Jeff Marks, president and general manager at WDBJ, addresses gathered media outlets Thursday afternoon. (Screenshot)
The day after two journalists from WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia were murdered by a former colleague, the station’s president and general manager said employees at the CBS affiliate are deep in mourning.
Speaking to representatives from local and national media outlets, Jeff Marks said the station is striving to move forward after the murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward, who were killed while covering a feature story in nearby Moneta, Virginia.
“It’s going to take time for us to heal,” Marks said.
He added that the station is still refraining from sending journalists out to cover stories live so soon after the shooting, but police have offered to provide protection for journalists out on assignment.
At the outset of the press conference, Marks gave a statement about Vester Flanagan, the former WDBJ journalist who murdered Parker and Ward Wednesday morning. He said Flanagan was employed by WDBJ from March 2012 to February 2013, during which time he was put on a performance improvement plan and given a final warning for bad news judgement and failure to check facts. He was also asked to seek help from WDBJ’s employee assistance program, a requirement that he met.
When he lost his job at WDBJ, Marks said Flanagan did not take the news well and made a vague threat against the newsroom.
“He reacted angrily, telling them they would have to call police because he was going to make a stink and it was going to be in the headlines,” Marks said.
At one point, Marks said, Flanagan handed a wooden cross to a news director at the station and said, “you’ll need this.”
But Marks emphasized that the station wanted to focus on remembering its journalists in the coming days.
When she stepped up to the lectern, WDBJ News Director Kelly Zuber praised journalists at the Roanoke station for performing under difficult circumstances, adding that she has witnessed them crying half an hour before going on air and delivering the news. The small details are affecting the journalists most, Zuber said: discovering a stray wrapper from Ward’s favorite piece of candy or seeing his car in the parking lot.
“I have the greatest news team,” Zuber said. “I love each and every one of them and they have performed so well.”
When asked how WDBJ will continue in the coming days, Marks was direct.
“We march together, putting one foot in front of the other, mourning our loss, never forgetting Adam and Alison…we go forward.”
Related: Covering Your Own Story: A Conversation with WDBJ Staff
