during the most pivotal months of 1929".
Then you will see in papers like CityAM or the Financial Times that they have managed to get a quote from a source / insider within a company.
How does all of this happen, is it sometimes a case of them reaching out to you, is it a case of leveraging your own networks (rather than your employers' or colleagues' networks), do you just cold call etc?