Social media has altered many parts of the communications process, especially in journalism.

News reporters and assignment editors acknowledged this shift in a recent panel discussion held at Jefferson State Community College’s campus Friday, Dec. 12.

Training participants listen to a panel discussion featuring members of the Birmingham news media, including assignment editors and reporters.

Public information officers in law enforcement, fire officials and other agencies from across the state attended and candidly discussed the challenges of communicating with media in this new landscape.

While these emergency professionals must prepare for hundreds of different types of disaster, many of them are related to the weather, where Alabama Power also has a stake. Veteran Alabama Power storm team manager Brian Lindsey knows the value of building relationships in advance.

Alabama Power crews have been recognized for their restoration efforts, winning several awards nationally.

“We look forward to opportunities to share best practices with other disaster response partners in our community,” said Lindsay. “We’ve had lots of practice restoring outages in our home state and other states by providing mutual assistance to these utilities. We are very fortunate that our peers have recognized our hardworking line crew and support team members.”

Earlier this year, Alabama Power was awarded two Edison Electric Institute awards for exceptional disaster response efforts.

Working with the media

When news breaks, it’s now common for people to share details and updates across their social networks. Training participants acknowledged it’s been a thorn in the side of law enforcement and fire officials – when erroneous or sensitive information is shared, jeopardizing an investigation.

But panel participants said it’s not a given the media will share, or report, the news automatically. “We feel it’s necessary to double check before we go on air with that kind of information,” said Crystal Swann, assignment editor for WBRC FOX 6 News. “We’re looking for confirmation of what’s happening.”

Assignment editors also emphasized the importance of visual aids – whether video or pictures – and the importance of a return call. They believe that sharing nothing when you have nothing to share is better than not calling back at all. “Even if you have no information, let us know that. Just call, even if you can’t give us anything,” said Vicki Porter, WIAT CBS 42 news assignment manager.

Jim Coker, Jefferson County EMA director, addresses training participants.

Jim Coker, director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and event coordinator, said the panel discussion is always an engaging part of the session. These trainings have been held for the past five years.

“When we started several years ago, we had no more than a handful of people,” said Coker. “This year almost 50 people attended, and I’m amazed to see how much this training grows each year and how many people look forward to participating.”

Coker said that the training was held in response to the changing media landscape, thanks in part, to continually evolving technology.

“We are trying to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in our communities in order to better serve it. That’s vital to what we do.”