A case study exercise in covering a big breaking story in print and online.

1. Covering Breaking News
Across Platforms
Michael Roberts, The Arizona Republic

2. Breaking news across platforms
1. Post first
2. Establish online presence
3. Establish day plan for online & print
4. Pursue online plan, continue to deepen
5. Commit to print plan and execute
6. Overnight online

3. Phoenix helicopter crash

4. 1: POST FIRST
Post: Get the first news post, image, or video up as soon
as possible
Launch coverage: Reporters, photographers, editors,
online producers.
Responsibilities: Designate rewrite person (off TV-radio;
media alerts; phone calls; e-mail) and copy editor; person
to handle e-mail alerts and textcast messages; producer
to build and update slide shows and other immediate
online content. Identify one editor as content coordinator
for both online and print.

5. 2: ESTABLISH ONLINE PRESENCE
Plan: Brainstorm and identify online elements: News
posts; news blog; images (photo; video); stories; reader-
submitted photos / video; Goggle mapping; interactive
elements; data sets.
Post & broadcast: Reach audiences on all platforms:
Textcast (i.e. PDAs; cell phones); e-mail newsletter alerts.
Open channels: Establish, as appropriate, chats, guest
books, e-mail inbox.

6. 2: ESTABLISH ONLINE PRESENCE (CONT.)
Aggregate: Create first set of related links, to be
embedded in all articles dealing with the story. Can
include other online elements, related web sites.
Responsibilities: Set clear responsibilities for digital
media staff, who owns which piece, how to communicate
with each other.
Home page: Change homepage template (if appropriate)
to reflect big, breaking story. Arrange for more server
capacity ahead of time.

7. 3: ESTABLISH DAY PLAN FOR ONLINE & PRINT
Plan: While responding to events as they happen,
develop a day plan for online package and print package
and how to make best use of available resources for both.
Identify content / function of each piece, elements that
compliment versus repeat each other. Create a
preliminary story / content budget list everyone can see.
Include (and update) rolling deadlines for all elements for
online and print.

8. 3: ESTABLISH DAY PLAN FOR ONLINE & PRINT
(CONT.)
Aggregate: Create story slugs or takes in the system to
centralize incoming news, color, quotes, and sources with
contact information. Material can be used online or in
print.
Responsibilities: Create an expanded staffing /
responsibility list everyone can see, with contact numbers,
pagers, etc. Identify lead editor(s).

9. 4: PURSUE ONLINE PLAN AND CONTINUE TO
DEEPEN
Build: As online settles into coverage plan, freshen
material as the day continues. Develop quality of each
piece, adding and updating. Include more sophisticated
features such as staff-generated graphics / maps, flash
interactives, slide shows, video.
Aggregate: Continue to add core links; material from staff
and appropriate outside links.

10. 5: COMMIT TO PRINT PLAN AND EXECUTE
Plan: With online coverage as a base, evaluate earlier
print plan and adjust as needed. Develop a plan for
second day coverage as well. Update budget and rolling
deadlines.
Edit: Build on online material. Advance story in print,
versus repeating news posted online.
Report: In addition to reporters in the field, track down
potential sources from online chats, e-mails, photos and
other content generated by online for possible print use.

11. 6: OVERNIGHT ONLINE
Plan: Identifying elements of immediacy / urgency that
need to be refreshed through the night and in the morning.
Update site as news cycle changes to morning, with
stories and visuals. Maintain links to related material.
Continue brainstorming and extension of rolling deadlines
for online coverage going into the next day.
Responsibilities: Continue to update budget and staffing
responsibilities.

12. Exercise

13. 10 am
Tanker truck rolls in accident at the
busiest intersection (or freeway
exchange) blocking all traffic.

14. 1: POST FIRST
What are the first sources of information?
What are the first images?
Who will do what?

15. 10:30 am
School bus with high school
marching band is badly damaged
by tanker in accident, along with 5
other cars and an SUV. EMS on the
way. Tanker labeled as carrier of
harsh herbicide. One caller says
there is a bad chemical smell.

16. 2: ESTABLISH ONLINE PRESENCE
What will be is the online plan or budget?
What multimedia / web functions will you
have?

17. 11 am
SUV contains the governor and an
aide, both trapped inside vehicle but
alive. TV says woman in another car
appears to be dead. People on the
scene try to free band from bus as fire
and EMS arrive. State police cordon
off area. Cel phone images reach
news tip line email.

18. 3: ESTABLISH DAY PLAN FOR ONLINE
& PRINT
What will be the focus online coverage by
afternoon or evening?
What will be the focus of print coverage in
next day’s newspaper?

19. 1 pm
Governor is freed from SUV, walks to
ambulance. Female in SUV is lifted out on
stretcher. Police issue an alert for man
seen running from scene, believed to be
the driver of another car involved in the
accident. Woman confirmed dead.
Everyone else involved injured.

20. 4: PURSUE ONLINE PLAN AND CONTINUE
TO DEEPEN
What material is core of package?
What other sites or material can be linked?

21. 2 pm
Police say harsh smell unrelated to
accident; no leakage from tanker. Names
of all injured released. High school
marching band boards replacement bus
and continues to game.

22. 5: COMMIT TO PRINT PLAN AND EXECUTE
What material will be core of print coverage?