I have to share an unforgettable experience I had last night. Sunday Editor Scott Blanchard and I were talking to the York County Critical Incident Stress Management team about trauma coverage and journalism. I shared a story about a man I photographed over 15 years ago who had been struck by lightning. Initially thought dead, emergency workers quickly discovered he was still alive and it turned from a recovery to a rescue. The sight of his clothes blown off, sounds of his screaming and smell of his flesh will forever haunt me as one of the most traumatic scenes I had ever covered. As I am sharing this story, one of the women on the team stands up and starts walking over to me. She tells me in front of everyone that the man was her brother and then comes over and embraces me and thanks me for the photograph I took. I was so taken aback by her comments. I photographed her brother in the worst possible situation humanly possible and she thanked me. She told me that the coverage of him as not just a victim, but as the person he was, meant more to her than anything. It is moments like that, that no amount of money that any other career could provide, that would make me feel more proud to be a journalist than I am right now. -- Jason Plotkin, staff photog
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:15:00 +0000
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