In the near quarter century that Michelle Maluske has reported on news as a video journalist with CTV News Windsor in Ontario, she has reported on a wide variety of traumatic events. From shadowing paramedics as they went from call to call several years ago, to a high-profile and trauma-filled murder trial and sentencing hearing in the weeks and months before this conversation was recorded, Michelle’s work has had a deep impact on her life.

“I was overcome with emotion, and I did start to cry to the point I couldn’t talk. And I was embarrassed for a moment,” Michelle says of her experience covering the victim impact statements for a man who murdered four members of a London, Ontario family simply because they were Muslim. “And then I thought, ‘No, this is real emotion. And I may be a reporter, but I’m allowed to feel.’”

Not only was it a highly emotional court case. It was an extremely high profile, garnering national and international interest. This meant Michelle was not only filing stories for her local newscast; she was also doing hits with stations across the country and had very little time to process what she was witnessing and feeling throughout the long days.

Acknowledging that some people view crime reporters as “vultures” and “ambulance chasers,” Michelle puts a human face to the trauma beat. “It costs me nothing to be kind to these people whose lives have been exposed forever,” she says. “I want people to give us the benefit of the doubt. We’re not terrible people.”

As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process.

This conversation was recorded in February 2024.

For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.