Compassion Is Always Important

Maria DeVito
md781510@ohio.edu 

In “How the media treated me” regular people told their stories about their experiences with the press. Some had good things to say about how a journalist handled a particularly difficult situation; some did not.

There’s the saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” As journalists we have to remember that saying when interviewing victims of tragedies. We will get a much more interesting, compelling story if we show a real interest in the people involved with the tragedy and not just the tragedy itself.

From spj.org

                          

In the SPJ Code of Ethics there is section labeled “Minimize Harm.” Under that title is this sentence: “Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.”

That sentence is so important. Sometimes I feel us as journalists get so caught up in what we are doing that we forget to be actual people. We get so concerned with getting our story, getting it the exact way our editor wants us to get it, and getting on time that we somehow forget that these people are going through what will probably be one of the most difficult times in their lives. We shouldn’t make it any harder by forgetting to be normal people who show compassion.  

There were two specific codes in the “Minimize Harm” section that really stood out to me. They were: “Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects...Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.”  

I think we are so used to talking with certain sources and people who are well acquainted with the media that we forget some people have never talked to a media outlet before and have no idea how to handle themselves in an interview. Add that to the fact they are talking to you under difficult circumstances and you could have a very messy situation on your hands.   

We also need to be sensitive when interviewing victims. Sometimes the best coverage of national tragedies are the stories that focus on one person or one family and how they were specifically affected. Those are the stories where you can really get to know a person and feel the pain they are going through. Those are the stories where you can tell the journalist took their time and was compassionate.

If a person has a bad experience with a news outlet, the repercussions could be damaging to the news outlet. If a person doesn’t like the way the organization handled a situation, they will probably no longer read or watch that organizations content. The person who had the bad experience with a news organization will probably tell other people about their experience and those people will probably also no longer read or watch that organizations content. Now, not only has that organization just offended someone, they’ve lost the trust of their public.  

In this day and age we can’t afford to lose audience members because we couldn’t handle a situation with a little sympathy.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times to be aggressive with sources. Interviewing the prime minister of Pakistan or a corrupt politician? Yes, by all means be forceful, be aggressive and ask the tough questions to get the necessary answers. Interviewing the victims of a natural disaster or the family members of people who died in a mass shooting? Be kind, don’t push and let them say what they want to about the situation. We as journalists need to know when to flip that switch from the aggressive go-getter to the compassionate human being. You can get an incredible story if you just sit down and listen to someone.