Journalism consists of news gathering. Whether it be through interviews, first-hand accounts, data, legal documents, or records, news gathering must be supported by hard evidence and quotes. Every kind of story requires such elements. Reviewing an art exhibit? Try to talk with the curators of the exhibit, the main organizers, people at the exhibit, and, if possible, the artist themselves. Writing about a protest? Interview attendees, spectators, and people in relation to what is being protested, which could consist of, for example, local political figures or organizations. Living in the Bay Area, which is mainly a very liberal community, it’s interesting to try to find the different sides of a story from two different sources with opposing views. Although hard evidence, like print documents, can also come in handy when gathering news, individual opinions are always the most efficient in relaying a news story to the reader. While professional input and hard evidence add to the reliability of what is being stated in the article, what regular people have to say about an issue is what draws the reader in, the source used suddenly becoming the voice of public opinion. As a writer on Verde Magazine, I’ve written my fair share of stories which required a sometimes abundant amount of news gathering, from exhibit curators to school administrators to exhibit-goers. At first, it was hard to figure out who to even start contacting while drafting a story, and after scheduling an interview, to come up with the questions was even worse. As time passed, though, and I had written more stories which regarded news gathering, I realized the simplicity of gathering such crucial elements for one’s story, interviews no longer intimidating me, but rather transforming into a pleasant and informative conversation.