Case Study 2

The massacre that occurred in Tucson, Ariz., last Saturday has caused many questions to surface about news reporting. One of them is how to be prepared to report a sudden crisis quickly and accurately. My group, the Queens, said our media organization would immediately send a reporter and photographer to the scene of the incident. We know that presently, reporters are often expected to take pictures in addition to reporting; however, in the event of a crisis, we believe that ideally a photographer needs to be there to take as many photos as possible and a reporter should be there to gather as much accurate news as possible. Primarily, the reporter needs to ask the basic news questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? So what? The photographer should be photographing answers to these questions as well. We also noted that both of these individuals need to be prepared to wait for information to be released from the bureaucratic entities involved. They are also in the information-gathering stages in the event of a crisis. After the initial news break, two to three more reporters should be sent out to begin getting background information on others involved in the crisis, while the original reporter maintains updates on the core newsworthy event and details the scene. Background information on the suspect is vital; however, it should be all information instead of speculation. The Internet is a fantastic source for immediate background information on individuals involved. By visiting social networking and video sites, reporters can learn vast amounts of information on individuals quickly. However, it is important to download and save this information for access later, as it might be removed from the Internet as time after the crisis passes.
Team Queen said that in our hypothetical news organization, a phone number list from most available to least available reporters - such as those with families - should be able to be easily accessed. A phone tree should also be established for crisis events.
Here are some examples of how The New York Times handled the Tucson massacre:
Michael D. Shear kelp a live blog.
Marc Lacey and David M. Herszenhorn wrote a news story for the following day.
Joe Sharkey wrote a news story from Gifford's office in Arizona.
Jennifer Steinhauer wrote a news story from Washington, D.C. about Gifford's politics.