Covering Hurricanes

As Hurricane Rita barrels through the Gulf of Mexico, the staff of The Beaumont Enterprise is scaling back. Watching his typical newsroom staff of 50 shrink to 30 on Thursday and hover around 16 Friday, editor Tim Kelly is preparing for the unknown effects of a furious storm.  

"We're hunkered down, with the old cliché skeleton staff," he said.

His city lies roughly 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico and fewer than 20 miles northwest of 14-by-seven-mile Sabine Lake. With Hurricane Rita approaching the coast and most of the town evacuated, the Enterprise is beginning to implement emergency plans.

"We don't have pressmen, we don't have carriers, and probably more than 90 percent of town is evacuated," Kelly said.

Enterprise staff published an eight-page "Special Hurricane Edition" of the paper Friday, printed from a plant in San Antonio. Kelly said they plan to continue printing from the San Antonio plant, but Hurricane Rita will determine whether or not those newspapers will make it to Beaumont any time soon.

"We're turning papers [over] to San Antonio and hoping they get back here at some point," he said. "This may be more of a for-the-record historical exercise than anything else until people get back."

Friday's front page included a special message to readers: "Today's special hurricane edition of The Beaumont Enterprise -- and maybe newspapers in coming days -- will be reduced to essentials so we can balance storm coverage against the safety of our employees, many of whom have evacuated. Continue to go to www.southeasttexaslive.com for expanded, real-time updates as Rita unfolds."

Six reporters, three photojournalists and assorted editors and Web staff have stayed behind. As they produce each day's paper, Kelly said, they are constantly updating the Enterprise's Web site and uploading PDF versions of each day's paper so that evacuated residents can access the news.

As one of the few news organizations in town left operating -- Kelly said that only one of the town's three local television stations is still on the air -- the Enterprise has tentative plans to publish an afternoon paper on Saturday, after Rita is expected to make landfall.

Although most of his staff has left Beaumont to escape Hurricane Rita, many have continued to work as they travel.

"Some of [them] reported on their way out of town. They evacuated, but continued to do their jobs," he said. "Last night, we sent a shadow copy desk to Houston. They may go on to San Antonio or stay in Houston; we don't really know at this point."

The Times of Shreveport: Be Prepared

We interviewed Alan English, executive editor, of The Times in Shreveport, La. by e-mail. Here are the questions and responses.

How are you staffing for Hurricane Rita coverage, in the field and at home?

Alan English: The Gannett Louisiana newspapers have cooperated to staff our Baton Rouge bureau with 10 people. Earlier this morning, they were chasing the levee breach in the 9th Ward in New Orleans while others stay abreast at OEP in Baton Rouge and handle other assignments in points near New Orleans. Gannett News Service has provided loaners to that bureau, too, and to our Lafayette and Opelousas newspapers. Yancey Roy, a Gannett loaner from New York, and Times photographer Shane Bevel are in Lake Charles. They filed a report to ShreveportTimes.com this morning. The Lafayette newspaper has people in Lake Charles and points south near them, anticipating Rita's wrath. Daily Advertiser Editor Denise Richter has crews in place. That newspaper has secured a backup location to operate their newsroom, should power go out.

Times reporter and columnist Teddy Allen and veteran photojournalist Jim Hudelson slept in Lafayette last night, but are seeking shelter near Leesville and Jennings to provide scene setters as the storm approaches and online updates –- as they can communicate out. Teddy and Hud (as we call him) are among the top journalists in the state. They are focusing on color and spot descriptions for our new news cycles.

Shreveport is preparing locally to handle heavy rainfall should the storm stall in our region. Rain predictions range from 8 to 15 inches to 20 to 25 inches on Sunday. Managing editor Rod Richardson has rolled out a staffing plan and beat schedule for the three to four day run of local stories we expect. Today, we are working on graphics to help readers understand what wind and rain to expect. Neighborhoods that regularly flood will be reported on -– and we expect to station journalists there as the water flows.

Have you observed any "hurricane fatigue" among staff and/or readers? If so, how might you address it?

Yes, but we received a minor respite before this storm started to threaten. Holding staff meetings, making sure the whole staff isn't here at once to balance home and work, and making assistance available through HR for various needs is kicking in. The fatigue in South Louisiana is likely to be more pronounced. For the last few weeks of breaking news in New Orleans, we have been rotating folks through the bureau. Unfortunately, there are a few people who have been covering it through the duration. We have to break them free soon. Rita stresses that plan. Gannett veterans John Hill and Mike Hasten, bureau reporters, have been going hard. GNS loaner Dennis Camire is among those working the longest on the story without a break. We did get him a day or two before Rita reversed his travel plans out of the zone.

What have you learned covering Katrina -- or observing coverage -- that might affect your approach to covering Rita?

The depth of detail readers wanted each day was sustained, even more than we expected. Don't fade from the story too soon. It is better to be filling the paper with every story, as a newspaper in an immediate impact area. We believe our heavy emphasis on photos was a right move. Photo pages and a Sunday photo section were well received. Include elevated presentation of photo in your paper -– and don't fade from that approach too fast. We can't do enough graphics fast enough. ONLINE!!!! It is the EXTRA of today and tomorrow. The blogs the Pic did in a pinch during Katrina are in our plans for a local flooding story that we expect.

• Keep it simple for the staff and clearly outline these elements:
• Staffing plan for the days of major coverage: who, when and where
• Go ahead and predetermine budgets for days ahead. Having a plan that changes is better than making it up as you go. Common sense, but give someone ownership here
• Parse the big responsibilities: Who is going to visualize the layout of the paper, who is going to always firm up the next day plan and give assignments, what time are we going to ramp up online and how will the site change over the next few days and who will be above the fray (an at-large editor)?
• Think of the second wave (the fatigue). What help can you plan for day 5, 6 and 7? Don't be too proud to ask for help from your company, boss and sister newspaper.
• Communicate: We have a conference call with a stack of Gannett editors every day as major news approaches. These calls report out plans, expectations and backup measures. This is why everyone has to know their jobs on the way out the door. "If we don't talk before we see each other..."
• Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

What preparations have you/your organization already undertaken in the areas of graphics, Web (editorial and technical), staffing, emergency relocation and contact with employees, etc.? 

Emergency phone lists have been circulated. We had brainstorming sessions on best ways to present within the restrictions of our format and software. We are planning to blog breaking news for the first time.

We are making room here for people to spend the night. They can bring family and pets if necessary. We encourage people to make preps that include stocking up at home and in their cars for needs during a storm. The company has established an 800 number for employees to report their status. These sets of storms create a new paradigm in this matter. In Gannett, the network of loaning staff to relieve war-torn folks is immense. This positions us to put great journalists with local knowledge in the heat of the battle and relieve them at critical moments. Our loaner program includes having names for two to three phases of rotation that will allow a frontline reporter to get home after the early days, hopefully only to remove a tree from their driveway. The employee assistance programs in place by our company are being put into a higher gear.

What advice can you offer journalists whose hurricane assignments may take them to your region for the first time?

Watch your adrenaline and know your limitations. Make sure your level of comfort is fully communicated to your boss and your assigned reporting partner before you go into the field. Slow and steady wins the race. Exhaustion doesn't. Editors should be especially attuned to the dynamics of partnerships between photographers and journalists. The buddy system is essential in hurricanes. You are going to do hazardous duty: pack light (but with all essentials), assure you are healthy enough to go, and be prepared to live in close quarters -– and all that it means.  Pencil and paper still rule, but take a laptop, too. Know your job. If you have questions, go no further until you get that clarified.

When the storm is over, what do you hope your readers will be saying about your coverage?

"The Times helped us prepare, understand, cope and rebuild. When I saw The Times on my doorstep after the storm, I knew everything was going to be okay. I need my newspaper, and they were thinking of me when they covered this storm."

Is there anything else you'd like to tell journalists about what you're learning?

Ask me in a few weeks.