BishopAccountability.org
 
  The Public Eye Chat with ... Sandra Hughes

By Matthew Felling
CBS News
July 19, 2007

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/publiceye/main500486.php?author=Matthew_Felling&dir=publiceye

Los Angeles (CA) — It's Thursday, and that means it's time for the Public Eye Chat. This week's subject is CBS News Los Angeles Correspondent Sandra Hughes, who reported on this week's story of the $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and hundreds of alleged victims of clergy abuse.

Matthew Felling: You try to keep a cool remove from most stories as a journalist, but in a story like this … is that even possible?

Sandra Hughes: What hit me the hardest in reporting this story is the raw emotion you see in the victims in these sexual abuse cases. These are now grown men and women, many are married and have families. It doesn't take them but just a few minutes if not a few seconds to start talking about their stories – something that happened to them 10, 20 years ago. And their emotions are still so raw, they're right there.

Matthew Felling: Do you do anything different to convey that to the viewers?

Sandra Hughes : No, you just let them talk for themselves. As a reporter, it's sometimes difficult to listen to these stories and not get emotional when you hear these sorts of things. But you have to sit back and let them tell their stories. One of the victims I spoke to, Steve Sanchez, his trial was supposed to start next Monday. I told him, 'This must be so difficult for you to talk about, especially on national TV.' And he said 'The more I talk about it, the better I feel. It's a release for me.'

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.