Disaster relief coverage in the media is often a way for a journalist to not only cover important stories, but also make a name for themselves as a reporter and gain valuable experience in the field with eye-opening interaction with many different types of people and situations. The way that these stories get reported is an important factor in public perception as well as sometimes influencing funding decisions and other administrative systems put into place during disaster recovery and relief situations.
A new project from the Carnegie-Knight News21 program, “State of Emergency”, sent 37 journalism students from 19 universities to report on disasters in 25 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
According to the program’s website, student reporters, who had to be selected into the program, looked at local and federal agency response, and interviewed victims as well as emergency professionals including first responders. In addition to the on-the-ground reporting, these students also reviewed “thousands of pages of government documents” to produce stories and documentaries.
Students are guided by executive editor Jacquee Petchel, a professor of practice at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and previous senior editor for investigations and enterprise at The Houston Chronicle. Petchel is a Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in South Florida, according to Poynter.org.
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