Being a TV news reporter is hard. It\u2019s not just the insane hours, rising at 2 a.m. to work the morning shift, or missing important weddings and birthdays, or never having the same days off as your partner, or being told by hurtful trolls on social media that you need to lose weight or change your hairstyle \u2014 right after you just got back from covering a blizzard where you were pelted in the face by snowflakes the size of chicken pot pies. But the most difficult part, says Juliana Mazza \u201913 (CLAS), reporter and morning anchor at WHDH 7 in Boston, is being human.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard, meeting people at the lowest moment in their life, where they\u2019re facing unspeakable tragedy, somebody who is on their knees in tears, and it\u2019s your job to talk to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes you hold the mike, and sometimes you hold the person.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a story on Christmas Day,\u201d says Mazza. \u201cI was working in New Orleans, and I got sent to cover an awful car crash.\u201d The sole survivor was the father. He lost his two-year-old, his fianc\u00e9e, and their unborn child.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called him in the hospital, and he wanted to talk about how incredible his fianc\u00e9e was, how beautiful their child was. I think he found it helpful, being able to make sure that people knew she was perfect. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever cried so much \u2014 that was the hardest day I\u2019ve ever had. My boss called me and asked me if I was okay, because in my live shot from the crash, I looked devastated. Because I was. A big part of being on TV is being genuine. I\u2019m an emotional person. I\u2019m not gonna try to come out and be crazy tough. It took me a while to realize that it\u2019s okay for me to be who I am, and it\u2019s okay for people to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n