Does doing our job make things worse?

I started my day on March 5 by proofreading a blog post Jill Coubrough had written about attending the funeral for the four Froese brothers, the boys who’d died when their family home burned down. 

Jill had the family’s permission to attend the service, and she adhered to all of their wishes: no recording devices, no smartphones.

She used only a notebook to jot down quotes from the pastor. And if you watched CBC News Winnipeg, and saw the live report she skilfully delivered not long after the service ended, you could see emotion on her face. 

You could tell she’d been crying. How could anyone attend a funeral for four young boys and not shed a tear? Reporters are people too.

When I read in Jill’s blog that a few people at the funeral had yelled at her and at the two colleagues who’d gone with her to Winkler, my Mama Bear instincts surfaced. I wanted to protect them. How could anyone call these three kind, caring people “vultures” or “soul-less”?

Our job, gathering and delivering the news, all too often puts us smack in the middle of tragedy. And when it does, we feel it. I’m proud to say there is no one working at CBC Manitoba who I would not trust to treat people in pain with the utmost respect. We show kindness whenever we can.

The last thing we want to do is to make things worse.

Does doing our job - even when we conduct ourselves professionally - make things worse? 

With that question in mind, I watched as cbc.ca/manitoba livestreamed a news conference from Cliff and Wilma Derksen’s home.

They’d invited journalists in so they could respond to the Supreme Court decision granting a new trial to the man convicted of killing their daughter Candace. 

Few people in Manitoba have had more contact with an array of journalists than the Derksens.

This couple and their children have been through hell and back in the almost 31 years since Candace’s murder.

They are now universally revered for their strength, grace and ability to forgive.

Sure enough, what did Wilma Derksen say to journalists as her news conference was ending? She thanked them.

“You’ve been an important part of this story, too” she said. “Do not burn out. Continue your work. Continue to tell the stories. That’s another way of doing justice. It really is. We’re doing justice by being here. By you coming here has meant justice for us. We’re able to tell our story and that just made justice more valid and more valuable in our country.” 

Thank you, Mrs. Derksen. We needed that.