In every newsroom I’ve worked in there’s always been a saying that when weather is the dominating news event “everyone is a reporter.”
Over the course of my journalism career at various news organizations, coverage of weather has always been something that united not only the newsroom but other departments of the business as well. When Mother Nature brings distress, a focus on content, delivery and customer service becomes a top priority for everyone, regardless of title or rank.
And so was the case over the last couple of weeks here at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as the metro area was faced with days of winter weather uncertainty.
Like everyone, our reporters and editors anxiously braced for winter weather, still scarred by what was dubbed last year as “Snowmageddon.”
From decisions about school closings to issues related to traffic and commuting and response from state and local leaders, journalists recognize that weather is something our audience is concerned about. Over the last two weeks, stories related to weather have been the top content driver on our websites.
Covering a bad weather event takes a lot of coordination and planning. Our staff is dedicated. Reporters and editors here worked nearly around the clock, some prepared to sleep in the newsroom or at area hotels to be in the office to update our digital products with the latest on the weather and make sure the printed edition had the most informative and in-depth stories.
Sometimes our best plans never get executed because the weather never comes as expected. We depend on the Channel 2 Severe Weather Team, our Cox Media Group television news partner, to keep us informed on the latest weather conditions. Though it can be painful to set up staff coverage for a big weather event that falls short, every threat calls for the same level of planning because you just never know. We always want to be ready and overprepared. It’s much easier to scale back than it is to try to ramp up coverage and get resources in place at the last minute. No one was prepared for instance when metro Atlantans were stranded for double-digit hours on the highways during the January winter storm of 2014 that gridlocked the area.
During a weather planning phone call last week here in our newsroom, Deputy Managing Editor Leroy Chapman said “our job is to focus on two things for our audience: accountability (of decision makers and government leaders) and helping people cope.”
In times like this, our journalists are thinking more about getting the story for their audience than they are about themselves. Multimedia photographers, carrying heavy equipment, brave cold temps and treacherous conditions. They often put themselves in danger in order to show the story through pictures and videos. We send reporters to all areas of the state to tell the weather story. It’s not something you can report by phone. It requires us to be strategic and to be in the right place at the right time.
Readers rarely get to see how news coverage of events like weather comes together.
First, there’s the plan. In that plan, we identify the questions that need to be answered for digital and print.
Here’s how the opening of a recent weather coverage plan read:
We could have a messy rush hour Wednesday as commuters try to beat the expected snow. Our already-stressed network of roads and interstates failed us during snowjam. It is more likely that our morning commute might be affected by freezing overnight temperatures and wet roads. So our coverage should focus first on preparation:
- Have roads been treated?
- Are state and local governments working together?
- Are schools making the right calls?
- What utility should we be providing our readers?
In addition to identifying the questions to answer, our plan will also identify reporters from our various content teams to cover things like weather forecasts, Georgia Department of Transportation reaction, trouble spots, state and local response, airport flight delays, power and utility issues, public school concerns, closings and openings, MARTA, interstate travel, economic impact to businesses, and more. Our goal is to make the coverage comprehensive.
The plans also call for ways to reach our audience through social media channels. We do our best to provide utility information. Last week, we told people how to prep their vehicles for the bad weather. We also gave our Facebook followers tips on what to do with kids stuck at home because of school closures.
In addition to the content planning and social sharing, there is also a team outside the newsroom focused on customer service and delivery of the newspaper. When the weather is bad, subscribers are notified early in case there are delivery delays. If ever you don’t get your printed edition, don’t forget to log on to myajc.com, our subscriber website. There you can register your account and get the latest weather coverage.
Who knows what the rest of the season has in store for the metro Atlanta area? Having grown up in the Washington, D.C.-Va. area, and having lived in Kentucky for several years, I know it can be late March or later before spring decides to make an appearance.
Warmer weather is headed our way soon, but when the weather turns bad, you can count on us to provide the latest updates and keep working on coverage plans that keep you informed. Follow our coverage at myajc.com and be sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @ajc.
