Reporters crying at depositions - in the conference room

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I was talking to a videographer yesterday.  We've worked together for over a decade and are good friends.  We just started talking and he told me he has seen at least ten reporters cry in the middle of a deposition. 

I was shocked.  I couldn't believe a reporter would do that.  I have cried one time that I know of in the last ten years; it was a German scientist with a broken accent and I struggled all day.  I went into the bathroom once and had a "pitty party" for myself.  I never did it in the conference room in front of anyone.

Don't get me wrong, there has been many times where I felt overwhelmed with an accent along with the terminology.  I've always been able to keep it together and be professional and just deal with it except that one time I went to the bathroom.

I was just a bit surprised that these reporters don't have the wherewithall to know to take it privately if you can't keep it together.  Very unprofessional.

I'm not talking about sad events on jobs and you cry because it is "sad."  That can happen to any of us.  I'm talking about the terminology being too difficult and crying.

 

Anyone want to weigh in on this issue?

 

 

 

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Not really because half the attorneys were sharing a copy.  It was actually eight attorneys and I was getting paid for four copies.

[Cynthia Dunbar]

I'm late to the party on this one.  I've only ever become misty-eyed through some very sad testimony - i.e., the very tragic death of the witness's loved one where the person killed was literally in the wrong place at the wrong time.  (Yeah, I'm not as likely to cry is someone got killed by being an idiot.)  I am a reporter who is more likely to get irritated and ticked when the testimony is difficult - and difficult for me means people being a**holes.  I had three people getting snitty, unprofessional, inappropriately emboldened the other day with a complete disregard for the record; so I did what I've done in the past.  I took my hands off the machine and said, "Look, I'm going off the record because I can't get this down - so tell me what you want to do."  This was after numberous polite and then increasingly firmer requests.  I am a lot more likely to get beyond ticked as opposed to crying.

BUT I started this career at 35.  I worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade before this - with producers and agents and talent and execs that were unfair for infinitely more ridiculous reasons than I've seen in depo (seriously) - so my tendency to cry has been squelched by another industry.  It's probably why I don't cry if I think someone did something stupid or they're completely exaggerating something, regardless of the consequence.  I think the last time I cried was when a VERY powerful baseball agent berated me on the phone for half an hour because of something my anchor did after he discussed the interview with my producer.  They wouldn't answer their phones - so it was up to me to get screamed at like a straw man.  At the end he said, "I know you had no control over it, but I'm really p*ssed off right now."  Thanks, dude.  I felt better after the president of an MLB team told me, "Oh, he yells at me all the time."  That was the last time I cried on the job.

So perhaps it's age and crustiness thing.  I am very glad I didn't get into court reporting without some general life under my belt.

[Cynthia Dunbar]

Huh?  "NUMBEROUS"?  I need to sleep more.

[Lisa O'Sullivan]

Randall, couple things. First, you recently called me out for commenting on a misspelling here at csrNation, your reasoning being that this is a venue in which we're not being graded. So what the heck is your "two T's" comment to Kelli all about, then??

Also, I saw some kind of brouhaha about you on a FB page. What's going on, man??

[Lisa O'Sullivan]

Shoot, I almost never get to use that word, and now I see I'm to be foiled. Ah, well. It's good to hear your heart is in the right place. :) You have a happy Labor Day too, Randall!