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Kurt Johnson
Sharing bad news is hard to do, period.
Whether it’s with friends and family, or in our case with the entire community through the hometown newspaper, it can be gut-wrenching to look people you know in the eye and deliver details about a horrible crime or accident.
We’ve all grown accustomed, perhaps numb, to reports of death, murder and mayhem on the nightly news, but that’s at an arm’s-length distance. It’s entirely different when you know the names of the people involved, and everyone’s worst nightmare if you know them well.
As News-Register co-publisher, I wanted to share some insight and perspective about how we approach our task of delivering the news when it involves death and tragedy. We have a job to do in that sense, providing accurate details of what happened for the record, on the record, but we also want to honor and respect the families involved, and especially the victims.
Last week’s front page reported a murder in Hamilton County, the first on record I’m told since 1989. Aurora hosted the murder trial of suspects involved in the 2002 Norfolk bank robbery, but again that was different in that the victims and their families were not local.
This time, the victim was one of our own.
Reports of county employee Angela Adams’ murder hit hard, much like the news did a year ago when a young Hampton teacher and coach, Kyle Ediger, lost his life in a bizarre, tragic chain of events near York.
My initial thought is always of the family, first and foremost, respecting their privacy and/or sense of loss at a time that they will no doubt look back on as one of the worst days of their lives. The community does want to know what happened, so they understand, but also so that they can know what the family is going through and how best to respond.
One of the special gifts about living in Nebraska is the blanket of love and support people will offer at a time of loss and need. We’ve seen it time and again here, whether it involves a harvest bee for a farmer in need, meals delivered to a family hit by serious illness, or, God forbid, unconditional love and support when tragedy strikes.
As co-publisher, the last thing I would do is have a reporter or myself call immediately for a reaction interview, or publish an inappropriate picture that adds salt to an open wound. Even story placement is carefully considered, so as not to seem insensitive to the raw emotions involved.
Instead, we report the facts of what happened, quoted directly from law enforcement, then focus our attention on the family, community and the memory of a lost loved one.
This week’s front page story reflects that philosophy, with Angela’s co-workers sharing positive stories about a young woman and mother whom they admired and respected. A year ago, similarly, our focus on Kyle Ediger was all about the impact he had on young people and the passion for life he shared with his team, students and community, not the way his young life ended.
Another recent challenge involves the Proctor family, who as of this writing continues to search for Bob and Loveda, an elderly couple missing since January. My wife and I sit two rows behind the Proctors each week at church, so this isn’t about a story to me, or selling newspapers, it’s about sharing information that needs to be shared in a respectful way, hoping beyond hope that someone out there will see or hear something about the Proctors and that the search ends soon.
We would of course prefer not to have to share bad news, but when it does happen it is a priority, my first instinct, to think of the family first. Not every news outlet shares that same philosophy, but that’s what you can expect from the Aurora News-Register.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net
