tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10757771.post3090453782418047095..comments2023-09-22T09:03:09.417-04:00Comments on Townie Bastard: How to choosetowniebastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129158923604362272noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10757771.post-2625393110784013382008-06-03T12:31:00.000-04:002008-06-03T12:31:00.000-04:00Well.I never used to have an opinion either way, b...Well.<BR/><BR/>I never used to have an opinion either way, but having read all these anecdotes, I think y'all are wasting your time.<BR/><BR/>When I took my commercial license, the first thing we did at school was watch a movie called <EM>Red Asphalt 3</EM> which showed a whole bunch of really gruesome traffic fatalities. One of them, the paramedic was picking up a guy's brains off the pavement and throwing the pieces into a white garbage bag.<BR/><BR/>It didn't make one lick of difference to anyone in the class. We all drive just the same we always did. So other than being traumatic to some and sensational to others, I'm not sure what any of this high-profile graphic stuff accomplishes.<BR/><BR/>Not that I think it's wrong. I just think it's pointless.Mongoosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13545512692510569390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10757771.post-34281723484983752682008-06-03T11:33:00.000-04:002008-06-03T11:33:00.000-04:00I love that you made a post about this. Initially...I love that you made a post about this. Initially I thought I wrote the post too quickly in "the heat of the moment" but it has received some great feedback. My opinion on this is based on the fact that I have never been in the journalism field, and can sympathize with the family. I just keep thinking "what if that was my brother in that bag?". It's a debate that can be passionately fought from both sides. Thanks for taking the time not only to share your perspective but open it up here also for comments! I love the blog world!Rob, Tina and the boyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08840954020421165800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10757771.post-22607601292452560352008-06-03T10:45:00.000-04:002008-06-03T10:45:00.000-04:00Many moons ago, I was a reporter, too in a big, Al...Many moons ago, I was a reporter, too in a big, Alberta city. I was working weekends, and one Sunday I called the cops to see if anything bad happened overnight. I will never forget the officer snapping his gum as he casually said three kids died in a crash. I got the address and dashed off, mini-player in hand.<BR/>As I was interviewing the cops on the scene, I watched the car being towed away. As the front of the car was lifted, I saw a stream of blood pour out of the rumpled sides of the car. The cop then pointed out to me to watch my step, since I was wearing sandals and standing in the blood of the dead kids. I cried the whole way back to the newsroom.<BR/>The accident killed three people in their late teens and early twenties. The next day, I got rounds of kudos and congratulations from my co-workers and editors for "bringing them to the scene". <BR/>A good friend of mine was friends with the kids who died. I let that slip in the newsroom to a trusted co-worker. It was overheard by my editor, and was bullied into getting the family on tape. I refuesed to give any information, let alone do the interview. It cost me a promotion, but I could not exploit a family grieving like that. I left journalism for good shortly after.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10757771.post-33694529185539637532008-06-02T17:41:00.000-04:002008-06-02T17:41:00.000-04:00Quick, what photo do you think of when you hear "V...Quick, what photo do you think of when you hear "Vietnam War" or "napalm"? That is the power of photojournalsim.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I saw a video of a woman at the hospital, having a complete breakdown upon finding out that her son's gunshot wound was fatal, and have not watched that news program since ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10757771.post-76039692121226855732008-06-02T10:26:00.000-04:002008-06-02T10:26:00.000-04:00My husband was a photojournalist for the Barrie Ex...My husband was a photojournalist for the Barrie Examiner in the 80s and I remember the day he came home just fried after having to take a picture of a man who had come across his wife and child's fatal accident while driving to work. The controversy over whether to publish the shot was fought out hard and in the end the pic was published. My husband defended not only taking the picture but also the decision to publish it because he believed he was doing his job.<BR/>Personally he was a mess over it and has surely never forgotten that man's agony.<BR/>The things that make our lives easier also make them harder.Scarlethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02433274796094800885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10757771.post-3153115368885814242008-06-02T08:02:00.000-04:002008-06-02T08:02:00.000-04:00Time for my own "oh fuck no, I can't do this" mome...Time for my own "oh fuck no, I can't do this" moment. (Don't think I ever told you this story Craig.) I spent some time at CHMR, intending to become a journalist (way back in the mists of time when I was young and stupid). It was somewhat exciting--I was on air when the space shuttle blew up and when the Prime Minister resigned and got to say the immortal words "and now for this breaking story". Woo-hoo! "All the President's Men" time and where's my Pulitzer.<BR/><BR/>And then there was the Hinton train crash story. (Hinton, Alberta, horrific passenger train crash and fatalities.) I didn't read the entire story on the air because I couldn't and wouldn't. It was a fairly long story as radio news stories go and it came off the teletype (I said it was way back in the mists of time), so I had a printed copy easy to edit. It contained an interview with people who tried to help but ended up having to save themselves and leave the passengers behind to die in a pretty horrible manner. And it contained details of those failed rescues that family members of those who died shouldn't have had to hear and which did not advance the story one iota. I can see that teletype print-out in front of my eyes even now as I'm typing this and could quote the details.<BR/><BR/>It didn't make any difference to the news in general--the story occurred in Alberta, and no one was listening to CHMR back then (it was only broadcast in the TSC and immediate area of MUN) so this wasn't a terrific blow for journalistic integrity or anything. I just couldn't deal with that sort of stuff.<BR/><BR/>Didn't take long after that for me to decide that there was no way way I could go through that while paying my dues.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com