When disaster
strikes
No assignment too big or too small
By Curtis Esquibel
Teacher and Guidance Counselor
Jemez Pueblo, N.M.
Posted: Aug. 9, 2002
Editor's note: Curtis Esquibel, a city-desk intern at
The Denver Post from December 1998 to May 1999, was involved
in the first weeks of coverage of the Columbine school shootings.
For its coverage, The Post was award a Pulitzer Prize
for spot news.
One of the most interesting things I learned about colossal
media events like Columbine was that everyone on staff had
a role. From intern to most senior reporter, you're all there
-- and there isn't such a thing as rank.
I spent a few nights staking out homes of a killer's
friends and waiting for something to happen in the snow at
Clement Park.
I want to emphasize that the Pulitzer was a bittersweet thing
for everyone. For me, the experience will last a lifetime.
But it still was the most tragic, horrific, sorrowful thing
I've ever experienced as a person. I would much rather have
had nothing happen and not even be talking about this now.
Tips from Columbine:
Don't let the size and scope of the story envelop your focus
and concentration, especially when the media circus arrives.
Remember that behind every tragedy are human stories of lives
altered forever. If you start to think about "how cool"
it is to be so close to a colossal media event, then you already
have lost your focus. Be fragile and personal in your interviews
with victims and those directly affected by unfortunate events.
When you ask questions, ask them like they've never been
asked before.
Be prepared to do anything. I remember waiting for hours
outside the home of a dead gunman’s girlfriend doing
stakeout duty, waiting for her to return from her police interview.
I also remember sitting in my car in a horrendous April snowstorm
in Clement Park, site of the Columbine memorial adjacent to
the school, waiting to see if bomb threats would materialize.
Last, be able to switch gears quickly. One minute you may
be on stakeout duty and the next you may have to call a victim's
family.
All in a day's work
Curtis Esquibel was a Summer 1999 Scholar at the
Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, Calif. Reach him
at clesquibel@hotmail.com.
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