The Five I’s
The story: A student who attends your university is killed on the interstate as he returns to school after the Thanksgiving holiday. A tractor trailer was involved in the crash just a few miles before the exit that leads to your school. The stretch of highway that runs through the area has become increasingly dangerous, with six fatalities so far this year, five of which involved trucks. Traffic doubled in twenty years. And while the road was designed to carry 15 percent truck traffic, 40 percent of the vehicles that travel the two-lane highway today are trucks.
Scenario 1: Facing a deadline with limited resources.
Immediacy comes into play here. I would have a reporter go and cover the accident. That reporter would immediately put information on the website about the incident without pictures. As he or she learns more, they would constantly update their story. If time permits, they would get a picture of the deceased person. The reporter would also try and get an interview with TxDot or any official that is over the roadways about the current and past accidents. A timeline could also be set in place detailing the past accidents and where they took place. A fact box could be added detailing the event.
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Scenario 2: in a more flexible time frame with a staff of artists, programmers, and multimedia journalists?
This is where Interactivity, Integration, and In-Depth Opportunities would be best used. I would have the reporter talk to the victims family and friends about the sudden death. We would then get more pictures and create a slideshow of the victim’s life. The reporter would get more in-depth interviews with city officials about the interstate and why so many accidents have occurred there. Why is 40 percent of vehicles that travel the interstate trucks when it’s only designed for 15 percent? I would want information about whether a meeting or anything is going to be held to discuss the situation. We would attend that meeting also. We would also try and talk with family of the past 6 fatalities to see if they are doing anything about the death of their loved one. The reporter would take pictures of the stretch of highway and include pictures of the past accidents. A blog would be put into place for readers to blog about experiences of that stretch of highway. They could talk whether they have had any possible wrecks there. We would also get video of traffic on the interstate, especially of trucks. I would also include a poll to ask readers whether or not they think that stretch of road is safe.
