Crises transform newsrooms. The friction-heated process of producing accurate information quickly, amid professional (and often personal) stress, can crack a news team — or temper it. As someone fortunate to work in news since 1996, I’ve seen teams of reporters respond to September 11, the Great Recession, and mass shootings from Stanton Heights to Tree of Life.
The current crisis is unique. So is PublicSource’s response.
I joined PublicSource in January, attracted to its pursuit of analytical and empowering journalism aimed squarely at making Pittsburgh a better place. I found a tight-knit newsroom in which reporters and editors collaborated to cover “beats” to the beat of a different drum, with an ear to diverse voices and an eye on accountability.
Starting March 11, the pandemic demanded immediate revisions to PublicSource’s operations. Every beat gained urgency, while simultaneously becoming tougher to report due to the elimination of public meetings and face-to-face encounters. The public’s hunger for timely, accurate news, meanwhile, was dramatically heightened. And health concerns, plus government guidelines, meant that we couldn’t gather in a physical newsroom.
PublicSource rapidly evolved, enhancing its breaking news coverage. We all shared the daily load of pandemic-related developments, even as reporters dug into their altered beats and photographers adjusted to a socially distant world. From one newsroom, 15 emerged, in our living rooms, connected by Slack and Zoom. PublicSource’s leadership used videoconferencing to continue newsroom meetings, and initiated a rotating system of “buddy brainstorming” in which paired journalists shared ideas about how to best serve you.
The results included rolling pandemic coverage, a stream of deeper dives, photo essays, podcasts and first-person accounts.
I write this from my dining room, rather than a traditional newsroom. I do so confident that this news team grew even more cohesive, and even more focused on the community’s needs, when the stakes were raised.
Today marks a kickoff of Give Big Pittsburgh COVID-19 Response. I hope you'd consider supporting PublicSource as part of this initiative and include it in your giving plans -- if you are able. Thank you.
—Rich
|
|
