On September 11, 2001, our nation was forever changed. Among the changes, were the affects the attacks had on the American people. Mike Walters, a broadcast journalist for WUSU in Washington D.C. was in New York and was also an eye-witness to the attacks on The Pentagon.
He said for once in his life, he was “on the other side of the job.” What he meant was that after witnessing the attacks during 9/11 he was interviewed by journalists, like himself. He said it was strange at first, but that the journalists interviewing him made him feel comfortable and “told him to say what he felt.” These common tactics of making an interviewee feel comfortable and telling them to say what they feel about a particular subject, really works in a traditional interview setting.
A year later, Walters produced a package (story) about survivors of the 9/11 attacks. He recalls Chris Young, a man stuck in the elevators during the attacks, who when the doors opened, had no idea what had happened, and why he was still alive. “My life was saved, I don’t know why,” he said. “There were angels in that building saving people’s lives.” The thing he most remembers and that has gotten him through this traumatic event is that he felt, “my boss was watching out for me. She couldn’t save herself, but she would be damned if I wasn’t going to get out.”
Lena Jakobsson of truTV, spoke about the stigmas associated with reporting about crime and traumatic events in people’s lives. She spoke of a story she produced about a town that was relieving devastating events about the Freedom Summer. Three Young men (Two Caucasian and One Black) who went to Mississippi to register Black voters and were killed for doing so by the KKK in 1969. The defendant was back on trial for the murders.
Lena Jakobsson; Photo from: SPJ.org
She said that any reporter who is placed in the difficult situation about reopening old wounds about a case that has since expired, or about reporting a death, they should do the following:
1. Tell the story instead of push it of out individuals.
2. Give voice to the story. Remember who you are talking about, and that you are talking about lives of people.
