It’s coming.  Have no doubt about it.  “The Big One” – whatever type of disaster your viewing area is susceptible to – is on the way.

I don’t wish to sound like a Biblical prophet, but the facts are clear.  Take a look at the disasters the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has responded to already this year or over the last few years.  The kinds of events likely to throw local television stations into budget-bending, program-preempting, continuous coverage will happen.  And they’ll probably happen sooner rather than later.

If you have any doubt, think about the things that have dominated local news in the last year, or the last few years.  Natural disasters – in the guise of hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes – have been regular visitors.  In much of the country, earthquake faults are just waiting to shift.  Man-made disasters are almost as common and as catastrophic – plane crashes, oil spills, toxic chemicals spilling from trucks and trains.  And this isn’t even everything. 

We’ve compiled a list of the kinds of natural and man-made disasters, most of which can happen with little or no warning.

Not all of this is the fault of nature or some far-off faceless strangers.  As the television news industry battles each ratings point ever more vigorously, our journalistic instincts push us to cover the news more aggressively.  Our competitive spirit propels us to “take to the air” more quickly than ever.  And our equipment – lighter, more portable, and more durable than ever – is just waiting for the chance to see action.  We tell our viewers that we’re “community based,” “live, local, late-breaking,” or “on your side.”

But are our actions up to our words?  In many cases, they’re not.   Many TV stations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year advertising in an effort to get viewers to sample their product.   Almost all TV stations spend hours a week on their own air promoting the product.  But some haven’t given a single thought to what they’ll do in the event that breaking news drives viewers in their direction.

There’s really no other way to explain it.  A disaster is a harrowing time in a community.  People turn to community institutions – the police, the fire department, and their local TV stations – for the information they need in a disaster to protect themselves and safeguard their families. 

Most TV stations are not adequately prepared to cover a major disaster in their viewing area.  They haven’t planned for it, they haven’t equipped for it, and they haven’t staffed for it. 

That’s not to say that some of them won’t provide good – and maybe even great – coverage of a disaster.  TV news people are nothing if not resilient.  They’ll almost always rise to the occasion, overcome every impediment in planning and execution, and get the job done right.  Sometimes they’ll beat the odds. 

But imagine how much better the job could be done if the odds were on their side instead of against them.  Imagine how much more energy could go into covering the story if TV news people didn’t have to exert so much effort fighting the system.

The steps toward better preparations for disaster coverage are – in outline form, at least – fairly simple.  Get the backing of the boss, assemble a group of movers and shakers from all areas of your station’s operations, and then work your way through the list:
 

There’s scarcely a TV station in the country that would think of entering its fiscal year without a detailed business plan.  Why is it, then, that so many stations figure they can muddle through coverage of cataclysmic events without forethought?

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PAUL SKOLNICK has been through earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, riots, and a handful of other disasters in his 20 years in TV news.  He is managing editor of Thunder & Lightning News Service in Belleair Bluffs, FL, which provides TV stations with consulting services on disaster preparedness and editorial efficiency.