Mike Jacobs
Editor of the Grand Forks Herald

The best counsel I can give to journalists covering the aftermath of disaster is patience. The aftermath will last a long time. Here in Grand Forks, it seems like forever. That doesn’t mean that things don’t get better. They have gotten better. It means that things are not the same, and journalists need to be alert to the changes, both the great big ones and the smaller, more nuanced ones.

In Grand Forks, the flood brought a change in government. New personalities entered the community’s political life, and the mayor was defeated for re-election. Voters cut the size of the city council in half, changing the dynamics of city government.

In some ways, these institutional changes are only the surface. Fundamental change goes much deeper. Neighborhoods are re-aligned. Landmarks disappear. What once was familiar is altered, sometimes swept away. This is disorienting, and it has an impact on the community’s psyche.

Then there are personal changes. People who had power saw their power reduced. Sometimes this happened quietly. In some cases, it was the result of public anger.

Anger is a part of the grieving process, Anger is powerful. We found that disaster unleashes it in ways that are both unfamiliar and frightening. Anger has consequences for individuals, families and communities. Don’t be surprised as anger flares, and be alert to its impact on your communities.

Media have a large role to play not just in reporting the impacts of disaster but in explaining options and presenting viewpoints. Dispelling rumors and calming outbursts is as much a public service as reporting facts.

All of this requires patience. It requires open ears and fast pencils.

Have patience with the recovery process, too. Our disaster in Grand Forks was on a much smaller scale than what has befallen the Gulf Coast. Yet our flood control system is not done, even as we approach the ninth anniversary of the disaster that overwhelmed our community. Many other issues remain, and some of these anger individuals and have an impact on our civic life. The question of who will need flood insurance is one of these. The question of how to pay for the flood control system is another. Still another is how to rebuild the city’s center. Another is how to memorialize lost neighborhoods.

And these are only the public issues.

Reporting about these things still takes a lot of our available newshole.

You learned in the disaster that you can do great work professionally, and you feel pride and satisfaction. You learned that you have an enormous reservoir of personal strength and that you are capable of genuine goodness. Your communities are grateful to you.

This won’t last.

Media will become the target just as it was before the disaster. Be patient with this, too.

In disaster you and your communities learned the value of what we do as journalists. This will sustain you.

E-mail this item | Add Your Comments | QuickLink this item: A95540


Covering Hurricanes Archive

View items published between:		and
	(MM/DD/YYYY)		(MM/DD/YYYY)

MAIN | Back to Top