Reporters recall rewarding results

Armed with nothing but a piece of paper and a 1-800 number, Louise Martin sat down and looked into the camera.

A tornado had just struck a local trailer park and killed 11 people.

Martin couldn’t see her audience, but she knew their spirits were broken. Speaking into the living rooms of Red Deer, she was more than a news anchor; she was a comforting voice for people who needed answers.

“We stayed on the air for a long time, being there for the people of the community. They just needed to hear something from someone,” said Martin, who now anchors CBC Compass in Charlottetown.

“We were feeding them as much (information) as we could. We were the voice of reason for people at home. I went home and cried my heart out.”

While speaking to Holland College journalism students on Jan. 15, Martin stressed local news is important because it directly impacts people’s lives.

“We cover road closures and weather. Those stories matter and it affects your everyday life. That is news to me.”

Some stories are emotional to cover, said Martin, but that helps her connect with viewers and interview subjects alike.

When Anders Breivik murdered dozens of people in Norway in 2011, Martin spoke to one of the victims as he was being prepped for surgery.

“He was crying. I let him cry. You need to see I’m a human and not a robot.”

Martin’s husband, Ken Linton, said that trait made her a good choice to host P.E.I.’s supper-hour news program.

“Louise is a good fit for Compass. She shows emotion. She’s not a robot reading the news.”

The couple didn’t know what to expect when they moved to the Island, but Linton said it’s been a positive experience.

“People warned us about what it would be like. They said Louise would be recognized a lot. The people are very nice and respectful.”

Dave Stewart has been a reporter with The Guardian since 1995. In a career that’s seen it all, he said the heartwarming stories stand out.

“It’s the good people you meet that turn into good stories that really, really stick with you.”

In the summer of 2016, Stewart got an email from a man named Francis Menard, who was trying to find his birth mother on P.E.I. and had exhausted other options.

Stewart wrote the story and was stunned to see what happened next.

“Within hours of that story going up online, his birth mother reaches out to him. That just doesn’t happen in this business, not that quick.”

But the story didn’t end there. Stewart interviewed the mother and Menard also met his birth father. The couple was divorced.

“Some day you’re sitting down in a rocking chair and you think back on the stories you did that might have made a difference. Covering the legislature, press conferences, city council, that’s not the rewarding aspect of the job.

“Knowing you brought a family together – that feeling you get, the tingles down your spine, that warm sensation – those are the stories I remember the most.”

The newspaper industry can be tough to work in, but stories like Menard’s are rewarding, Stewart said.

“When you know you’ve made a difference in someone’s life in a good way, it makes all those bad phone calls you receive over the years worth it.”

Martin told the students the media can play a role in bringing people together.

“Be kind to one another, respect one another and help one another. The world can be a nasty place sometimes.”

Travellers plan around Caribbean hurricane damage

Brodie MacNevin’s wedding plans were plunged into uncertainty when Hurricanes Irma and Maria razed parts of the Caribbean in September.

            

The St. Catherines, P.E.I., native and his girlfriend Andrea were to be married in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba, in February. But Irma scored a direct hit on the resort town off the country’s northeast, decimating the local airport and causeway.

            

Their resort re-opened after several weeks of reconstruction efforts, but not without some changes, said MacNevin, who now lives in Chezzetcook, N.S.

            

“The resort looks different now. It used to have, I’ll say, that Cuban feel, a lot of bright colours. During the restoration, they modernized it a little more.”

            

But they had chosen the hideaway for its traditional feel, he said.

            

“They had modern resorts down there that looked like a hotel here in downtown Halifax. If you’re going to Cuba, you want to think you’re in Cuba. There’s nothing we can do about that now.”

            

The aftermath of the hurricanes had many Caribbean travellers scrambling to determine the extent of the damage.    

            

Holland College Graphic Design instructor Mike Thomas had tentative plans to travel south in March along with his wife Nancy, several relatives and friends.

            

Their first reaction to the news was one of compassion for the people affected, he said, but they soon realized they needed to do a lot more diligence.

            

“We were planning on travelling down, where do we go, where can we go, how many of these resorts have been damaged beyond repair and when are they going to be fixed?”

Mike Thomas and his wife Nancy had to take hurricane damage
into consideration when planning their Caribbean getaway.

They ultimately decided on a resort in the Dominican Republic, but the decision required a wary eye, Thomas said.

“(The websites) are always going to advertise the best things. They’re not going to say, ‘We’re a wreck! Please still come down.’ They’re going to say everything’s put together.”

Maritime Travel counsellor Larissa Newell said their operations are now more or less back to normal, which is surprising to some of their clients.

            

“A lot of people think things are still pretty ravaged. They’re pretty surprised to hear everything is back up and running and that Cuba recovered so quickly, because certain areas were hit pretty bad.”

            

Some cruises are being diverted to different destinations rather than the still-damaged St. Maarten, Newell said.

            

Puerto Rico was hardest hit by the hurricanes, and Newell said it’s not available as a destination, but cruises leaving from there are going smoothly.

“But I would not send anyone there as a destination. I know certain parts of the island still don’t have any power.”

She said there are no direct flights from the Maritimes to the worst-affected areas, so those operations have not been affected.

As for MacNevin and his fiancée, they still don’t know what to expect when they touch down in Cayo Santa Maria.

“We’re a little nervous about it. They probably lost some shoreline. I know they lost all kinds of trees. The landscape’s going to be different. They don’t really update their pictures that much.”