Mumbai Terrorism Coverage: Why Journalists Should Care and Prepare

I watched the coverage of the terrorist siege in Mumbai from the perspective of just having written a booklet on emergency and disaster coverage for journalists in the Maldives, only a few hundred miles off the Indian Coast.

Many observers have noted the role of "new media" such as instant messaging, email, texting and Twitter. While these sources were often first with the breaking news, journalists know that being FIRST is no good unless you also get it RIGHT. The role of the journalist is to supply the public with the most up to date and confirmed information and the twittering of citizen journalists armed with new technology -- but few facts -- won't change that.

This brings me to the main point of my booklet on how TV journalists should prepare to cover emergency situtations,whether the disaster is manmade or caused by nature. The time to work out your relationship with the responders is BEFORE disaster strikes, not while the emergency is in progress. Previous hostage situations in the United States showed that live TV coverage can often tip off the hostage takers to the movements of law enforcement. Journalists should use common sense in withholding the details that could compromise the safety of the hostages or the responders. Journalists should have confidence that officials will give them access to the latest information and officials should in turn trust that some sensitive information will be withheld when necessary.

When there is no working relationship between officials and the press, officials are likely to react by pulling the plug, as the authorities did in India. Incompetent or unprepared authorities don't want their mistakes shown on live TV. A broadcaster who is not on the air cannot serve the public interest in an emergency. It is vital to have a plan that will enable you to STAY on the air with a direct pipeline to the most reliable information from a variety of official and unofficial sources.

When I left Maldives, my booklet was being translated into Dhivehi and the text is available for any public broadcaster to translate for use in their own language. If you're interested, visit my web site at http://www.terryanzur.com/ and send me an email.