No further details are available
Sometimes I have to grit my teeth at the insanity of the press. Granted we all devour the details served up by the editors, but for those confronted by a sea of microphones and tiny digital recorders, the desire to lash out has to be intense. To understand what I’m upset about, try to tune in to a live press conference sometime.
The death of a young athlete a few days ago has brought out hundreds of good people, in teams, searching for his body. The search centre was just across the street from our office, so we saw the effort given from the beginning until this morning. As the news reported, the body was discovered this morning.
The horrible part was the tenacity of the press. Although the spokesperson from the local police repeated, over and over again, that “no further details are available”, the stalwarts just couldn’t back off. In their assumed role as representatives of the common man, the lines of questioning were stark, cruel and unnecessary. Believe me, the common man didn’t require any of them to play the blame game, or seek out details on the damage done, or bear witness to the level of suffering. Unneeded.
Please, if ever you are thrust into the role of the reporter, do your job. No less, but certainly no more. And if you ever are thrust into the role of the spokesperson, try not to kill the lot of them, at least while the cameras are rolling. It will just lead to another press conference.
