Interviewing victims and their families
My wife and I watch a lot of holiday movies. Films that would seem bland and vapid other times of the year somehow seem warm and comforting during the days leading up to Christmas.
One recent movie (”The Note”) was fun because it involved a newspaper reporter who had a scoop being harassed by an unscrupulous TV reporter. Now, I don’t want to suggest that all TV reporters fit the stereotype of an insensitive jerk only interested in a sensational story. But I have bumped into a few over the years.
Anyway, the movie starts with a horrible plane crash, and images of reporters interviewing families of the victims. It’s a scene familiar to journalists at all levels. You can’t be a newspaper or television reporter for long without running into this scenario.
In my view, how you handle interviewing victims and their families is one of the issues that separates good journalists from bad.
Coincidentally, this topic came up in my Introduction to Journalism class at MCCC within a few days of when we watched “The Note.” This is the Powerpoint slide I used in the class discussion:
As you can see from the slide, I think it’s a journalist’s responsibility to get that interview with bereaved family members - but to get it in a way that is sensitive to the family and focused on the good that can come from it.
I’ve seen so much good come from interviews with victims over the years. I could tell stories for hours. My favorite involves the dramatic increase in organ transplant donors that followed a series of stories on a young man and his heart transplant. Or the changes in state law that followed a series on victims of child abuse. Or the outpouring of support for a family that lost its father to a rare disease.
And, yes, there has been some hurt, too. It’s hard to get one without the other. And I’m ashamed of a couple of situations I’ve been involved with. But I’m proud of the vast majority, because I believe in the rules I mentioned above.
The key is making sure the family knows that it is in control. The reporter is there to listen when they’re ready to talk. No pressure. Just a gentle reminder that people want to hear what they have to say, both to share in their pain and to help if possible. And that telling their story may save someone else’s life or do good in other ways.