The public face of Col. Russell Williams was very different from the picture painted in a Belleville, Ont., coutroom this week. (CBC)

For the past week or more, journalists at CBC News have met in small groups, anticipating covering the Col. Russell Williams court proceedings.

We knew the hearing would be disturbing, and we knew we would have access to more material than usual in these kinds of proceedings. It is rare we get permission to report live from inside a courtroom. How would we cover it?

But really, the first question is "Why do we cover it?"

We cover it because we can be your eyes and ears in a courtroom, and we are committed to as open a justice system as possible.

We cover it because there is a strong public interest (and yes, maybe some of it is prurient) as well as a real need to understand how someone in a position of such authority, a senior member of the Canadian armed forces, could also commit these crimes. And no one seemed to suspect a double life.

The reality turned out to be more shocking than any of us knew.

The juxtaposed images of a man in full military uniform and the same man in young girl’s lingerie is an extraordinary illustration of someone who lived a double life.

Ours is a minimalist approach; we want to reflect reality using as few details as possible. So we showed one full photo of Williams posing for his camera in women’s underwear, and others that were cropped to the head and shoulders, to convey his demeanor. And remember, the photos we have access to, provided to Canadian media agencies by justice officials in the interest of openness, are benign compared to the exhibits those sitting in the courtroom have seen.

On another note, I have just followed all the testimony about the death of Cpl. Marie France Comeau, presented Tuesday morning.

What you have read is only a fraction of the detail supplied. We continue to struggle with the right balance in what we choose to post and air. Some of the choices are governed by our journalistic principles and purpose as a public broadcaster; some by our own very human reactions.

Esther Enkin is the executive editor of CBC News.