OPINION: In tragic times ignorance can be bliss

There are some weeks when the world feels a bit sadder than others, Chloe Lyons writes.

Police divers looking for evidence at Jack Evans boat harbour after a baby girl was found dead on a Gold Coast beach. Picture: AAP - John Gass

THERE are some weeks when the world feels a bit sadder than others.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who hasn't been able to get the death of a nine-month-old girl, who washed up on a Gold Coast beach, out of my mind.

She was allegedly thrown into the water by her father in Tweed Heads but was carried by the current further north.

He is now facing a charge of murder.

One day later, in a separate incident, a four-month-old girl died in Logan in suspicious circumstances.

She was taken to the Logan Hospital on Monday morning with life-threatening injuries before being transferred the Queensland Children's Hospital where she later died.

Usually bad news washes over me like water off a duck's back, but for some reason these stories have stuck with me, although I'm sure the hardworking reporters following them feel a lot worse.

It can be hard working in journalism when such horrific things happen.

Unlike other people, we don't have the luxury of being able to ignore the news for a day when things get particularly awful.

We are often at the centre of the tragedy, talking to grieving families and members of the public who have been affected.

It is draining, but it always feels a bit ridiculous to compare your emotions to those of the people involved.

On weeks like this, it's hard to feel like there's any good in the world when everything you read is so heartbreaking.

But I can always look forward to the weekend when I can switch my phone off, ignore the evening news and indulge in a bit of ignorance.

Originally published as OPINION: In tragic times ignorance can be bliss