Is grief a story?

My grandfather and former Winnipeg Tribune sports editor Jack Matheson died last Monday and it's been a tough time for my entire family.

It's bad enough dealing with losing a family member, but when that family member is iconic and well...famous in his industry, it becomes even harder to deal with as privacy is sort of lost. It's really nice that so many people care about him and want to say some words about his life but sometimes you just want only the family to be involved.

There have been a ton of articles written about my grandpa in the past week as well as pieces on television and on radio. While this is no problem, I do sort of have an issue with reporters who have asked my family repeatedly for stories this week while we have been grieving. If you want to write something, great. Thanks. I appreciate it. But I do take issue with reporters calling us for interviews and things shortly after his death.

I get that it is part of the industry and that, in most cases, their hearts are in the right place but I just feel that we should be given some time to grieve. It is almost like they're taking advantage of us at a tough time.

I can think of at least three reporters who have called or emailed us this past week for a story. I know it has been very difficult on my grandmother who is a private person and doesn't like having to deal with all of the coverage.

I myself answered questions for an article in the Sun simply to take pressure off the rest of my family.

The bottom line is that there are a number of very moving pieces on my Grandpa's life that can be found simply by google searching his name.

My question is though, is it fair of journalists to call for stories at a time when a family is grieving? Even if they are well known? It's a difficult question and I am definitely seeing it differently after I have been a part of it first hand.

What do you guys think?

keith

Work Placement

I spent the past 3 weeks on a work placement on at CJOB 68. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but it ended up being a fantastic experience.

I worked under legendary CJOB sports director Bob Irving and was also shown the ropes by Richard Cloutier, arguably the most influential news man in the city. The chance to learn from these two was invaluable and I am now able to count both of them as friends.

During my time at CJOB, I was able to get on air far more than I ever expected. I did about 25 live voice reports from the World U17 Hockey Challenge and also some from Moose games and other news conferences. Aside from this I reported at a wide array of events and wrote stories for news and sports. I gained great experience in editing and writing.

As a final project, I produced a radio documentary on referee abuse in minor hockey. It aired on Richard Cloutier Reports, which was a real thrill.

I cannot thank everyone at CJOB enough for all their help. I hope that I will get a chance to come back and work with them again.

Hopefully I can post some of my work in the future for all of you to check out. Until next time...

keith