High-Stress Police Beat Response

I was really appalled by some of the instances and scenarios the several reporters have been in. I could not imagine witnessing a gruesome body of a shooting victim and then be expected to just have it all together. I really commend those reporters that work on the police beat. It takes a lot of resilience, courage, and composure to be able to work through such tragic, and sometimes frightening conditions. It takes even more of those things when interviewing someone about their murdered child or family member. Places with such high crime rates such as the District of Columbia and Baltimore have to have reporters with tough skin. However, it is so unfortunate that those reporters reap certain physical and mental consequences.

Reaction to Police Beat Article

This article made me sympathize for crime scene reporters. The imagery throughout the article was attention grabbing. What stuck with me most in reading this article was how nelson said, "were not trained emergency workers". That made it seem like crime scene reporters almost at times feel helpless and it just puts emphasis on the fact that reporters and journalists of all sorts have to maintain stature and just focus on the facts and not getting in their emotions when on the job. I agree with Anderson in that crime scene reporters be able to seek counseling, because that kind of visuals can effect someone and stick with them for the rest of their life, when they are just simply doing their job.

Police Beat Article Response

It's hard to read articles like this because, typically, on a day-to-day basis, people don't think about the hardships police officers face when called to a crime scene. Like the saying goes, out of sight out of mind. We don't think about the gruesome fatalities that are present at the crime scene. We don't think about the dangers of working with criminals and armed suspects. Reading this article brought forth the extreme and terrifying aspects of working in the police force. It was hard to read at times, especially about the teenager whose head rolled away from her body and steam was coming from the neck. I can't imagine the stress it puts on these individuals who face scenes like this everyday. I agree that it should be mandatory for officers to have to attend therapy to talk to someone to deal with these brutal events.

Article Response

For one interested in crime reporting, I really liked the article. I've always expected emotional issues to come along with the job, but after reading this, I feel like this is one of those things where you don't really know how something feels until it happens to you personally. I honestly have no idea what my reaction will be to it. I feel like crime reporting could be a risk career because if the crime scenes really get to you, it could possibly lead to pyschological problems. However, it might also show reporters to have more of an appreciation for life.

Response to Police Beat Article

The article written on police beats was eye-opening. Writing about crime seems like the most challenging job, emotionally. When one leaves their job, mental images of crime scenes are most likely still present. I do not know if I could report on crime because of the effects it would have upon me. It is so important to appreciate the work of police beat reporters because without them, we would not be kept up to date with criminal activity in our world. They (producers) have to go through all of the work to get our story, including talking to the police, talking to the victims, and to their families. We as readers (consumers) just get to sit back and read. The life of a police beat journalist is more exhilarating than I thought. This article explained how these types of reporters are at the beckoned call of their stories, sometimes staying up until late hours of the night. This type of lifestyle is very time-consuming. I personally do not know if I could be a police beat reporter. This article made me truly appreciate these reporters' work for their communities.

Police Beat Article Response

The many different stories in the article on police beats were difficult to read, so I can't imagine how hard it is to actually be the reporter on the scene. When reading stories about tragedies, readers don't always imagine the steps it took for the story to get in the paper. There had to be someone at that scene, stomaching all those excruciating details in order to share with everyone else what happened. The article was very descriptive about what many police beat reporters go through mentally, physically and emotionally. I would personally be the woman who looks in closets for people ready to jump put at me. I admire all the reporters who go through these types of incidents day in and day out to share tragic news with the rest of the world, because I don't know if I could do it.

Stress will kill you

The job of a crime reporter on the police beat is not for everyone, it takes an extraordinary person. Their life is a departure from normalcy, and the difficulty of being expose to a great deal of violence will have an impact on their psyche. I agree with Dr. Beverly Anderson, who recommends debriefing and taking the time to return to some normalcy because stress will take its toll.

Sharon White