This document provides guidance for student media on how to effectively cover major stories or disasters on campus. It recommends establishing emergency plans and contact lists in advance. When an event occurs, the key steps are to quickly assemble a team, staff the newsroom, assign roles like rewriting, and prioritize speed and depth of coverage. Outlets should use all available platforms to update coverage continuously and seek sources on social media. An effective package tells the full story through multiple articles, photos, maps and other graphics. Interactive features can help the community connect and heal. Mobile formats extend reach, and staff well-being should also be considered in the aftermath.

1. The Big Story
Rachele Kanigel
San Francisco State
University
ACP/CMA Summer Leadership & Management Conference

2. Types of Big Stories
Natural disasters -- hurricane,
earthquake, fire, tornado, flood
Man-made disasters – terrorist act,
major accident, serious crime
Major campus stories – a high-
ranking official or coach steps down,
scandal, suicide, disease outbreak

3. Collegiate Times
Virginia Tech

4. The Daily
Toreador
Texas Tech
University

5. The Daily
Collegian
Penn State
University

6. Before the event
Assemble a staff contact list
Develop a disaster plan
Create a breaking news culture
Create cooperative arrangements
with other campus media

7. As the news breaks
 Assemble a team
 Staff the newsroom
 Assign a rewrite person
 Keep your readers in mind
 Think visually

8. Think about SPEED and DEPTH

9. Report the news as it unfolds
 Post alerts on Facebook, Twitter
and your website as soon as you
know something
 Update website frequently
 Post photos on Instagram
 Stream video of events (press
conferences, vigils, memorial
events)

10. Use social media as a reporting
tool
Seek out sources on Facebook
and Twitter
Connect with experts on LinkedIn
Seek photos on Flickr
Put social media posts into
context; confirm whenever
possible

12. Plan a package
 Think beyond a single story – break
information into sidebars and infoboxes
 If there’s a strong visual element, use
multiple photos – in print, online or both
 Use maps, timelines and other
informational graphics to tell the story
 Create a logo for the package
 Include an index to direct readers

13. The Exponent
Purdue University

14. The Daily Orange
Syracuse University

15. Use interactive maps
Encourage the staff to:
Show the effects of a storm, earthquake, fire or
other natural disaster on a campus or community
Include photographs in the map
Show the path of a gunman or other threat to
the community
Plot emergency shelters, first-aid centers, open
stores and other services for victims

18. Use interactive features
Encourage the staff to:
Give the community discussion boards or other
online vehicles to share information and to vent
Set up or link to memorial sites for victims
Create discussion topics on related issues --
Should gun laws be changed? Did the campus
deal with the traumatic event responsibly?
Allow people to share their experiences --
where were you when the big one hit?

19. Mobile formats
Create news podcasts for people who
don’t have consistent access to
computers and/or electricity
Establish a mobile alert system
Think about how to link to users’ cell
phones and iPods

20. Serve your community
 Think about the problems this trauma has created
and how technology can help solve them.
 What voids can your news organization fill?
 Collect and share useful information
 Use new media to help people connect
 Package your coverage so readers have a one-
stop shop for information.

21. Following up
 Assess your coverage
 Brainstorm
 Editorialize
 Make space for letters
 Ask why
 Don’t drop the ball
 Mark important anniversaries

22. Daily Bruin
coverage the
week after a
major flood
on campus

23. The Daily
Wildcat’s
project on
gun violence
on the 13th
anniversary
of a mass
shooting.

24. Take care of your staff
 Get help from campus counseling
services
 Let students talk through their feelings
of covering a challenging story
 Use the Dart Center for Journalism &
Trauma resources at
http://www.dartcenter.org/

25. dartcenter.org

26. For more information on covering big
stories

27. Rachele Kanigel
rkanigel(at)gmail(dot)com
@JourProf
Contact