Defining 'Help'

Before coming to work at WHNT (for the 3rd time), I worked at another station in Huntsville. My job title there was 'Assignment Manager/Editor.' I was responsible for sending news crews out on stories, knowing what and where the stories were and fielding calls from viewers who gave us stories. I was on the phone A LOT.

When a viewer would call us with an idea for a story, it was my job to make sure that it was actually a legitimate story. For example, people would call complaining that the car they just bought from a used car auto lot was a lemon (not a story), or that the jail conditions were filthy (ya think?!). TV stations get at least 10 of those 'stories' a week, sometimes more. Those are fairly easy to dismiss (although not always).

Sometimes when a viewer called and explained their situation, it would sound like a good, legitimate story that we could cover. But that was only scratching the surface. Sounding good doesn't mean it was a story. I had to ask the caller questions that were at times invasive and personal and would put them on the hot seat.


One morning I got a call from a lady saying that her daughter's landlord flat-out REFUSED to fix the bathtub in her apartment. It was backed up and very dirty.

Sounded good so far. 'Slumlord refuses to fix bathtub!' Could make for a good headline, huh? But I had lots of questions to ask first to determine if this story was worth sending a crew out to cover.

For example, why was SHE the one calling us and not her daughter? If her daughter, a grown woman, was that desperate, why didn't she call seeing if her story could be covered? That alone isn't a deal-breaker to say we won't cover the story. But it does raise some flags.

My next line of questions were about her daughter and where she lived, what she did, etc. She lived in some sort of public assisted housing (I think). Her rent: $50 a month. That's 1.66 a day.

The kicker: She was about 2 months behind on her rent and would probably soon be facing eviction.

Now imagine you're a landlord and you have someone who is 2 months behind on rent. What would you do? Would you spend your own money to fix a bathtub for a tenant who isn't paying you?

Me neither.

If I recall, the daughter wasn't working either. I knew for an absolute fact we weren't going to cover this story, so I laid it out there for this lady:

'Ma'am.... your daughter is a bum.'

She didn't get angry. She didn't curse me or yell at me. She just listened.

'Your daughter is a bum. She doesn't work. She's TWO months behind on rent... and you're trying to fix her problems for her. You're enabling her to continue living like this.'

After a brief moment of silence, she finallysaid two words: 'You're right.'

It may have seemed harsh, but I told this woman what she NEEDED to hear. Her heart was in the right place and she was trying to get her daughter some help. But before someone gets helped, you have to first define what 'help' really is.

Is help solving someone's problems for them? Will that really fix things? Or is help hitting rock-bottom and changing your lifestyle on your own?

The woman thanked me for what I said. About two weeks later she called me for another story idea.

I don't know what ever happened with this lady or her daughter, but I hope they are both doing well.