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>>Erik: What has been the most difficult conversation you’ve have encountered as a journalist?
>>Yoav: Most journalists will tell you the hardest conversation a journalist can have
is with a family who has lost a loved one. Particularly for parents who have lost a kid,
because I think that is the worst thing that can happen to anyone in their life. And I
don’t do this as often as I did when I was a general assignment reporter, but I have
to knock on doors of families who have lost someone. For the most part I was actually
was very comfortable with it. Some people are extremely uncomfortable with it. I just
find myself being very sympathetic to people and a lot of people when they loose someone
important, they enjoying talking about that person. More often than not I’ve been welcomed
into the home, I’m offered a beer, cookies and I’ll sit down and they’re delighted
to talk about this person. The hardest door knock I had to do was of a family who’s
son had killed his girlfriend and then had committed suicide and I had to talk to his
parents and that was one that I was really nervous about because it just kind of combined
the worst elements you could think of put together. Certainly, I don’t know if I was
in their shoes what you would say at that point. I remember I knocked on their door
and then what I think what happened was I went to their neighbor’s house and that’s
what you do – no one answered the door and I went to their neighbor’s house. And I
think the family, who was in the house, saw that I was going to their neighbor’s house
and they obviously didn’t want me doing that. So, they came out and they confronted
me and initially they were very hostile toward me, but I guess I managed I got them talking
a bit. They didn’t want to participate in the story but we had a conversation about
the nature of why I was there and why I felt that I needed to ask these questions and they
responded by saying obviously why they felt they didn’t have to answer these questions
or that these questions shouldn’t even be asked. But that was – it just was such a
difficult situation to be in. Even that wasn’t as bad as I had expected.