When I was a reporter, those were the hardest stories to write.
I have interviewed the families of murder victims, LEOs killed in the line of duty, and people who died in noteworthy accidents or natural disasters. One of the hardest was the parents of a troubled young man who died in a "suicide by cop" incident.
There is a tremendous pressure on reporters to "break" the story, or at least get one out in synch with the rest of the news media, which unfortunately puts the maximum amount of pressure on families at the worst possible time.
I did much soul-searching over the years as to how much of my approach was honest empathy, and how much was simply doing my job ... getting the goods. Always made me uneasy. I suspect many if not most reporters do the same.
Reporters witness many of the same things first responders do, with one key difference: we're forced to be passive, witnesses not participants. There is an awful sense of helplessness sometimes. Cynicism is as much a defensive strategy as anything. (It beats alcoholism!)
At the end of the day, I always prayed that my words would bring some comfort to the families. I know that wasn't always the case, though.
