![\"WSB\u2019s](\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\")
<\/a><\/p>\nCourtney Francisco brings empathy with her microphone and a camera operator as she chases breaking news from Athens to West Point for WSB-TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not there to just get your story; I\u2019m there to check on you,\u201d Francisco says. \u201cI\u2019m not one of those reporters that shows up with a camera and says, \u2018Will you talk to us about your pain?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Her approach to Troup County tornado coverage in January 2023, her second month in Atlanta, helped WSB win a pair of Southeast Emmys in June. \u201cThat felt great, validating,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to overlook the fact that it\u2019s because so many people lost so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one was killed in Troup, but 24 died in 2013 when a tornado ravaged Moore, Oklahoma. Three years out of the University of Kentucky, Francisco was there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were dads digging their dead third-graders out, crying,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Such stories take an emotional toll. Francisco says the TV industry is getting better at helping reporters cope with such stress. From her own experience, she touts the benefits of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, therapy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re making change, and (reporting) is what I turned out to be good at,\u201d Francisco says. \u201cIt\u2019s such a fragile, important job.\u201d<\/p>\n
A native of eastern Tennessee, Francisco followed a professor\u2019s advice to launch her career in the starter markets of Texas in 2010. After three months of being told her voice was \u201ctoo country\u201d or \u201ctoo flat,\u201d she caught a break when a pool-side stranger in Houston offered to connect her to a reporter friend in Tyler, Texas. Francisco was hired to cover Waco as a \u201cone-man band\u201d\u2014 working alone with the camera.<\/p>\n
She then moved to Beaumont, Texas, where she had to buy her own testing kit for an award winning investigation of a toxic waste disposal site.<\/p>\n
After Oklahoma City, Francisco spent five years in Charlotte, where she enjoyed her first taste of regular weekend anchoring.<\/p>\n
Then she did something different: She moved to El Salvador, where her brother was in the Peace Corps, to investigate the migrant crisis. If nothing else, she knew she would learn Spanish, which helps now in covering stories such as the abduction of 12-year-old Maria Gomez-Perez of Gainesville.<\/p>\n
She left El Salvador when her money ran out after four months, but a Cincinnati station came calling.<\/p>\n
She loved the city and had no intention of leaving. \u201cThen WSB called, and I can\u2019t turn that down. It\u2019s WSB,\u201d Francisco says. \u201cEvery insider in this industry knows that if you work for WSB, you can do anything. It\u2019s just an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 36, she\u2019s settled personally as well as professionally. Her boyfriend made the move with her to Buckhead, and with no children, she has time to window-shop at Lucy\u2019s Market and paddleboard and birdwatch at Lake Acworth.<\/p>\n
She also gets to look out for younger reporters, especially oneman bands. She\u2019s paying forward the mentorship veteran reporters provided in 2011 while covering the case of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be dangerous out there, and we have to watch out for each other,\u201d Francisco says. \u201cWhile we all want to scoop each other, we\u2019re all in this together.\u201d<\/p>\n
wsbtv.com
\n@cfran_tv<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WSB\u2019s Courtney Francisco wins awards while easing pain. Courtney Francisco brings empathy with her microphone and a camera operator as she chases breaking news from Athens to West Point for WSB-TV. \u201cI\u2019m not there to just get your story; I\u2019m there to check on you,\u201d Francisco says. \u201cI\u2019m not one of those reporters that shows…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":31145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[31665,449,21],"tags":[31875,31877,31876,31878,31874],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\n
HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH – Simply Buckhead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH – Simply Buckhead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WSB\u2019s Courtney Francisco wins awards while easing pain. Courtney Francisco brings empathy with her microphone and a camera operator as she chases breaking news from Athens to West Point for WSB-TV. \u201cI\u2019m not there to just get your story; I\u2019m there to check on you,\u201d Francisco says. \u201cI\u2019m not one of those reporters that shows…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Simply Buckhead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-26T15:00:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-24T11:24:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"733\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/chipjake\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SimplyBuckhead\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Jacobs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Simply Buckhead Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/simplybuckhead\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SimplyBuckhead\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Simply-Buckhead-Logo-22.png?fit=1290%2C650&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Simply-Buckhead-Logo-22.png?fit=1290%2C650&ssl=1\",\"width\":1290,\"height\":650,\"caption\":\"Simply Buckhead Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/\",\"name\":\"Simply Buckhead\",\"description\":\"Your Guide to Living Well in Atlanta\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1\",\"width\":733,\"height\":1100,\"caption\":\"WSB\u2019s Courtney Francisco\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/\",\"name\":\"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH – Simply Buckhead\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-26T15:00:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-24T11:24:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a70de5a32d56c431a95e0ec0aaff12da\"},\"headline\":\"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-26T15:00:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-24T11:24:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":563,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"@cfran_tv\",\"award winning investigation of a toxic waste disposal site\",\"case of Nidal Hasan\",\"WSB win a pair of Southeast Emmys\",\"WSB\u2019s Courtney Francisco\"],\"articleSection\":[\"OCTOBER 2024\",\"On Stage\",\"Simply A&E\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a70de5a32d56c431a95e0ec0aaff12da\",\"name\":\"Michael Jacobs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Michael-Jacobs-Bio-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Michael-Jacobs-Bio-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Michael Jacobs\"},\"description\":\"Jack-of-all-trades writer covering almost anything but beauty and fashion at Simply Buckhead; fond of flamingos and sloths.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/simplybuckhead\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/editormichaeljacobs\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/chipjake\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/author\/michaeljacobs\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH – Simply Buckhead","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH – Simply Buckhead","og_description":"WSB\u2019s Courtney Francisco wins awards while easing pain. Courtney Francisco brings empathy with her microphone and a camera operator as she chases breaking news from Athens to West Point for WSB-TV. \u201cI\u2019m not there to just get your story; I\u2019m there to check on you,\u201d Francisco says. \u201cI\u2019m not one of those reporters that shows…","og_url":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/","og_site_name":"Simply Buckhead","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL","article_published_time":"2024-09-26T15:00:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-24T11:24:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":733,"height":1100,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/chipjake","twitter_site":"@SimplyBuckhead","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Jacobs","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#organization","name":"Simply Buckhead Magazine","url":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/simplybuckhead\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/SimplyBuckhead"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Simply-Buckhead-Logo-22.png?fit=1290%2C650&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Simply-Buckhead-Logo-22.png?fit=1290%2C650&ssl=1","width":1290,"height":650,"caption":"Simply Buckhead Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/","name":"Simply Buckhead","description":"Your Guide to Living Well in Atlanta","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1","width":733,"height":1100,"caption":"WSB\u2019s Courtney Francisco"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/","name":"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH – Simply Buckhead","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2024-09-26T15:00:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-24T11:24:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a70de5a32d56c431a95e0ec0aaff12da"},"headline":"HARD NEWS, SOFT TOUCH","datePublished":"2024-09-26T15:00:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-24T11:24:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#webpage"},"wordCount":563,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1","keywords":["@cfran_tv","award winning investigation of a toxic waste disposal site","case of Nidal Hasan","WSB win a pair of Southeast Emmys","WSB\u2019s Courtney Francisco"],"articleSection":["OCTOBER 2024","On Stage","Simply A&E"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/hard-news-soft-touch\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a70de5a32d56c431a95e0ec0aaff12da","name":"Michael Jacobs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Michael-Jacobs-Bio-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Michael-Jacobs-Bio-96x96.jpg","caption":"Michael Jacobs"},"description":"Jack-of-all-trades writer covering almost anything but beauty and fashion at Simply Buckhead; fond of flamingos and sloths.","sameAs":["https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LivingWellATL","https:\/\/instagram.com\/simplybuckhead","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/editormichaeljacobs\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/chipjake"],"url":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/author\/michaeljacobs\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg?fit=733%2C1100&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59OHf-86k","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31146,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31144\/revisions\/31146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31144"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=31144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"WSB\u2019s](\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1-13.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n