Governing, one of the top national magazines about government, would seem a natural fit for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

But according to the magazine's Josh Goodman, attempts to contact the state's Republican chief executive for what appears to be a fair portrayal of him, where declined:

Goodman wrote an unusual online item about the situation, which many have likely faced:

Though no reporter likes to do it, it's not hard to write a profile of someone without talking to them. I synthesized the thoughts of the governor's allies, foes and unaligned observers. I excerpted heavily from Christie's speeches to give readers a sense of both the style and substance of the man.

It was harder to know what, if anything, I should write in the article about Christie's refusal to comment. To any reader who was paying close attention, it would be clear that I hadn't actually talked to the governor. Newspapers say that people declined to comment all the time, but it felt a little bit weirder in a magazine piece. Should I say that Christie declined to comment? What about the lieutenant governor and chief of staff? If so, how should I phrase it?

I tend to think that my story actually turned out to be a pretty flattering portrayal of Christie. But, there definitely are parts that aren't flattering. Early drafts, before he reached a deal with the legislature on a property tax cap, were somewhat less flattering. In deciding how or whether to say “Christie declined to comment,” that weighed on my mind.

On one hand, I didn't want readers to think I was saying bad things about Christie without giving his administration an opportunity to respond. On the other hand, I didn't want to sound petty or vindictive -- like I had a grudge against him or I wrote negative things about him because he wouldn't talk to me.

In the end, I didn't mention the lieutenant governor or chief of staff. That seemed like piling on. I call enough people for a major feature story that invariably some of them don't get back to me. I don't generally call them out in print. Why do it here? Plus, I had a good chat with the state treasurer, a key Christie appointee, so it's not as though the governor's staff was wholly uncooperative. I also decided not to use a phrase like, “declined repeated requests for comment” -- something you'll often see in newspapers.

As for the final article, see it HERE.