Something truly horrible happened in the journalism community this week.
Reporter Allison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward, both of Virginia television station WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, were fatally shot during a live broadcast on Wednesday. According to the BBC, they were both shot in the head.
The shooting was carried out by Vester Flanagan, also known by his on-air name of Bryce Williams, who was, as USA Today says, a former employee of the station who was prone to angry outbursts. After the murder, Flanagan committed suicide.
In the wake of the shooting, numerous articles have cropped up, attempting to dig further into the psyche of the shooter, hoping to understand his actions better.
This article is not like that. In fact, this article will not even mention the shooter's name again.
Instead, it is important in times like these to remember the victims.
According to a CNN dedication to the two journalists, both were relatively recent graduates, with Adam Ward graduating in 2011 and Allison Parker in 2012. Both had significant others at the station they worked at, with Parker dating anchor Chris Hurst and Ward being engaged to the producer of the morning show, Melissa Ott. Both Parker and Ward were described as being hard-working, talented, and with great futures ahead of them.
Wednesday was truly a heartbreaking day for those of us in the field of journalism. It truly shakes up the way we think about our jobs. When you get assigned to do war reporting, reporting on a natural disaster, or reporting on political corruption in a dangerous foreign country, there is always the implicit understanding that you are putting your life on the line to do this work.
But for a reporting team doing a fluff piece on a morning show in Virginia, that understanding simply is not there. Allison Parker and Adam Ward had no inkling that Wednesday would be the last time that they picked up a microphone and a camera.
That is truly what makes the shooting so disheartening. It was absolutely senseless, and it snuffed out the lives of two promising young journalists.
For what it's worth, from one small-time writer in a small university in Pennsylvania: Allison Parker and Adam Ward, you'll be missed by all of us.
