News & Terrorism

Tips on Preparing for News Coverage of a Crisis

• Click here to download "Fifty Questions for Discussion about Planning and Logistics for Crisis Coverage".
• Click here to download RTNDA's Crisis Coverage Phone List Template.

By Bob Brooks, regional manager, CONUS Florida
Former operations manager, KFOR-TV, Oklahoma City
November 2001

• Don't think it won't happen to you. We now live in a completely different world than any of us have ever known. If you bury your head in the sand, you're not only risking your station's ability to cover the story effectively, you may be risking the lives of your staff.
• Make sure everyone understands what your station's priorities are. This can only come from the top (from above the department-head level).
• Have a disaster plan and a disaster manual. You probably already realize the importance of having a disaster plan. But your staff needs a disaster manual. Here's the difference: A disaster plan basically tells your staff what to do. A disaster manual is a resource book that tells them how to do what needs to be done. It contains information as opposed to instructions. For example, at your station does anyone, except the chief engineer, know whom at Harris to contact to get a replacement transmitter if yours is destroyed? What if the two highest ranking engineers, for whatever reason, can't help you? At your parent company, if the general manager is unavailable, whom do you call when disaster strikes? The disaster manual will have all the information needed to make sure your station can continue operating. Every department head should have a copy of this information in his or her office and home. There should be a copy in a secure place at the assignment desk and at the transmitter location.
• Periodically, back up all your computer records and store them off-site. If your facility is destroyed, these back-up records could keep your station from losing millions of dollars.
• In the middle of the emergency, let people do their jobs. You hired them. Look at your staff now. If they aren't the ones you're willing to trust in a disaster, then NOW is the time to make appropriate changes.
• Ask for help. The earlier, the better. Your station likely is staffed just for what it takes to handle everyday operations. Assuming that to be the case, then your station is NOT staffed for an all-out disaster. Look for help from sister stations, from your network and affiliate stations. Interesting side note: Don't be surprised when folks you haven't seen in years come walking in the back door looking to help. In Oklahoma City, we had former employees (one coming from as far away as Austin, Texas) showing up unannounced because they knew we'd need help. (And, you bet, we put 'em to work.)
• Photographers should take their gear home. They might not be able to get back to the station. If your policy is that news photographers leave their gear at the station, change your policy. We had the first video of the OKC bombing because an off-duty photographer just happened to be downtown (with his gear) on personal business.
• Think ahead. When you see predictions of thunderstorms two days out, make sure that folks in the field get some rain gear. Make it part of the culture of your station to avoid saying, "I'll fill the car up with gas tomorrow" or "I'll get some fresh batteries tomorrow." Terrorists are not hurricanes; they don't give you a three-day chance to make preparations.
• Make sure your folks can get what they need in the field. MONEY! CASH! Electricity may be out, ATMs may not work and banks may be closed. And the person with the generator you need, or the footage you want, may not take your credit card. During the OKC bombing, our business manager became part of the Assignment Desk.
• Have some emergency "rations" on hand at the station. Think ahead. FOOD! Few things can affect morale as quickly, or as negatively, as hunger. Put your sales folks to work taking care of people. Plus, you may not know it, but you probably have somebody on your staff who, for medical reasons, MUST eat. Does your station operate a bureau in another city? Make sure they have access to all the same resources that the main facility has.
• Think about how to get back to normal when it's over. A marathon stint in a disaster deserves some time off. And don't be lured into the typical management mindset that overtime is compensation enough. One of the things we faced after the OKC bombing was a strong feeling of "anti-climax" when it was over. This was the story we'd trained all our lives to cover; what could possibly be next? (Little did we know.) After a story of this magnitude, understand that three-car pile-up on the freeway is going to look pretty insignificant. And people aren't going to want to cover it; it doesn't mean anything any more. Your staff may have seen a lot of death and destruction. Bring in some counseling and encourage people to talk. Perhaps you might want to set the example yourself. You aren't exempt from effects of something like this either.