Many newsrooms are well-prepared to cover a major disaster. They have a plan in place, they practice it often, and they’ve used it more than once. But others either don’t have a plan or can’t remember where they put the one that somebody (who no longer works there) put together years ago. There’s no time like the present to develop or update a comprehensive plan for how your newsroom will handle a crisis.
We’ve pulled together some tips (at the request of one newsroom), with help from several local stations. Let us know if this helps you, and if you have any other advice to add, send it along.
Learn as you plan. Assess what kinds of disasters might happen in your area and how likely they are. Look back at what’s happened in the past to see what sort of damage was caused and how authorities responded. Meet with a few experts who can help you imagine what could happen in future. Get together with disaster response officials in your area to learn more about their plans for dealing with emergencies.
Put a group to work. The group should include people from across the station, not just from news but also from engineering and facilities. You’ll want a comprehensive plan for the entire station. Look not only at how your news crews will respond, but how your station might handle a blackout or other service disruptions. How will you stay on the air if the transmitter is affected? Is there an alternate site you can broadcast from? What will you do for emergency power? Will that source power your computers, or should you have a backup plan for scripts? Some newsrooms keep old manual typewriters stashed away, just in case.
Organize contact information. Make sure your assignment desk has an up-to-date and complete staff roster, both on computer and hard-copy. The roster should note exactly where people live (a map can be helpful), and other critical information (has camera gear at home, drives a 4-wheel SUV, wife is a doctor, etc.) You also might want to create a laminated card with key names and numbers for all staff members to keep with them.
Map the community. That big coverage area map on the newsroom wall: How long has it been hanging there? If it’s more than five years old, chances are there are new streets and housing developments it doesn’t list. If it’s older than 10 years, there may be whole communities missing. In a crisis, having a few extra pocket maps at the desk can save a lot of time and effort. You can hand one to the intern who’s been pressed into service couriering tapes back and forth and another to the AD who’s trying to make a graphic of the path of a tornado. Take a look at the topographical maps the engineers use to bring in microwave shots. Look for new places to put your microwave truck in case the usual spots are inaccessible.
Review your routines. When and where do you refuel your news vehicles? If you only use one gas station, you could be in trouble if it’s closed down. When are batteries put on charge? Make it a station-wide habit to check gear daily. Prepare for the possibility that, during a disaster, employees may spend long hours at the station, and some family members may come with them. Do you have cots? Food? Water? Blankets? Foul weather gear? Flashlights? Batteries? What about first aid kits? Do you have enough at the station and/or in news cars? What else should you stockpile? Who will check the inventory and how frequently? Also, be sure everyone knows what happens to days off, vacations, and so on, if the plan is implemented.
Update your systems. Make sure that everyone who deals with audio knows how to patch a phone call through to air. Make sure that everyone on your desk knows how to get an incoming call switched to the control room or to the number you use for live phoners. Make sure the computer and monitor in the studio are up-to-date and fast enough so anchors can get information quickly.
Examine key questions. Hold an internal, top-level meeting to determine what your station’s role should be in the event of a disaster (and what kind of disaster)–when you would take air, on whose authority, how long you might suspend commercials, when you should return to the network, etc. This is crucial, so you aren’t being second-guessed while also trying to run a news operation.
Spell out the plan. Detail how people will be notified and what is expected of them. All of them. Use an all-page system to get in touch with those on pagers. Give everyone a special phone number to call in case they can’t be paged, or create a phone tree to get the word out. Give everyone an assignment and a place to report in the event of a disaster. Create on-call schedules to cover your newsroom at all times. Have a back-up plan for renting extra equipment, putting people up in hotels, and bringing in personnel from other stations in your group, if applicable.
Prepare personnel. Remember to send people home so you don’t exhaust everyone in the first 48 hours. Assign reporters according to expertise and coverage areas, like medical, consumer, and public safety. Take a tip from WCBD-TV in Charleston, SC, which has a 40-page plan for dealing with disasters like hurricanes that often strike the area. The station keeps a large freezer of food on hand. Sales department staffers are assigned as cooks to feed staffers who are working a storm. Traffic department employees move into the newsroom to answer phones, freeing the news staff to focus on coverage.
Practice the plan. The plan should be written down and provided to everyone–not just managers and not just news personnel. By all means, put it in the computer system, but create a paper version too and keep multiple copies on hand. Make sure you review the plan every six months or so, and update it as you need to. Discuss it when you have regular meetings, to be sure it’s fresh in people’s minds, and that new staff are aware of what it entails. Then practice it on a regular, unannounced basis.
