Tip for Reporters Covering Disasters

Hurricane Harvey (Nasa.gov)

A video interview occurred last week with a reporter sticking her microphone in a poor woman's face at one of the Houston evacuee shelters in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. It was an extremely uncomfortable moment which showed the raw emotions and pain of a woman and her family pushed to the edge by the tumultuous events surrounding the hurricane.

Link to the interview: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Cw-J0s_-c

The reporter initially did not get the obvious hint that we the viewers picked up on, other than just saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The woman kept stating, "And you are STILL putting that mic in my face." The reporter finally embarrassingly withdrew it, shaken up herself. I'm sure she regretted continuing the questioning.

I also feel that it wasn't her intent to set the woman off, but it happened and hopefully she will learn from it when interviewing in the future. And by the way, the news organization which the reporter is from has nothing to do with the reporter's questioning. I've seen various levels of incompetence on all three of the major cable news networks: CNN, MSNBC, and FOX.


There was a tip that I read for reporters from the comments section of an online article on Hurricane Harvey from The Washington Post in response to the video. With Hurricane Irma almost upon the Caribbean and then possibly Florida, I think it can be applied to that impending event as well.


"Do not ask how someone feels after a disaster. Ask them if there is something that they would like to share so that the people outside of the area can understand what is going on in there. That gives them the chance to say they cannot talk right now (due to emotions), vent all about all of the reporters in their faces, or tell what happened to them."

I don't profess to even know what the job of a reporter during a catastrophe is like but ...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.