Unspoken

MONDAY, DECEMBER 3

There was no new trip to Gotland for Johan. It’s just as well, he thought grimly. He hadn’t heard a word from Emma all weekend. And yet they had just had such a cozy time together. He couldn’t figure her out. If only she hadn’t started to waver again.

At the moment Gotland seemed far away, also in terms of his work. Just as Grenfors finally seemed to be paying attention to the Gotland murder case, the police had reached an impasse. And besides, an act of madness had occurred at Stockholm’s Medborgarplatsen in Sodermalm at the very same time. Late on Monday afternoon, the newsroom learned that a madman had gone berserk with a crowbar, killing at least one person. Five others were injured, including an infant. Regional News was tipped off about the event practically as it was happening. Johan immediately took off with a camerawoman. In the car on the way there, he sat with his cell phone pressed to his ear, alternating between talking to the duty officer, emergency services, and the newsroom.

The camerawoman drove swiftly and expertly through the traffic, constantly changing lanes to gain time and occasionally making an illegal move, which was necessary for anyone who wanted to make good time. At Medborgarplatsen she brazenly parked the car right on the open square and instantly pulled out her camera.

Ambulances and police cars were on the scene. The police were starting to cordon off the area, and crowds of people watched in dismay as medics tended to the wounded.

Johan interviewed both the police and witnesses, who said that the man, without any sort of provocation, had started attacking anyone who happened to cross his path. Finally he threw down the iron bar and disappeared down the stairs to the subway station at Bjorn’s Garden. All traffic had been halted, and the police were searching the subway cars and platforms, using dogs.

The newsroom was seething with activity when Johan returned. Grenfors was talking on two phones at once, the program producer was running between video-editing machines to make sure the reports were all ready on time while he also kept in contact with the national news program, which of course was also working intently on the drama in Sodermalm.

The idea was for the news programs to collaborate; interviews were divided up among the reporters, clips were exchanged back and forth. The Regional News footage was much in demand, since their camerawoman had been first on the scene. The producer was busy lining up appropriate individuals to interview live in the studio. The county police commissioner was called in, along with the head of the homeless shelter, since many people had gotten the impression that the man who had gone amok was homeless. In the meantime, he was still at large.

Regional News sent a direct feed from Medborgar-platsen. People had started arriving there to light candles and torches and to leave flowers. The casualty count was now at two, since the infant had died from his injuries.

On his way home in the subway, Johan was again struck by the unusual working conditions of journalists. When the most horrible events occurred, they had to set aside their own feelings because their first priority was to report the story. Their professional role took over, but it had nothing to do with a hyena mentality, as some people scornfully implied when they poured out their venom at the media. Johan thought that, like himself, most journalists were driven by a desire to get the story-it was that simple. It was all a matter of reporting, as quickly and accurately as possible, what had happened. It was each reporter’s responsibility to gather as much material as he could in order to present the best possible report.

Back in the newsroom, they went through all the material, discussing it with the editors. What was relevant to include in the broadcast and what was not? All close-ups of the wounded were omitted, interviews with people who were clearly in shock were rejected, and anything that was considered an invasion of privacy was cut.

Each day was a new day with more ethical discussions. And behind each news story there was careful deliberation, especially in the case of stories of a sensitive nature, such as this one. Of course there were occasional oversights when a name or a photo was broadcast that should not have been made public; the editors didn’t always see the story before it was shown, since time was often tight. Yet for the most part, things went smoothly with regard to the ethical rules that applied to all journalists. Of course, there was always the occasional rotten egg who crossed the prescribed boundaries. Some TV stations and newspapers had stretched those boundaries rather far, but still, this applied to only a handful of reporters.