America seldom sees a story as terrible as the Fort Hood shootings this week. Quickly, the story led to the wall-to-wall coverage we have come to expect from cable TV news.

I am no expert on how TV news mobilizes, but I do know how newspapers throw reporters and other resources at a story such as this. These stories generally are about people who are not well known to the whole community. But their lives are important and when they are thrust into the news, we want to tell readers who they are and what they hold dear. The two young Utahns we tell about in our stories are idealistic and willing to defend their country.

Shortly after the incident happened on Thursday, our Web site -- sltrib.com -- reported on the shooting. "I saw the news on TV and then went to the wires where Reuters had a story. We had to write short reports on what the various wire services said, until The Associated Press finally moved a story," explains Michael Nakoryakov, an sltrib.com editor.

Getting the names of victims of the shooting was more problematic. If media waited until the Department of Defense released them, we would still be waiting. But Friday morning The Salt Lake Tribune discovered that one of the deceased was from West Jordan.

Elizabeth Neff is the news editor who coordinated the Tribune efforts:

"The people who start the news day at The Salt Lake Tribune are our Web staff, part of the breaking news team. At 6 a.m., reporter Bob Mims spotted on the Web site of the Ogden Standard-Examiner that a young man from Ogden, Joey Foster, was injured. He posted our first Web story, which was updated throughout the day. He also e-mailed the Justice team, including military reporter Matthew LaPlante.

"LaPlante and reporter Lindsay Whitehurst, in at 7 a.m., began searching for Foster's mother. LaPlante contacted Aggie Foster and interviewed her about her conversation with her son after the shootings.

"The team quickly expanded as The Tribune learned of a second Utah tie: Nineteen-year-old Aaron Nemelka of West Jordan was among the 13 dead. By afternoon, Chris Smart was helping with the reporting on Foster; Whitehurst and education reporter Brian Maffly were searching for classmates of Nemelka, a 2008 graduate of West Jordan High School; and reporter Melinda Rogers and photographer Rick Egan were at the Foster family home, where relatives were graciously sharing photographs and speaking briefly with reporters. LaPlante, while continuing to report, began drafting the print version of the stories.

"Editors in the office --- Neff, Scott Sherman and Sheila McCann -- helped with research, reporting, took Web updates from reporters throughout the day and coordinated copy for the Web and the next day's newspaper.

Neff and LaPLante put together a story for the Web. It began:

"A 19-year-old Utah man was killed in Thursday's massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.

"Aaron Thomas Nemelka is among the dead, relatives at his family's West Jordan home confirmed."

That was the beginning of a story that expanded almost minute by minute.

LaPlante filed a story on the man from Ogden, who was wounded. It began:

"Aggie Foster was bracing herself for the year to come, when two of her sons were due to be deployed to Afghanistan. And that was worry enough.

"She had little reason to worry about what could happen to them before they deployed.

"But Foster's son, Joey, was among dozens of wounded in a Thursday melee at Fort Hood, Texas. The 21-year-old private first class from Ogden was shot in the hip, but is expected to make a full recovery."

That story, too, will continue to grow.

Neff, Rogers and Sherman posted an update on Nemelka at 2:36:39 p.m. It started:

"Aaron Thomas Nemelka had big plans before his deployment to Iraq: Christmas with his family in West Jordan, and a marriage proposal for his girlfriend.

" 'He was excited,' said Lindsey Nemelka, his sister-in-law. 'He had the ring.' "

This kind of reporting is sad duty. It involves witnessing profound grief in order to get comment from family and friends. I remember years ago in Utah a weekend when five little girls crawled into the trunk of a car and suffocated. Several reporters went out to the West Valley location asking for comments and photographs. When they came back to the office, one of them was composing a story with tears in her eyes.

It is never easy to do, but it is surprising how many of the families want to talk about the deceased -- how generous they were, how much they loved life, how wonderful their children were, what kind of people they had become.

Reader Advocate's number is 801-257-8782. Write to Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, Suite 700, 90 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. E-mail: reader.advocate@sltrib.com