With the recent tornado in Kansas and hurricane season just around the corner, it's important to think about how your organization would respond to a violent weather event.
In March, we put together a seminar called "Understanding Violent Weather" where, among other topics, we had print and broadcast reporters work together to create a plan for covering a violent weather event. We collected the ideas and put them in a tip sheet with suggestions on how to cover violent weather across all media. Take a look - you might be able to get some ideas to bring back to your newsroom.
Background: 15 reporters were divided into five teams of three and presented their plans to a panel of journalism professors from the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Oklahoma. While all the teams had some great ideas, the winners were the team of Bob Moore of Fox 6 in Milwaukee, Diane Allen of The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla. and Ed Fillmer, a freelance video journalist from Denver, Colo. Their prize was a box of chocolates, coffee from Starbucks and a global warming mug which depicts disappearing coastlines when hot water is added.
