So the shit hits the fan. Now what?
Are you prepared to do your job online if the world comes to an end? Your print product may whip out the “Oh My God” 100 point type, but what will your Web site do?
100 point type online will literally get you a long scrolling screen and unhappy visitors. So what is your online strategy? Online can’t just play copycat to big brother print. Do you have some templates in mind? Do you have templates? Do you need templates?
All newsrooms will approach the process differently depending on their ability to perform online. Some will be crippled by their corporate cookie-cutter sites while others may produce glimmering examples of journalism with a customized site.
But speed is going to be the killer during your own day of doom. Information will gush toward your newsroom forming a bottleneck at the traditionally overworked desk positions. Or worst yet, no information will flow at all.
Stuck with reporters out of place or unable to transmit information, you may be presented with the option that puts a grimace on old school journalists. Will you pull from sources you don’t normally pull from? Will you dip a toe into the pool of citizen journalism?
Whether your back is against the wall or you’ve toyed with the idea in the past, you may be tasked to consider using submitted content from the public at the “epicenter”. At best you’ll never miss a beat when it comes to quality. However more likely you’ll receive shaky cell phone camera footage and text messages filled with curses.
It’s raw, it’s unedited, but it’s all information. Will you use it? How?
Visually, how will you show the information your receive whatever the source? You will show the information right? This is the web after all.
Are you ready to visualize different types of information? Can you show temporal information in a meaningful way? What about geographical information? What kind of media will you present with it?
How will you update your masterpiece? Will it be a static snapshot of what was current as of press time or will it be constantly updated with information, feeding the print?
Now take a breather. Today is not doomsday. But tomorrow may be.
Having an answer to even some of these questions will allow you to perform closer to your peak ability and allow you to spend more time on your content rather than your framework.
But doomsday comes in many forms. Think of hypotheticals you may encounter yourself whether locally or internationally.
Sports team on a roll. Weather shutting the city down. Explosion at the factory. These are real world examples. Remember it’s not all terrorists and nuclear bombs when doomsday comes. Think about slow brewing energy crises or growing poverty problems in your area.
Of course if the Olympics come to town you should be prepared to shine as well. But in reality the normal stuff will seem easier when you prepare for disaster.
It’s a fire drill. Prepare now and it will become second nature when it actually matters.
Think how are you going to cover the event that you as an organization can’t afford to dominate? Instead of reacting, a barebones plan today will make sure you can keep your eye on the ball and allow you to deliver your bread and butter content no matter the circumstances.