News stories are important. I bet you already knew that. News articles, packages and programming provide the public with important information, but often times too much information can be overwhelming. Many stories may fall under the same umbrella and would be impossible to cover completely without a little assistance.
“Team coverage,” you’ve heard the term before. News outlets don’t just use it because it sounds flashy, it has a purpose. Team coverage is when a unit of journalists cover the same topic but in a variety of ways, because the topic at hand may be really broad and hard for news consumers to take in all at once.
In the midst of the coronavirus, many stations are using team coverage to help viewers get a full grasp of the situation. One reporter may visit a local hospital to speak with medical professionals, while another reporter meets with the city or state government to see what steps are being taken to prevent the spread of the disease. A journalist may visit a grocery store to share how people are beginning to stock up on necessities, while another may speak with people who are now unable to work due to social distancing and stay at home orders.
I’m sure you’ve seen this strategy implemented in your community, but it’s also happening for student journalists from college campuses. While campuses have closed their doors, student reporters are hard at work. The Nation recently published a piece highlighting a few student journalists, who are now having to “learn how to find sources when their campuses have closed,” relying “more on their social and professional networks.”
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| Headshots courtesy tropnews.com |
“Team coverage is really important for us right now as members of the Troy community are dispersed away from campus and it is the same with our staff,” the Trop’s editor and chief Pradyot Sharma told me.
The Tropolitan recently set up a continuously updated coronavirus webpage which breaks how the coronavirus is affecting dorm life and summer classes; in addition, hot button issues like university refunds.
“Getting the complete story out is often about putting pieces of a puzzle together and everyone contributes to that be it a writer/editor still on campus, someone in contact with state/university sources or even just someone who has heard something through the grapevine that needs to be followed up on,” he wrote. “Having everyone cover stories the best they can during this time helps us continue to put out content relevant to the Troy community.”
Emma Daniel is the student newspaper’s news editor. She has been consistently sharing up-to-date content over social media for her peers.
“There’s a lot of texting, a lot of frantic phone calls, and a lot of willingness to listen.” She told me. “All of us are pretty connected people through social media—particularly on Troy students—but I think the most important thing through all this has been keeping an eye on what the students are saying.”
Hearing from sources is a vital part of journalism, and Daniel said it has been tricky getting sources to respond.
“As if journalism wasn’t just a waiting game before, now we’ve been doing everything digitally, which means we’re at the mercy of messages and phone calls when it comes to getting sources. If someone doesn’t get back to us, or if someone isn’t giving us the quotes we need, we can’t just go pay a face-to-face visit.”
Daniel said she has had to be very persistent with university officials in order to get the answers to questions that students are asking. She says she does it for students who feel like an outlier, providing a voice to the voiceless.
“When being a voice, I think it’s important to speak up for the group whose keeps getting the short end of the stick, and I hope and like to think the Trop speaks for the everyday student.”
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