Disaster and Crisis Coverage - International News Safety Institute

Disaster and Crisis Coverage
Also, be sure everyone knows what happens to days off, vacations, and
so on, if the plan is implemented.
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A “start-up guide” that anyone in the newsroom can follow to launch
immediate coverage.
Responsibilities and specific assignments for newsroom personnel.
Which reporters are most likely to be dispatched to the scene? Who will
stay in the office for rewrite and reporting by phone? The plan should
also assign duties to people from outside the newsroom to support the
news effort, such as answering phones or providing food.
A blank schedule to assign personnel to shifts (8 or 12 hours) for longerterm
coverage.
Contact information for emergency response officials, major public
institutions and independent experts on disaster-related topics.
Contact information for support personnel (freelancers, other news
organizations outside the disaster area) who might be needed to
supplement the newsroom’s staff.
Contacts for renting equipment on short notice (generators,
communications, transportation etc.)
Background information on disasters the newsroom might have to cover.
The Belgium-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiologies of
Disasters (http://www.cred.be/) maintains a comprehensive, searchable
database of emergency events that can help journalists evaluate the
likelihood of specific types of disasters in their country or region (http://
www.emdat.be/Database/terms.html).
Examples of disaster situations
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Natural disaster (hurricane, flood, tornado, blizzard, wildfire, earthquake,
volcano)
Accidents (plane crash, train derailment, bus crash, explosion, fire,
building collapse)
Hazardous material (chemical leak or spill, nuclear power plant accident)
Terrorism (biological, chemical, nuclear, conventional explosive)
Public safety (hostage taking, sniper attack, riot, disease pandemic)
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