Former Daily Herald reporter talks about covering Orlando killings
Carpentersville native Marco Santana, a former Daily Herald reporter now with the Orlando Sentinel, has been covering Sunday's shootings at the Pulse nightclub.
Documenting the aftereffects of the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history has been trying.
"This has been very emotional," Santana said. "Every now and then I'll break down a little bit. But to see the activity in the newsroom, the stories we have planned, the coordination that is coming together in this ... it's been encouraging and I'm proud of these people."
Santana, an Eastern Illinois University graduate, is usually off Sundays. His day started before 7 a.m. and ended after 9 p.m. at a vigil for those killed.
Q: What was your introduction to the killings?
A: I woke up to a news alert early Sunday morning that there had been an overnight shooting at a club. When I searched for its location, I realized this club was only two miles from where I live and on a street that I had driven down the evening before. It's really freaky to think about that kind of stuff, though I acknowledge that it pales in comparison to what others are dealing with.
As I took in the news, and this was at about 7 a.m., I couldn't get back to sleep and followed as much information as I could.
Right around then we started receiving something of an "all hands on deck" email. I thought of how I could help on my beat so immediately looked at how social media helped in this instance.
Q: How has it been covering this type of national story in your adopted hometown?
A: I held it together during the day as we were getting more facts. But at a vigil at a church on (Sunday) evening, I started bawling to see so many people who I knew had been affected by this tragedy. It was a rough night. ... I love my adopted hometown and watching this newsroom buzz with increasing professionalism has been amazing.
Q: How have you dealt with the emotional aspect of others' suffering?
A: The emotional aspect is hard. As I find more information about some of the people who were killed and find Facebook pages of friends, I can't help but get emotional repeatedly. This is real to those people. It's not just a story in the newspaper. But that also motivates me to tell as accurate and good of a story as I can, to tell it to the best of my abilities.
Q: Have you discovered any good that's come of the devastation?
A: I can't say enough about the outpouring of support that has come in from across the country. But it's also been encouraging to see Orlando's heart mobilize at blood drives, vigils and other gatherings. It's heartbreaking to see the reactions from people here but those positives that come out of it are also amazing.
Q: What have you learned from your role in documenting the shooting aftermath?
A: It's powerful to know that my words and my stories will help paint the picture of what happened here because, after the shooting, Orlando obviously needs to heal. To be able to document parts of that healing process has been a daunting task but I'm glad I have this team to work with.