Delivering the news is full of surprises

Macafee

While walking around the newsroom recently, I was reminded of how each day in the newspaper business can bring something new, along with how capable our team is of delivering the news.

It started last Friday. We were celebrating the retirement of Harry Newman, our director of sales and marketing, and Debbie Wilson, an accounting clerk, both of whom had been at the paper for quite some time, when we received a call about a shooting at Rally’s a few doors down from our building.

Our reporter, Chris McBride, quickly gathered up his phone, notebook and pen and walked down the street. He talked to witnesses, bystanders around the scene and police officers to get the story of what happened. He came back shortly after and discovered there was an argument between two motorists that resulted in one of the motorists shooting the other. He churned out his story and had it in the paper the next day. It was quick and efficient work, however, the shooting wasn’t even the biggest piece of the story.

When I was asked about the story the next morning, the question didn’t pertain to the shooting, or if the victim was OK, it pertained to the six raccoons that were in two separate cages in the back of the shooter’s car. Yes, you read that right. Six raccoons. One adult and five babies.

Now, I can’t necessarily say that’s something I’ve encountered before and when my reporter told me about that angle, I was pleasantly surprised. I believe my response was, “Did you say raccoons?” But, that is something we deal with every day in this business, and it’s what keeps us on our toes and ready to spring into action every day.

Quick side note for those wondering, the six raccoons were taken by a friend of the shooter who had arrived at the scene to help. According to our reporter, the friend also has raccoons of her own and knows how to take care of them.

Then came the explosion earlier this week. The first floor of the Realty Tower, 47 E. Federal St., in downtown Youngstown was destroyed Tuesday afternoon. Seven people were injured, one critically, and a deceased 27-year-old man was found in the rubble late Tuesday night by Youngstown firefighters when they were finally able to enter the building and conduct a search.

It was a devastating and heartbreaking event as debris was spread all over the nearby area and buildings were also evacuated. There were also structural engineers being brought in to check if the building was still structurally sound.

Our Mahoning County courts and cops reporter, Ed Runyan, is always down at the Mahoning County Courthouse and Tuesday was no different. He was covering cases at the courthouse when he heard the explosion.

Ed quickly went to the scene to find out what happened. He shot photos — he climbed eight floors of a nearby building to get a better angle of the scene from a higher vantage point — and spoke with people all around the area, while also waiting for updates from the city. He wasn’t alone either.

This story was picked up by national news outlets, along with TV stations from both the Pittsburgh and Cleveland areas, and Ed did a phenomenal job. His photos told a story, he talked to relevant people who witnessed the explosion and were ready to jump into the fray to help the wounded, and put together an informational story, all while teaming up with our copy desk to update the web and social media.

I spoke with Ed after he was done working Tuesday and thanked him for all of his hard work when he gave me the simple reminder that our job is unpredictable and you never know what’s going to happen daily.

“This business is full of surprises,” he said.

It sure is and we will continue to cover those surprises to the best of our ability every day.