THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995 TAG: 9508200038
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: COLE C. CAMPBELL, EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Hurricane Felix tested eastern North Carolina and Hampton Roads last week.
In Dare County, officials were pleased with orderly evacuation of 100,000 tourists and residents from the oceanfront. In Hampton Roads, officials stayed on their toes revising action plans as the storm feinted one way, then moved another.
At The Virginian-Pilot, we hustled to keep up with the storm, the officials, the evacuees, the folks staying put and the pending storm's impact on everybody.
Plus, we worried about whether the Elizabeth River might flow our way in downtown Norfolk.
The point position in our Felix coverage was taken by the North Carolina staff, under the tireless leadership of N.C. Editor and General Manager Ronald L. Speer. Ron worked with staff writers Lane DeGregory, Perry Parks, Paul South and Jennifer Christman and staff photographer Drew Wilson to produce a full report on the preparations and evacuation of the coast. Contributing from Elizabeth City were staff writers Mason Peters and Anne Saita.
That crew was supported by staff writers Jim Schultz, Stephanie Stoughton and Lon Wagner and photographers Paul Aiken, Beth Bergman and Martin Smith-Rodden, who went down to the Outer Banks from Norfolk. Wagner and Aiken were on Hatteras Island, where the hurricane was first expected to land.
Central to the newsroom planning and reporting was Steve Stone, a veteran reporter with our 911 Jump Team, which covers public safety issues. Steve came to the paper while still a student at Old Dominion University, and he's been writing about hurricanes, tropical storms, northeasters, blizzicanes and other meteorological excesses since Hurricane David, in August 1979.
Steve provided not only clear, compelling prose about the storm, but also detailed updates to department heads to guide storm-response planning. He also kept us in touch with the National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service and John Hope of The Weather Channel.
Steve had plenty of help, starting with his editor, Dick Bayer, whose experience handling storm coverage dates at least to the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962, when Dick worked for The Associated Press. Steve and Dick were the epitome of calm in a newsroom that depended on them for leadership, pacing and information.
All in all, 123 staff members worked directly on hurricane coverage: 55 reporters, 10 photographers, 12 designers, nine copy editors, two wire editors, four news graphic artists, five librarians, 19 team leaders and community editors, seven senior editors and the entire administrative staff.
The designers are the folks who pull together all the text, photographs, graphics, headlines and other elements. Designers Buddy Moore, Tracy Porter, Latane Jones and Bob Fleming handled the news front pages - with hosts of colleagues peering over their shoulders.
Meanwhile, those not directly involved in hurricane coverage - reporters, editors and designers working on the business, sports, feature and community news sections - cleared the decks for those who were.
Each day's hurricane coverage was aimed at answering the questions foremost on your minds that day, looking forward rather than backward and emphasizing usable information over storytelling - although we captured some great moments in words and photos.
In Wednesday's paper, we focused on Felix's path, which reminded emergency planners of the 1933 hurricane that flooded downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth.
In Thursday's paper, we focused on Felix's fickleness; then the storm struck emergency officials as more like the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 that chewed up both the Outer Banks and Sandbridge.
In Friday's paper, we focused on the possibilities of a loop-de-loop, taking the storm farther away - or back at us.
In Saturday's paper, we bid Felix farewell - we hope.
Today we look at the role of prayer in dealing with pending disasters; the Ash Wednesday storm as people experienced it; and emergency planners' concerns about effectively alerting the public without alarming it or crying wolf.
We have achieved what we set out to do. But what's most important is how you appraise our coverage.
Feel free to call our InfoLine soundoff box by dialing 640-5555, category 3359 (FELX), and talk with us about our coverage.
Cole C. Campbell
Editor ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Ronald L. Speer, N.C. editor
Dick Bayer, editor
Steve Stone, reporter
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX by CNB