At Memorial for Slain TV Journalists, WDBJ7 GM Urges More Attention to Mental Health

A memorial service was held at a Virginia church for two journalists who were slain on live TV this week.

WDBJ7, the station where Alison Parker and Adam Ward worked, said the interfaith service was being held at Roanoke's Jefferson Center, where station general manager Jeff Marks spoke.

"I've given many talks over the years, never with so heavy a heart," he said.

While they were filming a live segment on local tourism on Wednesday, August 26, Parker and Ward were fatally shot by a former employee of WDBJ, Vester Flanagan, who fled the scene and later turned his gun on himself. He died in a hospital later that day.

The jarring on-air shooting captured the nation's attention and deeply affected the Roanoke TV station where Parker and Ward worked – Ward's fiancee was working in the control room when the shots were fired.

At the Sunday service, Marks spoke about the need for American society to deal better and more directly with anger, and angry people, echoing comments he said he made to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Anger untreated by mental health services can have "catastrophic" consequences, as evidenced by Wednesday's shooting, Marks said.

"Services exist and we must use them for ourselves and for those we know who have uncontrolled anger. We must learn to speak directly to anger: 'You are angry and that must make you feel awful.'"

He recounted his memories of Parker, a reporter, and cameraman Ward, who he said almost never got angry, and never let it fester. Their mission was to "awaken us as to what is good and fun in life," he said.

Ward liked to play a game where he hid a candy wrapper on set in the morning, waiting to see if weatherman Leo Hirsbrunner could uncover it, Marks said.

Hirsbrunner found one Wednesday, he added.

Marks spoke of the slain journalists's families, and ended with his own lament: "I want to play softball with Adam again, and I want to see Alison dance. And I will, in the wonderful memories they gave me; [that] they gave us."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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