The question I get asked most working on the morning show — right after “Where’s Scot Haney?” — is “What time do you get up every day?” My answer of 2 a.m. is usually followed by a sympathizing look and “How do you do it?”
Well, the answer is simple. I love my job, I love my co-workers and more importantly I love working in Connecticut. Believe me when I say the hardest part is waking up. Besides, how many people have the chance to say they get to see the sun come up almost every day.
What Makes The Job Difficult
What does make my job difficult is a day like today (June 23). This morning, Eyewitness News photographer John Roache and I were headed to Salisbury for a story when we got a call from the assignment desk telling us to turn around and go to a house in Hartford. The Major Crimes Division was there after an 11-month-old baby was taken to the hospital under suspicious circumstances.
At the time, we didn’t know how serious the toddler’s condition was. When we arrived, John and other media outlets were getting video of the scene that included detectives walking in and out of the family’s house. Moments later, a very distraught woman came out of the house and towards the photagraphers yelling, “My son just died 20 minutes ago. Get off my street! You have no right to make my private life public.”
In these situations, you can only express your deepest sympathies and pay your condolences. An answer like “I’m just doing my job and have every right to be here” is not exactly sufficient, but it is what we do in the most sensitive way possible.
Daily Struggle
Despite what many think, the hardest part of our jobs is approaching people while witnessing them go through what could be the most difficult moments of their lives. It’s a balance many journalists struggle with.
After an investigation, it turns out that poor baby died of respiratory problems.
Then, less than an hour later, we get another call from the desk. This time, there is a report of a man who was arrested after his toddler was dangling out a third-story window of an Hartford apartment building. Bystanders flagged down Hartford police officer Sgt. Reginald Allen, who ran to the apartment and ended up kicking the door down.
Police say the child’s 21-year-old father was sleeping while his son was hanging out the window. Apparently, the door being knocked down did not wake him up and, when told about the situation, he allegedly deemed the situation hilarious. He was arrested.
Luckily, for that family, the young child escaped unharmed, but my heart still goes out to the mother who lost her baby earlier in the day.
