Context, compassion and humanity: A New Year's promise from our newsroom

A woman places one of 215 pairs of children's shoes on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery as a memorial to the children whose remains have been found buried at the site of a former B.C. residential school, on Friday, May 28, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Vancouver — B.C. journalists covered a lot of important stories in 2021, but for many of us in the CTV News Vancouver newsroom, one story – and one moment, in particular – stands out.

It was just after 11:30 p.m. on May 31st, and our reporter Ben Miljure was on the air for the late local newscast. He was standing in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery steps, where 215 small pairs of shoes had been placed to recognize the gut wrenching discovery of children’s remains buried – unmarked – on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The story revealed by ground penetrating radar, while not a surprise to those familiar with the legacy of child abuse in Canada’s residential school system, was nevertheless a watershed moment for the country, triggering a deep and long overdue reckoning with systemic racism. But for Ben, the narrative was far more personal as he briefly lost his composure on camera. A few days later, he told us why.

By now, there is a good chance you’ve heard Ben’s story. His decision following that emotional moment to reveal publicly, for the first time, his Indigenous heritage and lifelong search for his mother was deeply moving. In sharing his personal experience, Ben brings deeper meaning to reporting on Indigenous issues, opening the door to a deeper understanding for the audience. He also reminds us that covering important events in our communities often comes with an emotional cost – and in 2021, his was by no means the only example of B.C. journalists confronting raw and difficult emotions while doing their jobs.

As reporters, we’ve been taught to avoid making ourselves part of a story, trying instead to explain and contextualize important and often complex events through the eyes and experiences of those directly affected. But some stories are so emotional, it can be almost impossible to stay detached.

On June 30th, most of the town of Lytton, B.C., burned in a wildfire during a deadly and record-breaking heat wave that scorched the province. Reporters on the ground found themselves trying to relay essential information about evacuation orders and government assistance programs while spending time with families who’d lost almost everything. Covering the COVID-19 pandemic feels like a slow motion cycle of fear, hope and confusion. From the failure by public health authorities to prevent outbreaks in long-term care facilities to the current inability to keep up with demand for testing, the story continues to generate the high emotions one would expect when dealing with issues of life and death. November’s catastrophic flooding in Merritt, Princeton and the Fraser Valley reminds us that severe weather events seem to be more frequent than ever. The new cold weather records for B.C. just last week close the book on a year when every season forced us to define a new normal.

Throughout it all, our goal as journalists has stayed the same: to keep communities informed when they need it most. Our hearts go out to the families most affected by these stories. As a new year begins, we’d like to share this simple message and solemn pledge: Thank you for your trust in 2021 – we promise to work hard to earn it again in 2022 by continuing to bring you stories told with context, compassion and humanity.

Ethan Faber is the News Director for CTV News Vancouver