There
are/were definitely some good parts about being a reporter - you get
the news faster than other, often being the one delivering the news,
getting paid to do some fun things (I did everything from ride in a hot
air balloon to get a brain scan to interviewing Al Gore to regularly interviewing Sonny Bono as he was the congressman for the region I covered ) to, well, you get the idea and, obviously, this depends on how and what you consider fun.
The downside is you see some things you wish you did not see or hear. I wrote here about having to watch a boy testify in a murder trial against his mom. Or the time I sat among a family of victims of a serial killer as the prosecutor described how they were butchered. I'd tell myself some of these things were growth experiences as, for example, the latter challenged my position on the death penalty.
Anyway I'm thinking about this today for two reasons. First, we had a plane crash into a building in Austin today. I seeded a story about it here. One of my first reactions to hearing the news was "thank God I'm not a reporter anymore because if I was I'd be sent to go toward the crash to find out what was going on when the logical thing to do is go away from it." I wrote about this illogical instinct when it came to covering fires here.
I was already in a nostalgic mood last week as I wrote the following as post while discussing the matter of NBC's airing of the video showing the luger dying. I decided to make that post a full article here.
I find writing these things somewhat cathartic.
I used to have to cover fatal car accidents on a way too regular basis (I'd literally pass one on the way to work and would then pull over and start gathering the details).
I will never forget one time when I screwed up. I get very protective of victims and victims families whether its a crime or a car accident and when I had to phone to get comments I'd do in as respectful a way as possible.
But one time I was at the scene of the accident and I was making that horrible walk where you pull as close to the crash as you can and then get a cop to explain to you - on the record - what was happening and you see others watching you and wanting to ask details and even if they had I knew better than to say something.
But one time - and this is more than 15 years ago but I can still recall it - a guy asked me what happened. I was caught off guard. I assumed (and this is the part where I've been kicking myself forever) that he was just another motorist who was a curious lookie loo. I think he asked which car hit which and I told him. And he asked if either person had died and (this is where I screwed up) I told him.
Then he said something to the effect of "that was my wife" or that was my mom
and I felt like crap because I'd just broken some rules and I waved down a cop who came over and I told him he knew the victim and argh!
but i digress.
I think I liked knowing that I was not the first to pass on the bad news of a death and when that changed that time i felt horrible and I gained respect and sympathy for law enforcement and others who had to do that on a regular basis. And me gaining respect for law enforcement was a big deal having grown up in So. Cal attending a college near L.A. when the Rodney King tapes and riots happened and writing columns and editorials about Darryl Gates.
Yeah I do NOT miss being a cop reporter
The downside is you see some things you wish you did not see or hear. I wrote here about having to watch a boy testify in a murder trial against his mom. Or the time I sat among a family of victims of a serial killer as the prosecutor described how they were butchered. I'd tell myself some of these things were growth experiences as, for example, the latter challenged my position on the death penalty.
Anyway I'm thinking about this today for two reasons. First, we had a plane crash into a building in Austin today. I seeded a story about it here. One of my first reactions to hearing the news was "thank God I'm not a reporter anymore because if I was I'd be sent to go toward the crash to find out what was going on when the logical thing to do is go away from it." I wrote about this illogical instinct when it came to covering fires here.
I was already in a nostalgic mood last week as I wrote the following as post while discussing the matter of NBC's airing of the video showing the luger dying. I decided to make that post a full article here.
I find writing these things somewhat cathartic.
I used to have to cover fatal car accidents on a way too regular basis (I'd literally pass one on the way to work and would then pull over and start gathering the details).
I will never forget one time when I screwed up. I get very protective of victims and victims families whether its a crime or a car accident and when I had to phone to get comments I'd do in as respectful a way as possible.
But one time I was at the scene of the accident and I was making that horrible walk where you pull as close to the crash as you can and then get a cop to explain to you - on the record - what was happening and you see others watching you and wanting to ask details and even if they had I knew better than to say something.
But one time - and this is more than 15 years ago but I can still recall it - a guy asked me what happened. I was caught off guard. I assumed (and this is the part where I've been kicking myself forever) that he was just another motorist who was a curious lookie loo. I think he asked which car hit which and I told him. And he asked if either person had died and (this is where I screwed up) I told him.
Then he said something to the effect of "that was my wife" or that was my mom
and I felt like crap because I'd just broken some rules and I waved down a cop who came over and I told him he knew the victim and argh!
but i digress.
I think I liked knowing that I was not the first to pass on the bad news of a death and when that changed that time i felt horrible and I gained respect and sympathy for law enforcement and others who had to do that on a regular basis. And me gaining respect for law enforcement was a big deal having grown up in So. Cal attending a college near L.A. when the Rodney King tapes and riots happened and writing columns and editorials about Darryl Gates.
Yeah I do NOT miss being a cop reporter
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