If you mean, is "Jen" who she claims to be, I think so. The registration IP is a Dow Jones network ip, and the email address used to register is also a dowjones.com address. I haven't spoken to her yet -- I spent the day trying to complete a rebuild of a 15HP Marlow pump and didn't spend much time here. But I think it's highly probable that this request is on the level.

That said, reporters are reporters, and their goal (in my experience) is to tell the story they have in mind, and not necessarily the one you have to tell.

Also, I've never spoken to a MSM reporter who had a clue what pH was . . . for all the writing that has gone on about "acid rain" and more recently "global warming". This means that technical details tend to be incomprehensible to them, and are modified in unpredictable -- but usually PC -- ways. It would appear that journalism degrees, even from elite schools, don't even include a college level "physical science" requirement.

Another point to keep in mind is that it's late to be 'researching' a pool story for an MSM publication. After July 4th, folks are 'done' with pools. I see that both locally and on forum traffic. By September, pools are a dead topic. So, most likely the article she has in mind has a June press date (I think the mag is a weekly), which again means it's probably already 'written'.

So . . .
  • I think there's little or no risk to your privacy or computer by doing as she asks,
  • but also that there's a good chance she already knows what her story is,
  • so, your input will either 'fit in' (or be made to fit) or not.

But, if you're concerned, do your discussion here, rather than by phone. I'll go ahead and turn off moderation requirements for her, so she can discuss in near real-time here.

Ben