Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You decide to phone the victim's husband.
You decide to go ahead and make the phone call. You'll be sensitive, and
if the victim's husband doesn't want to talk, you won't ask again.
It turns out that the man is glad for the opportunity to talk. He wants
to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again. You get some great
quotes, and you're very pleased with the interview.
This scenario is similar to situations that independent radio producer
Sean Cole has faced. He says sometimes you just have to make the call, but
the key is to do it in a sensitive manner.
"It's like the worst thing ever," says Cole, about phoning relatives after
a tragedy. "It's something that I don't like doing. I've done that work. There
was a really horrible nightclub fire in Rhode Island.... It was a huge tragedy.
"I drove down there and had to call these people who had just lost somebody.
You call them up and say who you are and say, 'I'm terribly sorry about your
loss. Can I ask you a few questions?' And if they say no, I don't
pursue it.
"I don't think I actually got anyone on tape, but I tried," says Cole.
"But you can't force someone to talk with you. If they say no, you say, 'Thank
you very much and I won't be contacting you again.'"