The Last Literary Lion of New York, Gay Talese

"I was always showing up and befriending the people I wrote about. I never wrote hatchet jobs, whether for a newspaper or magazine. I never would hang around people I disrespected. It’s too hard to write well. It would be impossible to write about somebody well if you didn’t like them at all.

[...]

I like knowing people. I like asking questions. I ask questions in a way that would never suggest gossip. They suggest a sincere interest because I have a sincere interest. A lot of journalists are very purposeful. They have a story, they want you, then they don’t want you anymore. They got their story. But I always go back. [...]"

Pynchon is still alive and lives in New York