Covering death and tragedy-- journalists vs. the common people

I'm on a mailing list for young journalists, and recently there was a heated debate about covering death and tragedy, about contacting family members for comments when there's a murder or accident, etc. Some were all for "hardening yourself" and asking people for quotes on the spot; others felt that you should leave the family alone.

Here was my two cents, both as a journalist and as a member of a family hounded by the public during a family tragedy:

( click here for the full text )

Quotes out of context

Copied over from a debate on jenx's lj:

( behind a cut so as not to annoy my friends list )