A face to face meeting is no silver bullet either. I've been to many meeting where someone with a strong opinion and with the manager's blessing takes over the conversation/agenda.
What I like about an email is that it allows you time to digest the information and then respond to someone.
It’s almost like both approaches have their pros, cons, and appropriate times when they should be used.
I like a combined arms approach. Start an email thread and if there is no timely reply, or consensus is getting hard to reach, walk over to the other person’s desk for a chat or call a meeting.
What I like about an email is that it allows you time to digest the information and then respond to someone.