Removing The "Human Element"

You never forget your first.

No.  Not THAT.  I'm talking about murders, trials and dead bodies.  Some of the things that you see as a reporter can be good or indifferent.  But in some cases, it's bad.  So bad, in fact, that I've said it before and I'll say it again: "I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy."

What made me think of this topic was the murder trial which I began covering today.  It's the case of two men accused in an alleged murder-for-hire plot which played out in Calgary in January 2006.  It happened just before I moved to the city the first time.  During my training, this case was at the preliminary hearing phase.  It became the first trial I ever covered in Calgary from start-to-finish, and if memory serves me right, the jury came back with its verdict on a Saturday.  It was also the first time I was subjected to crime scene photos and video.  You get to see everything as nothing has been touched by police yet.

In this particular case, it opens up with some distant video and you can make out a body.  By the end, you're getting visuals of the dead man from every possible angle.  The gunshot wounds, the puddle of blood the body is in, the lifeless look in his face.  For a rookie reporter, it was daunting.  But you have to put the "human element" in the back of your mind and report the story.

I'll admit I haven't spent a LOT of years (seven) in this business, but you have a ton of these moments.  The images that will stick with me the most are from the Medicine Hat triple-murder case.  It didn't really register with me until seeing the pictures of the little boy with his throat slashed, his body lying on his bed.  And I've been to fatal crashes and all sorts of murder scenes where you're literally a few yards from the bodies.  Nothing hit me quite like that.

It sounds bad, but as a reporter, you have to take out the "human element".  I tend to think of these situations as being a bad movie or TV show.  Otherwise, it can be really tough to not lose your mind thinking about some of the things you have to see on a day-to-day basis.  I can't imagine being a first-responder in situations like these, being subjected to these situations on a daily basis (or more).  The only thing I can think is that you have to find some sort of healthy balance to maintain your sanity.  You hug your loved ones just a little harder and tell them you love them just one more time.