Why did Rick question his feelings about being a reporter after the Oklahoma City bombings?

The bombings were so upsetting that Rick never wanted to think about them, nor did he want to talk about them after he covered the story. One evening in Oklahoma City, he and other reporters discussed it over dinner.They did not know that one of the mothers who lost her child in the bombing was sitting within earshot. The woman was upset and her friends told them so. Rick apologized realizing that he felt badly, but he also understood that he had never felt ashamed of his career choice because it pulled him out of poverty, and he did his best to tell the real story with compassion.