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2004 NFPW Conference
Planning vital when cover disasters
Reporters instinctively head for disasters.
Photographers and reporters often are among the first to arrive, even reaching the scene before emergency responders. But that could be the wrong reaction if they aren’t prepared for what they find, according to Gwenda Bond of the Kentucky Department of Public Health’s disaster preparedness division.
Whether the disaster is natural, man-made or an act of terrorism, the news media need to be ready to provide their audience with accurate, up-to-date information while protecting their staff’s physical health and mental well-being, said Bond, who provided some advice on disaster coverage at this year’s NFPW conference.
She said the risk of disasters happening is growing because of increases in population density, the number of people settling in high-risk areas, emerging infectious diseases, international travel, terrorism and technology glitches. The news media plays an important role in dealing with disasters because the public generally turns to them first for information, she said.
Bond recommends those covering a disaster should identify themselves as members of the news media and ask for the official spokesperson; learn what’s happening as quickly as possible so they can let people know whether the general public is at risk or the risk is limited to a specific area and group of people; find out whether they will need protective gear before entering the site; and provide their audiences with information, not speculation.
Newsrooms don’t need to stock up on emergency-response gear, mainly because it is expensive and a lot of it needs to be professionally fitted, she said. But the news media should have a good working relationship with their health department or first-responders group because those agencies usually will have extra gear for the media.
She had this advice if the news media are the first on a scene: Make sure emergency responders have been notified about the disaster; approach the scene cautiously from upwind; and weigh the inclination to rescue people or property against the possible dangers. News media members who think they may have been exposed to a chemical or biological agent should contact a health-care professional, even if they don’t have any symptoms.
“Do you really want to go home and expose your family because you don’t feel sick?” she asked.
The news media also need an emergency plan if their building becomes the site of a disaster, Bond said. She suggested the plan include sleeping arrangements and food for the staff; plans for communicating with the staff’s families; battery-powered radios and flashlights in case the electricity is disrupted; enough cell phones for the staff and other ways to communicate, such as two-way radios or landline phones, in case the cell phone network goes out; and procedures for providing the staff with immunizations and other health care.
- Ellen Crawford
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