One thing I read about in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting was the response of the university newspaper's editor-in-chief and the sports editor. Upon receiving the initial alert, they took off toward the scene to learn more.
As the Collegiate Times website received so much traffic it crashed, they turned to Twitter after relocating to a secure location. They tweeted updates with information every few minutes, gathering news from the police scanner, from what they could see from their dorm windows, and from other students and reporters on campus, according to the New York Times blog post about the coverage.
Within a few hours, the newspaper's Twitter account went from having 2,000 followers to 20,000, and major news outlets such as NPR, ABC, the NYTimes, The Huffington Post, and other major outlets directed readers to the Twitter account for up-to-date info. The reporters' coverage has been lauded as fantastic journalism and they have received praise for their resourceful use of Twitter.
This incident reminded me of the power of platforms such as Twitter and well as the power that we possess, that we can take into our own hands in our recognition that our job is to be a writer and write no matter the circumstance.
The incident also made me ask a few questions -
Would the Marquette turn to The Marquette Tribune as fast as the VA Tech community turned to The Collegiate Times?
Would our reporters be as quick and as resourceful? as courageous? Would I?
It is important as student journalists to hypothetically put ourselves in these situations when they come up. If the answer to the above question is not "yes," we should be asking "why not?" and "how could I change and develop my talents and my courage so that the answer is 'yes?'"
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