A Victim's View

With tears rolling down her face, Sarah King Fortney began slowly reading a prepared statement that struck me almost immediately with this sentence: "The pain that I felt wasn’t for a headline, but for the loss of my husband, and the loss of so many other innocent people."

Just last August, Sarah became a widow when Comair flight 5191 crashed just after takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky. It killed 49, including her husband, Clarence Wayne "C.W." Fortney II, a Air Tran Airlines' pilot who was a passenger on Comair 5191.

Recently, Sarah came to the Lexington Herald-Leader for a panel discussion about journalists’ coverage of tragedy. She appeared there despite a broken leg — the result of a fall on a stairway — and she hobbled into paper’s conference room on crutches just as the discussion was starting.

Others on the panel were Mike DiGuiro, father of Trent DiGuiro, a University of Kentucky football player who was murdered in 1994, and Marcie Crim, whose friend, Tevis Shaw, died in an accident.

They were there as part of the workshop "Minimizing Harm: Dealing Ethically with Victims and their Families," sponsored by the Bluegrass Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. It was part of the chapter's "Learning from the Best 3" workshops.

I was there to moderate the panel and speak about covering victims and self-care for journalists.

All three panelists spoke about the importance of the media showing sensitivity and respect to the victims.

DiGuiro also emphasized the importance of not showing the same photos of the original crime scene over and over again, as was done with one of the pool of blood on the porch where his son was killed. "I don't know what it adds to the story." And he talked about how the media should avoid terms as "still" grieving and "closure" in describing the victims and their families.

When it was Fortney's turn, she unfolded her statement and apologized for the tears as she dabbed at them with tissues. But her words were distinctly clear about her experiences with the media after the death of her husband, a 34-year-old pilot who was a passenger on the early Sunday flight en route to Atlanta where he would have flown an Air Tran plane that afternoon.

Despite the loss of her husband, and her own broken leg, Sarah has become a victim's family member with a cause. She speaks passionately about the need for legislation that would allow spouses of wrongful death victims the right to seek damages for loss of consortium, or companionship, in Kentucky.

She also speaks passionately about the media's treatment of victims during coverage of tragic events.

Her statement below is one that all journalists who cover tragedy should read ...

From Sarah King Fortney:

First, it’s crucial that you keep in mind that trauma manifests differently in each person. What you learn from me may not apply to someone else, and vice versa.

Interviewing a victim of intense emotional trauma isn’t restricted to epic, worldwide news such as mine. The pain that I felt wasn’t for a headline, but for the loss of my husband, and the loss of so many other innocent people. So whether you find yourself reporting on a downed airline or a late night vehicle accident, any of the family’s pain of a sudden death is the same. It’s still the pain of losing someone you love, no matter the circumstance. However, my situation was certainly unique. Due to the nature of the accident, my loss received far more media coverage than the average loss of a loved one. As each detail unfolded, profoundly affecting me on a personal level, it also unfolded in the eyes of the world. My grief was on public display, as I mourned with an audience of millions.

I don’t mean to suggest that this public display was an entirely negative experience. The victims’ relationship with the media, especially the local media, was largely positive and well-received. Of course, as incidents such as these are rare, even veteran reporters found themselves in uncharted territory. What I want to share with you is a brief list of do’s and don’ts when dealing with such emotional trauma. Things that, at least for me, either added comfort or pain to an already indescribable situation.

Constant media coverage of such a tragedy is a double-edged sword. The attention paid to our plight generated a sense of warmth and compassion in the community. While others suffer in silence, we were greeted with an outpouring of support, often from total strangers. That level of kindness brought glimmers of light to otherwise dark moments in the days following my loss. However, that very same media coverage made it nearly impossible to escape the tragedy, even for a few seconds. While many in situations of loss can find a few moments each day to escape their situation, victims of flight 5191 were the lead story on the news each night, the front page of the paper each morning and the only topic of conversation throughout the state. Through this, I often found myself horrified at the idea of even turning on a television, for fear that grizzly images of a downed plane would be on the screen and thus forever burned into my memory.

Situations such as these need to be reported, often in great detail. The stories of flight 5191’s passengers were as varied as the victims themselves, and with each loving memory we read or heard, the tragedy became more human. The efforts of the media in gathering information on the victims put faces to names, informed us as to whom we’d lost and made us feel as if we each knew the victims. Interviewing members of these families is, I’m certain, extremely difficult. The need to present a story, often with a deadline looming overhead, adds to an already difficult situation for a reporter. However, time and patience are essential to providing a piece that not only pleases you, but comforts the family.

My personal relationship with Valerie Honeycutt-Spears and later Larry Dale Kealing read like a how-to manual of addressing this type of situation. First, Valerie chose not to contact me directly, instead making a call to a member of my immediate family. Her pitch wasn’t pushy, but rather she suggested that the family member give me her information, to allow me to contact her if I so chose. Upon contacting Valerie, she took the time to list the pros and cons of participating in such a piece. The decision was in my hands, without pressure to perform.

That sensitivity to my situation allowed me to form a bond of trust with Valerie. I felt confident that my words would be my own, and that the story itself would reflect what I wanted to say. I can’t stress deeply enough the importance of trust and respect in a relationship like this. When you ask someone to tell their story in an interview, you’re essentially asking them to put themselves in pain. These situations are traumatic, allowing a relative stranger into the situation is a difficult concept to grasp.

Each person is different. When talking to you about something this personal, some may prefer the anonymity of a large place, while others may feel more comfortable in their own home. Some may feel more at ease with a family member present; some may prefer to speak to you one-on-one. These details may seem small, but to the person on the other end of the page, they can make all the difference.

However, the primary detail, the one that you must remember, is that the interviewee should be your editor. It’s a fragile thing, taking someone’s thoughts and feelings at their lowest point and putting them on display for the world to see. These statements aren’t just quotes; these are the words that will define someone that meant the world to you. The words that came from my mouth were the only manner in which most people knew my husband, so it was intensely important that they read in the exact manner of their intent. Giving the family the opportunity to view the article and make changes before going to press gives them a much needed sense of control, and ensures that the memories they forever associate with their loved ones are exactly as they should be.

Think of someone you love … now think of how difficult it would be to sum up that person and their life in a few lines of text. Even now that must seem like a daunting task, but imagine doing so while under the stress of losing that person forever. That is the task you charge people with in these situations, so it’s important to understand that they will require frequent breaks, they will cry, and they will say things now that they will omit later. Although you certainly sympathize with their situation, tomorrow you will move on to another story. The record you have created will fall as another difficult story for you, but for the family in question, it is a permanent record of someone’s life. While you may not remember exactly what was written even a week later, the person you’ve spoken to is memorizing each syllable by heart.

Privacy is another important aspect of our lives. The minute that an interview is given, certain parts of your personal life will be put on display. By that very nature, a level of personal privacy has been taken from you. This isn’t always bad, as my private memories of my husband allowed millions of people around the world the opportunity to respect and care for him on a level they otherwise couldn’t have. However, digging too deep into someone’s private life can not only be uncomfortable, but potentially dangerous.

The world isn’t filled with kind people. There are opportunistic criminals among us, looking for an available target. In one particular piece done by the Courier Journal, detailed explanations of where a victim lived were included. Aside from the obvious irrelevance to their story, this could have possibly proved useful to any aspiring criminals. Think about it … a would-be burglar picks up the paper to hear that as a result of the crash, a widow is now living alone in an affluent neighborhood. That type of specific information, as sad as it may be, can turn a tragedy into a target. The feeling of vulnerability is inexplicable. I would lie in bed at night, aware of the fact that nearly everyone in the city knew that I was home alone with my child. I can only imagine how she must have felt knowing that the well-intentioned article had not only made that apparent, but narrowed the search by providing everything but a numerical address.

Vulnerability is a key aspect of this type of loss. Each individual that you choose to interview is suffering from a feeling of vulnerability that they may have never before faced and may never see again. As they speak, they will undoubtedly reveal information that they didn’t intend to, or omit certain things that later will seem wildly important. It is your job as reporters to operate as an objective body, helping shepherd these people through the pain and to their final goal: a positive account of someone’s life. Asking questions and constantly reviewing notes will be extremely helpful, as it may spark a wonderful memory or give the person the opportunity to retract something they now wish they’d phrased differently. Of course, you should always avoid putting words in someone’s mouth, but gently leading them to a conclusion that they may be trying to find on their own can be helpful.

I realize that this may all seem a bit overwhelming. The dos and don’ts of dealing with someone in this type of situation are never going to be concrete rules to follow, as no two cases will be alike. However, it really all just comes down to three things:

1. Trust. Create a situation wherein your subject feels that he or she can trust you. That trust will make the entire process less painful and will yield a better result for everyone involved.

2. Respect. Treat your subject gently and with compassion. At that moment in their life, they feel a sense of hopelessness and pain that is difficult to reconcile. Allowing them to move comfortably, in a setting of their choosing and at their own pace will assure a more positive experience and a better finished product.

3. Putting Yourself In Their Shoes. For you, this is a job, for them, this is a painful retelling of cherished memories of their loved one. As you draft your report, ask yourself if you would be comfortable with what you’ve written. Would you want this information to be made public about yourself? Would you have worded things this way? The final aspect of that “do unto others…” mentality comes when you offer up your draft for their editorial discretion. After all, would you want information about your family, your loss and your pain to be made public without your approval?

These are delicate situations, ones that require patience and understanding. My experience in dealing with Valerie was a positive one; one where, through her, I was able to create a significant record of my husband’s life. One day, when our son grows older, he will look back at her words and begin to understand the man that his father was, and how his passing affected millions of people, not just our family. I hope that victims of future tragedies are given that very same opportunity, a chance to pull something positive out of an endless sea of negativity. With compassion and understanding, you can facilitate that kind of positive emotion for countless individuals, and I sincerely thank you for your efforts.

[Valerie Honeycutt-Spears and Larry Dale Kealing are staff members of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Honeycutt-Spears clarified during the panel discussion that she reviewed quotes and facts with Sarah Fortney. Click here to read Honeycutt-Spears' story about C.W. Fortney, go to. Click here to see the Herald-Leader's complete coverage.]