Controlling emotions when reporting

My last story for my in-depth reporting class is on Fundacion La Ventana de los Cielos, or the Window of the Heavens Foundation. As I mentioned in my previous blog, this foundation provides alternative therapies to children with disabilities. The child that I focused on was Alejandro Osorio. While interviewing his parents to get the full story, I realized that I was about to cry several times. Some of things that these parents will tell you can make a reporter overwhelmingly emotional. They expressed how happy they were to have a son like Alejandro, when at the beginning their frustrations made them doubt themselves as parents. Nevertheless, I did not shed a tear because I was not sure if it would look unprofessional. My partner told me it wouldn’t, because at the end of the day, reporters are still human–we have emotions, and we react to what we hear. I guess I really don’t know what the “right” way to act is exactly, but it was a wonderful experience that I will cherish.