Tragedy of morning team
Print Edition
ALISON Parker seemed destined to be an anchorwoman. Adam Ward was upbeat, the kind of cameraman everyone wanted to work with in the wee hours of the morning.
The two young journalists were killed on live television on Wednesday by a disgruntled former reporter they once worked with at WDBJ. They were doing a routine story about local tourism when the gunman walked up to them and fired. The chilling images of Parker running away were captured on Ward’s camera as he fell to the ground.
Like young journalists everywhere, the pair were eager for a story, hungry to cover big news and active on social media. In Roanoke, Parker and Ward were also something else: hometown kids who became local celebrities.
“They grew up in this area,” Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton said. “They were part of our community.”
They were also part of a close family of TV station employees who watched the killings unfold on the air and grieved publicly.
Both had found love in the newsroom.
Ward, 27, was engaged to producer Melissa Ott, who watched the shooting unfold from the control room.
Wednesday was supposed to be her last day because she had accepted a job at a station in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Parker, 24, was dating Chris Hurst, an anchorman at the station. They had just moved in together.
The couples attended sporting events and restaurants together, documenting their lives with photographs and comments on social media.
“We’re in this business, and it’s a tough business. It’s one that requires, I think, a sense of camaraderie, and I think we have that here,” Hurst said.
Parker and Ward worked as a team for the station’s “Mornin’” show, a time-slot where many broadcast journalists get their start. They covered everything from breaking news to stories about child abuse.
They were “like brother and sister” because they worked so closely on the morning shift together, Hurst said.
On Wednesday, Parker had brought in balloons and wine for Ward’s fiancee in honor of her departure for a new job.
“They were going to have a party for her. This was supposed to be a very happy time for Alison and myself and for Adam and Melissa, and now it has just devastated everybody inside,” Hurst told reporters. “I think that if she was in your situation, having to cover a story like this, she would probably want the people who knew her best to go on camera, so I’ll do that for all of you guys, too.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
