Disaster,

Weather &

Tragedies

Hazards of the job

● Journalists can experience PTSD

just as military, police, fire,

doctors, and nurses can – have

to put own feelings aside to get

the job done.

● Dart Center for Journalism and

Trauma (www.dartcenter.org)

helps journalists cope with PTSD

– also, Poynter Institute has an

online course on journalists and

coping with trauma.

Divorcing your emotions

Journalists are in the

zone, working on big

stories. They divorce

themselves from the

suffering and stay

focused on recording

the truth.

Covering 9/11

AP photographer Richard

Drew captured a haunting

image of a man falling

headfirst from one of the twin

towers of the World Trade

Center. It became subject of

ethical discussions in

newsrooms as editors

debated whether to use it.

Many chose to. What would

you do?

Reporting techniques

Most major papers have plans for covering

disasters – know them and who has

responsibilities for what and where.

If your city has a disaster plan, a good follow-up

story is to check whether the plan was effective.

Basic procedures before leaving

● Check a map to see what routes lead to the

scene – what are the alternative routes?

● Find out if temporary headquarters have

been established for officials and media.

● Make sure you have all right email

addresses and phone numbers of editors

and others; charge your cell phone.

● Take proper clothing and extras, emergency

rations, emergency kit supplies.

● Have a full tank of gas.

● Bring plenty of notebooks, pens and pencils.

Handling the chaos In a disaster, chaos reigns,

the news changes

momentarily, death toll often

changes radically within the

first few hours. You get the

best information you can

from eyewitnesses and

officials and then check

back repeatedly for updates.

Tips & tricks

Get basics but also specifics – numbers of people killed or injured or

evacuated.

● Think human interest – how did people cope? Survive? What are their

personal tragedies?

● Think about the chronology of the incident.

● Think about helpful information in empowerment boxes – where can

people get help? Donate blood or volunteer their services?

Sidebars

Sidebar - a story that gives readers new information or

more information than the main story can provide. It

should not repeat info in main story. ● Main story is comprehensive; sidebar should be narrowly focused on

one topic.

● Sidebars stand alone as stories so they need a reference to the main

story, just a line or two about the disaster, crash or other event.

● Use storytelling techniques to make them more compelling and vivid

Sidebar story ideas

● Helpfulness – give readers info such as alternate routes if

roads are affected

● Human interest – is there a compelling or unusual story

● Perspective – history of other disasters of this type?

● Location – something compelling about scene?

● Analysis – perhaps of the local disaster plan

● Other angles – rescue efforts, previous problems with that

kind of aircraft if an airplane crash

Graphics

Almost all disaster stories have

graphics – maps, charts,

timelines, illustrations, etc.

Graphics artist depends on

journalists to supply the

information – intersection where

accident occurred, chronology

of minutes and hours, etc.

Disaster basics

● 5 Ws

● Weather if a factor

● Where people go in case of evacuation

● Hospitals

● Disaster scene – get details of scene – emotions, sight, sounds

● Estimated cost of damages and property loss

● Eyewitness accounts

● Government agencies involved – National Transportation

Safety Board or Federal Aviation Administration

● Consumer information – where to give blood, get help, etc.

Disaster basics

● Red Cross and shelters

● Safety precautions

● Roads

● Survivors’ and victims’ names

● Crime

● Perspective

● Background

● Medical examiner/coroner

Example - http://www.wsj.com/articles/strong-earthquake-strikes-central-nepal-1429944379

Interviewing grief stricken people ● Makes the news event more real and significant

● Some see talking about their loved one as cathartic

● People relate to other people

● What if the person hangs up on me? Try Edna Buchanan technique – call the person

back and suggest you were disconnected. Or try a different person like a neighbor or

anyone in the house

● What questions do I ask? NOT – “how do you feel about your son’s death?” Instead, ask

specific questions about what the person was like – biographical questions. What was the

person planning or where was he/she going?

● Introduce yourself and you could also offer your condolences

● What if I start to cry? Be sincere, try not to weep

● What if person starts to cry? Stop interview; ask if you can come back later

● What if I say something insensitive – apologize

● Why interview people in times of grief? These types of stories make a news event more

significant and real to readers. People relate to other people, not vague generalities.

o For some people, it’s cathartic to talk about the people they’ve lost but for others,

grief is very private

Follow up stories

● All major disasters require follow-up stories for many

days.

● Second-day story should attempt to explain the cause

● If cause still isn’t clear, lead with what officials are

investigating

● If no new information, describe cleanup efforts

● Death toll should remain in the lead or close to it,

especially if it has changed

● You still need to mention what happened, high in the

story on second day, lower in subsequent stories

● Other follow-up stories could focus on:

o rescue efforts

o costs of rebuilding

o human-interest elements

Plane crashes

● One of first concerns is how many dead

and injured

● Get eyewitness accounts

● Reactions from relatives or people at

the airport

● Airline specifics such as name of

airline, flight number, type of plane and

number of engines, especially for small

planes and final destination sites

● Get perspective – how many plane

crashes of this type in recent years or

how this crash ranks in severity

● Comments from air controllers.

Natural disasters

● Besides the usual basics (death toll,

survivors, eyewitness accounts) get

information about natural forces.

at work such as weather conditions

● Get specifics – how high the flood,

how strong the wind, magnitude of

earthquake, etc.

● Find out where people are sheltered.

● Insurance issues

● Street conditions and utilities

● Sanitary conditions and food/water

availability

Weather stories

● Not always fall into disaster coverage

● Could be just prolonged heat, cold, wet

or dry spells or just a statistical roundup

of rain or snow to date

● Forecast – include for next day or

extended periods, esp. for prolonged

conditions such as flood or drought

● Unusual angles- especially if unusual

for the area or a particular time of year

● Human interest – how are people

coping

Weather stories

● Warnings – how to be safe in extreme temps or flooding, etc.

● Records

● Terms – make sure it really is a hurricane or blizzard if you

use that term, define flood stages or how strong wind must

be to be a hurricane