TBO.com News

Getting Ready For Hurricanes: A Media Story

By JANET WEAVER jweaver@tampatrib.com

Published: Jun 14, 2005

Just 11 days into hurricane season, and we already have a named storm in the Gulf.

I don't know about you, but when I saw that the tropical low had evolved into Arlene, all I could think was, ``Here we go again.''

Last year's hurricane season left even the most jaded Floridian with a new appreciation for our vulnerability.

This peninsula, which has drawn so many of us for its beautiful beaches and soft winter breezes, lies in harm's way from June to November every year. Quieter storm seasons had lulled us into thinking the risk was low.

But 2004 reminded us that it isn't.

In the Tribune newsroom, we're doing the journalistic equivalent of buying plywood and bottled water. At a staff meeting Wednesday, we talked about what we learned from covering Florida's four storms last year.

We know that we need to have more supplies on hand: satellite phones and battery chargers and sport utility vehicles that can negotiate limb- strewn streets.

Some of our reporters who traveled to Punta Gorda and Stuart and Pensacola reminded their peers of the need for plenty of dry socks and sturdy boots for tromping through high water.

Batteries Aren't Enough

Heidi Hall, one of our editors, pointed out the need to do more than stock up on the right supplies. She challenged us to spend just as much effort thinking about what we write and how we write it.

Hurricanes present interesting challenges for newspaper journalists. We know we serve readers best in giving them the information they need before the storm hits. We know that we can bring information to communities after the winds die down.

When the power goes out and you can't turn on the television or power up the computer, ink on print re-emerges as an urgent medium. We have the power then to draw otherwise isolated individuals back into one community.

When the storm is upon us, the newspaper is pretty irrelevant. We might have gone to press 12, 14, even 20 hours before a storm hits. Last year, we went to press on the night of Aug. 12 believing Hurricane Charley was headed right for our doorstep. By the next morning, the storm had turned, slamming our neighbors to the south in Charlotte County.

One of the advantages of working at The Tampa Tribune is that we don't have to watch and wait as the storm hits shore. Because of our partnerships with News Channel 8 and TBO.com, we don't ever go silent. Our reporters can bring you information all through the storm, on television and online.

Any Ideas?

So the challenge for us as we enter this hurricane season is to think of new ways to make our journalism relevant to you in all the ways we present it.

We all enter this season with a better understanding of how hurricanes can affect us. We think we did a good job of providing you with the news you needed last year, but we want to do even better this year.

To do that, we need to hear from you. What are your concerns as we enter the 2005 season? What kind of information would be most helpful to you? How can we better help you prepare?

Let me know your thoughts. E-mail your suggestions to me at jweaver @tampatrib.com. Or if you prefer ink on paper (I still do!), write me at 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606.

Janet Weaver is executive editor of The Tampa Tribune.