Chapter 8: Preparing for Disaster Coverage Sarah Knight is the regional content director for ABC Local Radio1 in Western Australia. In her 25 years at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sarah has been involved covering a number of emergencies for Local Radio including the Roleystone Kelmscott and Margaret River fires in 2011 and Tropical Cyclone Rusty in 2013 among many others. She has been a lead trainer in emergency coverage practices within the organization. Knight looks after staff in six radio stations in Western Australia stretching from the fire- and flood- prone south to the cyclone-, fire- and flood- prone north. News organizations traditionally have had two information-driven roles during an emergency. The first is to provide people the information they need to respond to an event. This information must be clear, timely and unambiguous. Often this information comes directly from government agencies, the army, fire service, police or another official source. The second role is the one newsrooms practice (or should practice) every day: to share critical information fairly and without favor or prejudice. These days, there is also a third role. People today often first learn about an emergency threat through social media. Rather than being the first to inform people about an emergency event, newsrooms and other organizations often find themselves acting as a critical second source of verification, a filter that separates signal from noise, and rumor. Preparedness is key to getting accurate information to the people who need it - and to ensuring you don’t accidentally spread false information. What can you do to make sure that you get the information you need to keep people safe, and to be the trusted source during a time of chaos and confusion? In this chapter we’ll look at some simple ways to prepare yourself and your colleagues to deliver quality, timely information during an emergency. Elements of preparedness The first thing to decide is what informational role your organization is going to play. Are you reporting and/or are you assisting the community by issuing warnings and timely advice? 86