blogs.kxly.com

Tomorrow marks a dark day in U.S. history. 30 years ago Tuesday, more than 900 people killed themselves as part of a mass suicide in Guyana. They were followers of radical cult leader Jim Jones. That story itself has always fascinated me; I’ve wondered how people can so blindly follow someone to the point they’re willing to kill their children on his orders. But, I was only four months old when the suicides at Jonestown took place. I didn’t know the whole story - the one about the innocent victims - until I came to kxly and started working with a man whose father was murdered that dark day.

In November 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan paid a visit to Jonestown as part of a government investigation. He brought with him relatives of people living at Jonestown and members of an NBC News crew. They spent several days at Jonestown and didn’t suspect people there were in danger. The night before they left, though, someone slipped reporter Don Harris a note saying they wanted to escape. Harris kept the note in his boot overnight, then confronted Jim Jones on camera about it the next day. Jones was visibly agitated and that’s how he stayed until the group pulled out and got ready to head back to the U.S. Most of them never made it. Jones sent his men to ambush the group on the airstrip. Congressman Ryan was killed, along with a defecting member of the cult and three journalists, including Don Harris. Harris left behind a wife, Shirley and three children, including a 17-year old son. That son followed in his father’s footsteps and became a journalist. His name is Jeff Humphrey.

Jeff doesn’t talk about his dad much - at least not in the newsroom or in a public way. Until last week, I’d probably heard him talk about it one time in the five or so years I’ve worked with him. As early as last week, the story of this anniversary was everywhere. CNN did a number of special reports on it and some newspapers contacted Jeff. Jeff decided it was time - for the first time - to share his father’s story with our viewers.

On the air and in the field, Jeff is confident and driven. He puts his head down and works hard on every story - and, is happy to break stories whenever he can. Off-camera, Jeff is one of the more humble people I’ve ever met. He’s not sharing his story for ratings or to get attention. He’s telling it for one very specific reason: to honor his dad. Last Friday, I interviewed Jeff and his mom about Don and about Jonestown. They both opened up about what it was like to get the news - and, how they’ve honored his memory ever since. Jeff talked about what he learned from his dad - and, what he puts into practice in his job every day. He talked about building trust with your sources, about protecting on-going investigations and about showing compassion to people who’ve lost loved ones in a public way. After all, he knows how they feel. It was surreal to sit across from a man I’ve competed with as a reporter (both when he was at another local station and when he and I were both reporters here) - and, see a very vulnerable side. I am touched he felt comfortable sharing these emotions with me, but I know it’s not about me at all. It’s not about Jeff, either. It’s about a journalist who put his life on the line to get the truth. Even though Don Harris died that day, his story brought the truth about Jonestown to the world. He asked questions that lesser journalists would shy away from - and, he paid for those questions with his life. We hope to honor him the way Jeff tries to honor him every day: by telling his story and living up to the principals for which he died.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS