"It took a lot of courage to do that."
John Drury, 1927-2007
September 15, 2015
Ms. Jennifer Graves
WLS-TV Vice President and News Director
190 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60601
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for always going to bat for me to get my special segment ideas approved, especially my Fellowship with The Carter Center's Mental Health Journalism Program.
Your actions helped many people and saved lives.
You're one of the only News Directors who gets it; reporting on so-called taboo topics like suicide, preventing it, anything related to mental health and mental illness, is a win-win for everyone. The policy still held in most newsrooms and by most people -- never to discuss suicide for fear it could give people the idea and cause copycat suicides -- is wrong.
Such reporting educates the public, reduces ignorance and ends stigma.
It's true for every subject in the news. Why would mental health/illness be different? It's not.
It also attracts new viewers. Every one of our mental health reports did as well or better than average in the overnight ratings.
Thank you also for a great gift -- honoring my mother, Diane Marcus Roy.
For that, you will always be a hero to me. As John Drury said at the end of "A Son of Suicide,"
"It took a lot of courage to do that."
Congratulations! For that and so much more, you're the first member of my "Wall of Courage."
Sincerely,
Kevin Robert Marcus Roy
760.844.3802
619.247.3775
www.KevinMarcusRoy.com
