Eric Conrad Monday, June 04, 2007

People mourning the loss of a child, relative or friend are at their most vulnerable, and journalists from the hometown newspaper especially must be sensitive to that. Yet, they also must get the story.

Two of our reporters, Keith Edwards and A.J. Higgins, were put in this situation in recent weeks.

Edwards has been our "lead reporter" covering the accidental death of Emily Walker, a 15-year-old special-needs student from Augusta who died after falling during a field trip to Vaughan Woods in Hallowell. Edwards interviewed Emily's mother, Lucille, and family members and friends. He covered Emily's funeral last Wednesday.

It was a sad scene, but it was newsworthy: Emily's death was the talk of Augusta and there are questions about exactly what happened, because she died during a school activity. It was a safe bet that Emily's funeral would be attended by hundreds of friends and supporters, and it was.

Her mother, Lucille, was open, saying her daughter never should have been on the field trip. She vowed to "get answers" once her family has laid Emily to rest. (The school said Lucille Walker signed and returned a blanket permission slip at the start of the school year that said Emily could go on field trips.)

What did Edwards encounter? First, and this is fairly common, he found Emily's family, including her mother, were quite willing to talk about what had happened. Many times, grieving families feel that interest from a respectful journalist helps prove to the community that their loved one's life, and death, had meaning.

"Covering the girl's funeral was an emotional roller coaster," Edwards said, "even though I had never actually met this girl. (I) felt a touch of guilt over going to the funeral of someone I didn't know, but also a sense of anticipation at being able to write a story that could share the highlights of this person with others who didn't know her."

Edwards, who has been a reporter at the Kennebec Journal for 11 years, is among the most humble and easy-going members of our staff. He lets his natural demeanor take over during assignments like this.

"I try to approach people with caution and as tenderly as possible in such a situation," he said. If he senses someone is not ready to be interviewed, he backs off, at least for a time.

"Generally, people will talk about tragic events involving their loved ones, but not always right away," Edwards said.

Higgins' assignment was equally high profile. He has been our lead reporter covering and explaining the alleged murder of Jean-Paul Poulain, a well-known French caberet singer in the area during his heyday a decade and more ago. Poulain was found dead in his School Street apartment in April. Mathiew Loisel, 21, has been charged with killing him.

Higgins covered the homicide on the night it occurred, but we also assigned him to do a story explaining how Poulain's life slid from once-prominent and promising to rather sad. We asked Higgins to explain how this 62-year-old man crossed paths with the young man accused of killing him.

Higgins' piece on Poulain, which ran in Sunday's newspapers, falls under the header of explanatory journalism. It's not enough these days to just tell readers what happened the previous day or previous week. Good newspapers strive to show their readers how something happened, instead of just telling them that it did.

That was our charge to Higgins: How did Poulain meet the young man accused of causing his death? Why, after years of local renown, was Poulain living a lifestyle of poverty?

Higgins at first felt that Poulain's family members would agree to interviews but, in the end, many decided not to.

"I respected their desire for privacy," said Higgins, who is in his first year at the Kennebec Journal after 34 years at the Bangor Daily News. "We are persistent here, but we are not, after all, the National Enquirer."

Higgins' approach was to convince potential sources for a story that he wasn't trying to exploit a situation, or intrude on a loved one's memory. Rather, he wanted to understand what happened, then share that context with the community.

"Once I was beyond the 'I'm not talking to the media' boundary -- and that didn't always happen -- I found people were interested in becoming involved in the story of a colorful man whose life was defined by so many pronounced high and low points," Higgins said.

Higgins' and Edwards' articles appeared during the past week. As always, we're interested in hearing what you thought about their work.

Eric Conrad is executive editor of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. He can be reached at econrad@centralmaine.com.