shakran

some media outlets do that, yes. I'm happy to say that I've never forced or unduly pressured anyone who's lost a loved one to talk.

I've covered PLENTY of funerals (most of the recent ones all thank's to Mr. Bush's war), and when someone doesn't want to talk, they don't talk. Period. My assignment editor can go to hell if he doesn't like it.

However, I've never had a problem telling the story because others WANT to talk. It's cathartic for them to talk to me, even if there is a giant Betacam pointed at them at the time.

I'm guessing Steve's manager was in that latter category. Sometimes when something horrifically tragic happens to you, you just have to talk about it. He probably also felt a big sense of duty to all of Steve's fans. So he talked. Should he have said Steve felt no pain? Maybe, maybe not. I've never lost a close friend after trying and failing to keep them alive for 30 minutes as we raced to shore. But I have a very close friend who I've known and worked with for over a decade and, if she were to die on me like that, I can't imagine I'd be thinking very straight for quite some time.

I certainly think calling the guy a douchebag and being that hard on him is way, WAY out of line. Perhaps you have sufficient control over your emotions that you can lock them away when you're simultaneously talking to the media and trying to make sense of what for you is an unbelievable personal tragedy. Many do not have that control. I would venture to say most of those that lack it, wouldn't want it. Part of what makes us human is the ability to feel emotions and to sometimes have those emotions eclipse our colder, more intellectual side.