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I've been reporting full-time for seven years now, and I still feel awkward asking embarassing questions. And sometimes, but not too often, I think (as another writer here mentioned) that I'm more of a writer than a reporter. But mostly (and I hate to sound insensitive here), I just suck it up and ask the embarassing question. Just like I suck it up and approach random people on the street, or suck it up and knock on the door of the family whose son has just died in Iraq, or been arrested for murder. Like I said, it's been seven years, and it hasn't gotten any easier. It may never get easier, but it's not enough to make me find another job. No one says you have to be overly confrontational and outgoing. Just find a style that works for you and go with it. And if this fear isn't something you can overcome, I guess there's the small comfort in finding it out now, and not after getting hired for your first job.
