Last week, we spoke to Louisiana Regional Editor Brian Trahan and Arkansas Regional Editor Wendy Ledbetter about their preparations as Hurricane Isaac threatened the region, and the response as the storm swept into Louisiana. We also spoke with Allison Hudson, the editor of the Donaldsonville Chief, about how she used mobile reporting tools and social media when her newsroom lost power and Internet access.
With the storm now safely past, we checked in with Trahan and Ledbetter about how the newspapers in their regions covered the storm and its aftermath, and how the staffers fared.
Isaac hit Louisiana far harder than Arkansas. According to Ledbetter, the storm had petered out by the time it moved into her area.
“We had some decent rain one day and that wasn't even enough to slow down traffic. We had a few trees down but it was localized incidents with no real impact,” she wrote in an email.
Of course, when it comes to hurricanes, news organizations gear up ahead of time, never knowing what lies ahead.
“We printed preview stories, prompting folks to be prepared for heavy rains and several stories about the impact on agriculture,” Ledbetter wrote. “We also had a story about Arkadelphia's preparation for evacuees, which has happened in the past. We had at least one reporter ride along for a couple of hours with a deputy while they patrolled as the storm arrived.”
Trahan’s team also prepared, and responded as the storm surged in. Here are his answers to our questions about how GateHouse papers in the Louisiana group reacted.
What was your preparation prior to the storm?
Having endured Hurricane Rita in 2005, we learned a great deal about how to cover these massive storms. We also developed a comprehensive emergency plan, which we enacted for Hurricane Isaac. As the storm was approaching and it became apparent it would hit Louisiana, we began contact with emergency officials in all of our markets, as well as keeping constant updates uploaded on our websites and social media. Organization is paramount in that we need a plan in case power fails or in case certain areas aren’t accessible due to flooding. All of our editorial staffs were briefed on the plan and what to expect in each situation. Those properties in the line of fire such as Plaquemine, Donaldsonville and Gonzales made sure equipment was protected and their respective buildings were secured.
Last week, we spoke to Louisiana Regional Editor Brian Trahan and Arkansas Regional Editor Wendy Ledbetter about their preparations as Hurricane Isaac threatened the region, and the response as the storm swept into Louisiana. We also spoke with Allison Hudson, the editor of the Donaldsonville Chief, about how she used mobile reporting tools and social media when her newsroom lost power and Internet access.
With the storm now safely past, we checked in with Trahan and Ledbetter about how the newspapers in their regions covered the storm and its aftermath, and how the staffers fared.
Isaac hit Louisiana far harder than Arkansas. According to Ledbetter, the storm had petered out by the time it moved into her area.
“We had some decent rain one day and that wasn't even enough to slow down traffic. We had a few trees down but it was localized incidents with no real impact,” she wrote in an email.
Of course, when it comes to hurricanes, news organizations gear up ahead of time, never knowing what lies ahead.
“We printed preview stories, prompting folks to be prepared for heavy rains and several stories about the impact on agriculture,” Ledbetter wrote. “We also had a story about Arkadelphia's preparation for evacuees, which has happened in the past. We had at least one reporter ride along for a couple of hours with a deputy while they patrolled as the storm arrived.”
Trahan’s team also prepared, and responded as the storm surged in. Here are his answers to our questions about how GateHouse papers in the Louisiana group reacted.
What was your preparation prior to the storm?
Having endured Hurricane Rita in 2005, we learned a great deal about how to cover these massive storms. We also developed a comprehensive emergency plan, which we enacted for Hurricane Isaac. As the storm was approaching and it became apparent it would hit Louisiana, we began contact with emergency officials in all of our markets, as well as keeping constant updates uploaded on our websites and social media. Organization is paramount in that we need a plan in case power fails or in case certain areas aren’t accessible due to flooding. All of our editorial staffs were briefed on the plan and what to expect in each situation. Those properties in the line of fire such as Plaquemine, Donaldsonville and Gonzales made sure equipment was protected and their respective buildings were secured.
Was regional coverage part of that plan?
Regional coverage is always part of the plan, but when the storm hits there will be a certain amount of coverage on the fly. When one area loses power and the ability to communicate — we have to make sure we pick up the slack and lend a hand from other markets.
Were you able to implement regional coverage of the storm?
We did some regional coverage for this storm, but once the staffs spread out and the office is closed, you are pretty much focused on getting information out in any way you can for your particular market.
How did your papers use social media for their storm coverage?
The Louisiana properties did a pretty good job of taking to social media for updates and coverage. I think Sulphur and Donaldsonville utilized Facebook quite a bit before and during the storm; and the Weekly Citizen in Gonzales used Facebook until they had issues with power, Internet and phone service.
How did your papers use multimedia as part of their storm coverage?
Immediately following the storm, I was in contact with Allison Hudson in Donaldsonville and Lisa Yates in Gonzales via text messages. They began to feed me information when they could and I helped them upload that information onto their websites since Sulphur never lost power. Allison did a fantastic job of using her iPhone for photos and videos etc.
How did each newsroom fare during the storm?
It took the better part of the week following the storm for the papers in Gonzales, Plaquemine and Donaldsonville to get up and running to full capacity. There are certain challenges you face when you lose power and Internet access. However, preparation was the key in making sure we had information dispersed as we could. All in all … it was a learning experience for many of our newsrooms who hadn’t been through it before; and the experience learned from previous storms for those veterans served us well. Many factors contributed to success in coverage — social media, the Saxotech CMS enabling us to upload from other properties and our emergency plan.
