Compassion v. Ambition

I spent today following up on a father and son who'd been hit by a drunk driver on Sunday. I tried various means to get in touch with the boy's mother to get the human interest side of the story.

She never contacted me and at one point I learned she may have made a deal to tell her story to another news organization. I almost cried, I was so frustrated when I heard this. I could see the story slipping away.

Now that I've calmed down, I wonder if it was worth being so worked up over. Is the story really more important than concern for the father and son's well being? Is it really more important than the distress the family is going through?

I tried to convince myself that the reason I wanted to interview the mother was because having her story in the newspaper would help her. It would drum up community sympathy and support. Good things would come of it. And undoubtably this is true.

But my main concern was the story. Just getting the story. And this makes me feel like some kind of mercenary.

Perhaps I am thinking about this too much.

I have to believe my sources can see through me. They'll know whether I am really concerned or simply out to exploit them.