Reporting on flood disaster

Natural disasters, untimely death, accidents and other tragedies fill media headlines every day. And in each of these stories, journalists attempt to balance two competing forces – their responsibility to report these events fully and accurately and their moral obligation to treat those affected with compassion.

As I write this, my home is surrounded by floodwater. It has been for the last four days.

I've seen pictures on television of rescue boats going down my street to evacuate others who didn't leave as early as I did. I've seen photos on web sites of the bridge down the road with water raging over the top. I've watched video of a home in a neighboring county being washed away and destroyed.

Now I'm to to the point where I can't watch TV news or read about it any more.

All this news coverage has added to my anxiety. How much? There's no way to now. But it has also provided me with some positives. 

From The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel web site, I was able to print out tips on cleaning up my home after a flood.

The newspaper also did a report on the status of some of the state's dams and bridges, which helped me understand why officials have been so concerned about even greater problems.

I've helped people fill sandbags at the Columbus Volunteer Fire Department, joining hundreds of volunteers who might not have helped if they hadn't seen something about it in the news.

And I learned from The Beaver Dam Daily Citizen web site how to request money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with cleanup.

So, even though it has added to my stress, I know I have benefited from the extensive media coverage. As much as I don't like seeing the devastating images, they have value.

But that value is lost and becomes simple exploitation if the media fail to go one step farther and give people useful information they can act on.

Please remember this as you work on The Clarion staff and throughout your career in journalism. Your role is to help people by providing them information they can use to make decisions in their daily lives. In this case, tell those who are impacted where they can go for help, offer them clean up tips, share the latest information from FEMA and the Red Cross, and let others know how they can help out.

Oftentimes, the only way people who are evacuated from their homes can learn about this vital information is through the media. Keeping them informed and quelling rumors is one way you, as a journalist, can comfort the afflicted.