Covering the Unimaginable

Covering the Unimaginable: The Collegiate Times Speaks About the Virginia Tech Shooting
Kelly Furnas and Amie Steele, Virginia Tech

This session gave pointers on a few things that all staffs should know in case a tragedy was to happen. Furnas and Steele also shared the stress of the week and things they had to think about before each deadline. I enjoyed this session a lot. I did not realize the impact a college publication can have in a time of crisis. The Collegiate Times had a big part in telling the story of April 16, 2007 and the days to follow.

Things to think about:
• Remember who you are writing for. Keep the focus on the readers and the community.
• Keep open communication with third parties. Steele had to be in communication with the printer because they missed the deadline by six hours but still wanted to the paper to come out as early as possible.
• Expect chaos, but stay focused. Stress and chaos isn’t a reason to get sloppy.
• Everybody needs a press pass.
• Have a policy in place concerning other news sources. The Collegiate Times shared their stories and photographs with other colleges and major news sources around the world.

Lela Coker