I wrote a post on Mental Illness and Gun Control shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. It talked about how people with mental illness can be capable of owning a gun, etc.
You can find the post here.
By writing that post I learned a valuable lesson. One is that my little blog can and will be searched. And 2) you just may never know who’s on the other side of reading the posts you put out.
It can be exciting, but at the same time, when may it become too intrusive?
A few weeks ago a news media agency approached me with interest in interviewing me and my significant other about the post I wrote. I was excited about what they wanted to hear, their ideas on a story, and about getting our story out there.
However I was also very skeptical about the news media, and how the story may be portrayed, and what angle they would take on it.
After asking for advice, I decided to go ahead with the phone interview. So, we talked the next day, and the conversation was going great. I shared my thoughts, but then the questions got harder and harder.
a) What were my thoughts on people who are involuntarily put into a mental institution on owning guns.
b) Do you think ALL people with mental illness are capable of owning guns, etc.
And then the questions at the end:
a) would you be okay if we came into your home.
b) would he be okay with showing us his guns.
Right then and there I knew this was not the angle I wanted to go with the story. Those guns are protected. And the last thing we’d ever want to do is put them out to the world, “hey, guess what we own, and guess what we have.” Talk about putting a target on our back, right?
But, the other part was the entering the home part. We live in a small space, and that’s when the line got too intrusive.
Needless to say, the story didn’t go any further, and there is a huge sigh of relief that went with it.
But then it got me thinking. How FAR is too FAR when it comes to the media? I understand the need for stories, and the need for news, and they want the numbers, they want to bring the people in.
But at what point does it all become too much?
Have you ever had a close encounter with the news media? Was it a good experience, a bad experience? Share in the comments.
As a journalism and media studies major with some experience actually writing for newspapers it angers me to an extent to see people villify the media as a whole. Yes there are SOME journalists who are more about the story and sensationalizing it purely for ratings. However, there are also plenty of honest journalists simply seeking the truth and wanting to shed light on important issues.
Although you typically cannot expect a journalist to change their angle on a story (often times an editor is quite specific on what they want from a story), there is no harm in expressing a concern over the angle he/she wished to take before proceeding with the story.
I personally do not feel it is intrusive to enter someone’s home for a story. As journalists we do what we have to do within ethical reason and if the person being interviewed does not mind us entering their home I see nothing wrong with it. The journalist who e-mailed you at least had the decency to ask before assuming it was okay.
As for the guns, I’m conflicted. On one hand I see nothing wrong with it. On the other, all it takes is someone searching your names and finding your address. It can potentially make you and your fiance a target which, to me, is a legitimate reason for not wanting to show the guns.
The media and all those who are a part of it are simply doing their jobs. As I said, there are some journalists who are extremely cutthroat and will do anything to get the story. However, in my experience, most are simply doing the jobs they were assigned and then moving on to the next story.
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By the way, it’s Sandy Hook, not Shady Hook.
And I realized you were not specific about whether the journalist initially contacted you by e-mail or by phone.
The first initial contact was through email. Like I said, I was happy to talk, but was skeptical about the angle of the story.
Continued to have the conversation to see where the story would be going. Feeling it out. I learned through the process, and also made me more aware in the end too.
PS: Thank you for making me aware of my very BIG Grammatical mistake.
Thanks for stopping by. This was just the first time being on the other end of it. Yes, at least I was asked if it was okay if they could enter the home, and if he would show his “guns,” etc.
I felt the journalist was very kind and approachable in that way, but in the end, it just made me think about journalism completely differently and how I would approach people in the future.
That must have been a very difficult position that you were put in! I understand as media we are putting our privacy out to others in small ways and we really don’t have as much control as we think we do. That being said, controversial subjects seem to be worse because the media wants an angle not yet approached. I think you handled it very well while maintaining your private life as private as you can.
It was interesting being on the other end of it. For the past year I have been writing stories, interviewing others, and it just stopped me for a minute to think about “what we’re doing.”
Wow, that is pretty disturbing! I actually think the media has lost their minds…they seem to be digging in all the wrong yards – they want to see you significant others guns, but don’t seem to care what is going on with the Gov’t…what is up?
I was pretty excited about sharing our story… but I went into it a little unsure. Guess that was my gut telling me “be careful.”
It sounds to me like you handled the situation with grace and respect. I don’t know what I’d do if a media person ever wanted to come to my home. Probably get seriously freaked out… Home to me is sanctuary, and very few people ever get past the front door.
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Helena, I’m very much like you when it comes to my home, and well, because of the small space, it’s just hard to have anyone over, so was a bit overwhelmed.
But was definitely respectful. I learned that you definitely have to go into an interview with the media with your thoughts glued together and not lose your focus or get sidetracked
I’ve never had any experience with the media. But during the Sandy Hook coverage I did feel like maybe we do over do it with media. I wondered if maybe the families would have appreciated it if every time they turned the TV on this horrible story wasn’t in their face.
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I agree with Alexis. I just kept thinking about the families being reminded 24/7 for days and not allowing them to mourn in privacy.
I think if you have a story that you want to share with the world you need to figure out what and how much you are willing to share. What makes you comfortable and go with your gut.
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