This past weekend I had planned to write a news story on certain events of Elizabeth Marriott's death. This wasn't something that was set in mind as soon as I had heard the reports she was missing. The plan to write this story happened by chance... as most of my news stories seem to come together. When first hearing about Lizzie, it seemed like another tragedy story that would come and pass with the mountain of tragedies that occur everyday, but of course this one was closer to home (being a UNH student as well as a female commuter).
Needless to say the reports of her disappearance put my parents on high alert in fear of a rampant commuter snatcher that would be lurking in the dark shadows of A lot as I ventured unattended to my car at 8 p.m. But this didn't seemed like an event I even considered writing about. Tragedy stories like these require a lot of sensitivity in the case of interviewing, an amount of sensitivity I did not think I could handle at my current stage as an aspiring yet naive journalist. The thought of speaking with her parents, especially after the notification of her death, seemed incredibly intimidating. I couldn't imagine confronting the mourning couple about their recent loss, let alone ask them detailed questions about their emotions and sorrow.
It wasn't that I lacked the curiosity, I think humans have this natural pessimistic desire to understand other people's sorrows, some morbid curiosity... or at least I do. But there was definitely a sense of crossing a very personal barrier, a sense of entering the privacy of one's thoughts and inquiring details about their tears. I think the idea of interviewing about the loss of a loved one is a path you have to tread softy, because initially you are inquiring about the reasoning behind their tears. Simply put: "why are you crying?" I don't want this to seem like I am question their reasoning for grieving in a sense that they shouldn't be. Of course they should be. But to ask that question, it helps others to gain a sense of who Lizzie was and, most importantly, what she meant to others.
Now, this is one of the main tasks that journalists should always keep in mind and master. The relationship between a journalist and their story should be very personal, interviewer and interviewee and relating that relationship to the rest of the world. But that's what we have to do: relate the important details of events to the public in order to gain an understanding of the emotions of everyday life.
As Joe Battenfeld shared with us in class this past Wednesday, with the tragic experience of accidentally informing a family of their son's death (highlighting just how fast news travels these days), dealing with stories of tragedy, the severe topic of life and death, can be exhausting. But when I encountered a very old friend of mine, one that I have missed dearly and had not had an actual conversation with for over three years, all by random happenstance it was a shock to learn that he was a close friend with Elizabeth "Lizzie" Marriott. Now any journalist would see this as a perfect opportunity to get into the head of someone who shared a closeness with Lizzie, greater than an interview with someone off the street who had heard about the story through a friend or Facebook status. And I had planned to nab that opportunity as it was something of incredible chance. But this is where the struggle arose of crossing that personal barrier. It was a moment where, as a journalist, I had to balance my desire for a story with the sensitivity of having our first conversation since losing contact somewhere along the lines of: "how was your grieving process?" Of course I would have hopefully worded that a bit better in the interview.
So, after class on Wednesday, as the other students plopped their news stories in the pile of weekly submissions, I found myself with an orange slip in hand, my name and date written on the back, setting that free pass on the stack of 8x12 papers in place of the story I couldn't muster the courage to write. Now, I don't want to end this blog entry sounding completely defeated. Journalism can be tough, especially in the aspects of tragedy, but emotions are a part of everyday life and do require a sense of extreme dedication and understanding. Although I was not able to confront this story under certain circumstances, that does not mean I will overlook this experience. Because I do plan on writing that story, whether it is graded or not. Writing about and more importantly reporting about emotions is a very personal and unique experience and in relation to my friend, his perspective has a lot to offer in the frame of Lizzie's death and I think it's writing about these perspectives that make stories like Lizzie's important and impacting.
On a final note, which may not be totally relevant to the final point I'm trying to make, I just wanted to leave a quote from that friend that was posted as a Facebook status, one that leaves me inspired to continue growing as a sensitive journalist while covering tragic events... "Elizabeth Marriott, a few days ago while I was driving around frantically trying to find you, I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen, and it was very calming and strangely relieving. Now knowing what I know, I find this to be a wonderful coincidence; a resplendent collage of colors and light saying goodbye to me. Rest in peace friend, I'm sure I'll see you again."
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