Kenna Griffin

Kenna Griffin

A practical resource for writers.

Covering Your Campus on Lockdown

by

I had just eaten dinner after hours of air travel in the wackiest flight pattern possible from national journalism conference in New York home to Oklahoma. I was catching up with my family and attempting to make the transition from “conference networking and learning Kenna” to “professor giving midterms tomorrow Kenna.”

LockMy student editor-in-chief had just arrived home from her first experience at conference. She was settling back in, likely contemplating finishing off a bag of Nutter Butters while studying for my 10 a.m. midterm exam in media law.

I called her phone as soon as I got the text alert that the campus was on lockdown. It was busy the first time I called. Apparently she already was on the phone with the campus police department, confirming the status and attempting to gather more details.

Student Publications editors spent much of the rest of the night gathering information and using their website and social media accounts to do some of their best reporting this year. The information they provided their campus audience was critical, since the university’s emergency alert system (which is being replaced) lagged for the second time this academic year.

The campus was locked down at 10:09 p.m. This tweet went out at 10:12 p.m. Three minutes seems a bit late to me. However, I’m pretty sure they updated their Facebook status first. For many students on campus, it was the first they heard of the lockdown.

Although I served as their adviser via my sofa, they really already had it covered.

Here are some of the key parts of their process in covering the campus on lockdown.

Lock down!

There is a reason that university officials call for a lockdown. It’s not just done on a whim. My first advice to my students was to lock down immediately, then start reporting from wherever they were located. I told the students not to leave their location (Admittedly, this was much more a demand than advising. I even used ALL CAPS in my message.) until the lockdown was cleared officially.

 

I have been unpopular in the past for disagreeing with advisers who tell their students to go immediately to the news. I really don’t care what people think of this decision. As an adviser and a faculty member, my first priority is the safety of my students. And, as I told my students last night, they could do the reporting they needed to do from their locations. Plus, it was convenient that one student already was working in the Newsroom. She just locked down there.

Bottom line: I can’t think of a single thing reported in student media that would make it worth my students risking their safety. I take collegiate media quite seriously. I take my role as caregiver to my students even more seriously.

Have a communication method

The editorial board recognized a couple of weeks ago that they needed a method of communication outside of emails and group texts. They set up a Facebook chat that each editor and myself are part of. It allows them to contact each other immediately when help is needed for whatever reason. It also creates an ongoing dialogue without all of those annoying group texts or cumbersome emails.

The editor Facebook chat worked magically during the lockdown. Assignments were dispatched, information was shared, rumors were reported for each other to check out, copy edits were suggested, and I advised the process from home. It was an excellent way to keep everyone on the same page. Also, Facebook’s structure allowed the group to know who was reading the chat messages, so there was no question about who was getting what or what aspects of the story anyone was working on. It broke down a bit like this, although I’m sure there was crossover at times:

Editor-in-chief – reporting with the campus and city police

Multimedia editor – filing stories online as the EIC got more information, interviewing students via telephone (FYI, this was the student locked down in the Newsroom, so we made good use of her reporting and writing skills.)

Web editor – updating social media and engaging with students as much as possible

Advertising/marketing director – updating on students’ reports on the emergency alert system and various rumors spreading via social media (These weren’t reported, but were checked out as warranted and provided context for questions.)

Copy editor – making copy change suggestions for web stories and updating staff on student reports

Spread truth, not rumor

The rumor mill goes crazy in situations of uncertainty, but student media cannot get caught up in the hype. One of my first pieces of advice to the student editors reporting on the lockdown was not to report anything they couldn’t confirm with campus or city police. The editor-in-chief reminded them of that several times during the process. They did an excellent job of confirming information as quickly as possible.

Use social immediately

The students did the majority of their lockdown reporting via Facebook and Twitter. They immediately recognized and embraced this method as the most efficient way to reach the student body with important information. I previously had been told by students that they went to Stu Pub’s Facebook page first when the university was locked down in the fall.

Post more A.S.A.P.

People can’t get enough information as quickly as they want it in situations of emergency. In the end, my students only filed two stories on their website. The first was Shots fired, campus on lockdown. The second was Lockdown lifted, OCUPD gives the ‘all clear’.

These obviously were the two most important aspects of the story. I assume they will follow up today with a story about the crime itself and short information about the emergency alert system.

Ironically, they already have a story coming out in today’s edition (it’s a weekly) about the system being replaced. I assume there will be a larger issue story about the system in the first paper after Spring Break.

Engage when possible

Readers are likely to post questions, toward you or in general, via social media. Respond to them with the most accurate information you can provide. If you don’t have answers, try to get and post them. Chances are that if one person has a question, so do others.

 

Follow it through

The reporting doesn’t end when the lockdown is lifted. Continue reporting on the event that caused the lockdown and the effectiveness of the system.

 

Evaluate systems

How well did your staff and internal systems work in reporting on this event? It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of reporting something big and just want to rest afterward, but it’s important to review your processes and plan for similar situations in the future.

The Society of Professional Journalists has an amazing list of resources for covering school violence on their Journalist’s Toolbox site.

Distribute Praise

Openly praise your staff for the positive things they did during this coverage. People like to hear that they’ve done a good job. Covering a campus lockdown is an important service to your university community. Praise your staff for the positive differences they made.

I hope you never have to report about a lockdown, but they are an unfortunate reality of today’s university environment. When these issues occur, student media have an obligation to readers to keep them as calm and informed as possible. I am proud of the work my students did this week. I hope their process and examples can help you if necessary.

Let’s Talk Nerdy!

Do you have policies or best practices for covering lockdowns or other campus crime events? If so, share them below so we can learn from each other.

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About the Author

Kenna Griffin

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above (typically those to books) may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I promise that I only recommend products or services I use personally and think will provide you value. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”