I’ve blogged before about the challenges TV journalists face when it comes to deciding what to shoot, video-wise, after arriving at a crime scene or car accident. As a former TV reporter, I remember how counterintuitive it felt to break out the camera and start shooting as medics worked tirelessly to save a father, son, or brother, all while family members stood nearby, hands clasped over their mouths. This was one of the most difficult aspects of TV reporting - getting the visual details, plus the data/facts, and presenting it all in an accurate and appropriate way.

On a similar note, you can only imagine what was going through television photojournalist Jim Foster’s mind when he was driving to work at the Oakland bureau of KNTV NBC11  and came upon an eight car pile-up on Interstate 880 in Union City, CA.  When he reached for his camera, as was second nature, he saw a young girl who was lying upside down in the roof of an overturned car. The girl looked to be 12 years old, and her right arm was severed.

At this point, a choice had to be made: focus on helping the injured girl or get the footage for the newscast.

Rather than shooting video, he sat down near the girl and held her hand. When medics took over, he stepped back. “Then I did what we do: I got my gear out and started shooting,” he said.

Fortunately, doctors were able to reattach the girl’s arm during surgery.

I should mention that I have known Jim since 1999, when he was my photog at KCBA-TV in Salinas, CA. Since I left that station, we have kept in touch, and I still talk with him regularly. When he called me this past weekend to tell me about this accident and the young girl, he told me, “I did what any person would have done.” But then I started to wonder: Would the average person help a complete stranger in an emergency situation… a situation that could involve injury, risk and possibly death (or at the very least, emotional distress)?

I know I would have done exactly what Jim did and I would hope that if I was the one who was injured that someone would stop and help me for a few minutes until medics arrived. What do you think?

You can read more about Jim’s account of the scene and the accident here.

Broadcast Journalism, Good Samaritan, KNTV NBC11, TV news