As a features writer, I'm sometimes frustrated by how fluffy my assignments can be (two recent stories come to mind, one consisting of date night tips, another devoted to new advances in umbrella technology). Every once in a while, I get pulled away from these scintillating stories to help with breaking-news coverage. Such was the case last week, when I spent the day at a shelter for tornado evacuees from Greensburg, Kan. The storm, one of the most destructive types of tornadoes, had leveled the town of 1,400 about 36 hours before. Ten people died and the survivors were just starting to make sense of their losses. One couple was gracious enough to sit with me for nearly an hour to share their story. It and a few other vignettes I wrote ran along with the hard-news coverage. I hope their stories helped put a human face on the tragedy.
I always approach these assignments with mixed feelings: compassion for those who've lost so much; guilt that I can go home to my normal life; the adrenaline and anxiety that comes with deadline pressure; and the heavy responsibility of telling the story as truthfully and honorably as possible. But once the stories are filed, I go back to writing about pop culture and feel empty inside. Some of my co-workers on the news side say they envy my freedom from the daily grind. The truth is, I'd trade it in a minute for the feeling that what I did every day mattered.
