Covering a Community Tragedy

I think it just helped that I didn't bug the family immediately. I talked to teachers, school friends, etc., in the meantime and asked friends to pass on to the family that I would like to speak with them when they were ready.

The grandmother of the victim (for the Jozlyn story) called the afternoon of my deadline, and I went over there. I let them do most of the talking, and I think the fact I was genuinely listening they trusted me more and opened up more to me. I kept checking the clock, but I knew I couldn't get up and leave.

After I was there about an hour, they asked if I wanted to see her room, so I recorded everything I saw. I went through her closet, saw her bed, desk, bookcases. We talked about her birthday, her life.

I think it helped the family to talk about her life, not how she died, even though it came up. But my asking about her, and making her more than a statistic, the family was willing to share more with me. I ended up spending four hours with the family, on top of all the other interviews I did for the story, and now, four months later, it still haunts me every time I drive by the intersection Joz died at.

I would just recommend being sincere with reporting on victims, ignoring the clock as much as possible. The victims just experienced something so unimaginable and here we come with pen and paper. Give the victim or their family the space they need and they will open up.

Express your sympathy to them ... sometimes I even send a sympathy card in advance before I interview them and they remember that when I come to their home.

Ask to see pictures ... they want to share how special their loved one was. Everything they say is important to them, so write it all down and when you get back to your desk, that is the time to pick and chose. They notice what gets written down and what doesn't.

Ask to see the victims' room, but I was lucky the family offered to show me before I got a chance to ask. It is some sort of closure for them to talk about it so let them vent, cry.

Give them the time they need and they will give you what you need. But always be sincere.