When the News Makes the News
"It was a day that started like any other day." This sentence is often the beginning of a reporter's package because for many stories, it is a normal day until something tragic happens. For journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward it probably was a normal day. I wasn't there that day and I don't even know them, but imagine their day started like this. They probably got to the station WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, a top 100 market (market 67) bright and early Wednesday morning and grabbed their gear for a live shot for the morning show. Two minutes before going live, camera man Adam probably switched on his light, which he might have had off to conserve battery power. His reporter Alison was probably checking her make-up one last time and going over final prep with the official she was set to interview. Thirty seconds out, they probably got a stand-by cue from the producer in the control room back at the station, who was also Adam's fiancee.
There they were live on the air, Adam holding the camera like always and Alison was doing what she did best. It was a simple story about a tourist attraction. Easy story right? No need to watch your back as you would if you were reporting in the hood. There were no thugs around but there was a disgruntled former employee who walked up to them in the middle of the their live shot and shot them dead. On air. Live. The anchor on the desk... confused as to what she just saw. When you're on the desk and you don't know what to do, you got to break. The producer in the control room just watched her fiancé's murder and so did viewers at home.
I watched the video and was stunned. How does this happen?! I've worked with many journalists who head out into dangerous situations in terrible weather out in the middle of nowhere and murder scenes out in the hood. But these two were shot dead at a water park. A water park. This wasn't the usual thug. Adam's camera captured an image of the shooter. It was their former colleague that they weren't even thinking about who took their lives and posted the video on his social media! How did he even know where they were and why did he do it? In his manifesto he left behind, he said he was bullied by coworkers. He said he also did it in response to the Charleston Nine massacre. I'm not sure how that all fits together. Clearly he was not well. I read he was hard to work with and was ultimately fired. Now I don't know what went on in that newsroom. Maybe he was bullied. People in newsroom can be mean and cutthroat, but that's no reason to kill people. So what you got fired! There are 210 TV markets total. You got fired from one. You can't go work at another station in town because your non-compete in your contract forbids it. You know this upfront before you even sign your contract. It's the risk you take. But still, you've got 209 more other markets from which to choose. Jobs can be replaced. People cannot.
Friends and families of the victims had nothing but good things to say about Alison and Adam. I'm sure they were good people. Newsrooms are made of up good people just trying to do their jobs. They risk their lives trying to bring you the news. I've sent reporters out to cover some crazy stories in scary areas. Many of them were up for the challenge. Some others wouldn't set foot in the hood after dark. I don't mind compromising, so I took a look-live (it's just that... a pre-recorded piece that looks like you're live). But this was a freaking fun story! That never was supposed to happen! Now I'm sure TV news departments will be reviewing how to stay safe in the field. Unfortunately, you can't predict something like this. The only thing I know to do is pray. I think about my TV friends who are still in the business and I am pray for them. Normally news stations try to compete to be first on the air, but on this day, competition didn't matter. When tragedies like this happen, we're on the same team. Even though I'm no longer working in television, I say "we" and include myself in that because once a journalist, always a journalist. What happens to one reporter and camera man can easily happen to another. That's just what happens when the news makes the news. She has spoken.
