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Writer's pictureMelissa Steininger

BEHIND THE LENS: Working Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

We're in unprecedented times. Our lives are uprooted, and all the 'American values' ingrained in our core are overturned. To say it's been a weird few weeks is an understatement. For the first time ever, professional sports have come to a hault. Annual parades and traditions are being cancelled. School is no longer taught in classrooms. Many of us working from home. Businesses ordered to shutter, forcing layoffs. Shelves are empty and toilet paper is impossible to find. Seniors and the sick are afraid to leave their homes. It's a time of uncertainty.

Coronavirus hits New York hard

Humans do not like change; it's uncomfortable. But we are adaptable, and we persevere through trying times. We must. People are dying and thousands are sick. Our medical staff are overworked. There's not nearly enough hospital beds to go around. We must do everything we can to 'flatten the curve'.


New York is currently the biggest hotspot in the country. As of Friday, the number of cases stands at nearly 4,000, which almost doubled overnight. I'm sure that number will be dated before I hit 'publish' on this post. The coronavirus quickly becoming a pandemic across the globe. It hit the state on the first day of March, and exponentially grew. (Click here to see a timeline of the coronavirus impacts in New York.)

What our interviews now look like via Skype.

My news station is currently operating almost entirely remotely. To be honest, I didn't realize it was logistically possible. We have anchors on solo shifts, a handful of producers in house, and a director in the control room. Otherwise, everyone else is working from home. Producers are working off laptops equipped with programs to access our show rundowns. Reporters and photographers have taken home gear. We now work from home or out of our cars, whichever is necessary. Instead of in-person interviews, we now do most of them over Skype. Our management trying to limit our exposure to others as much as possible. It's a way we're social distancing. Here's an example of story I did right from the comfort of my couch.


Meanwhile, my station is working hard to remain a trusted source for our viewers during this uncertain time. We're the "boots on the ground," as all local television stations are. We're seeing so many changes day-to-day. Primary schools across the state have now shutdown for at least two weeks, if not longer. School districts in the Capital Region are starting to see their first cases. I've made a map (below) of the first three districts to have confirmed cases involving students and staff.

In both Albany and Clifton Park employees at their elementary schools have had confirmed cases. At at Tesago Elementary School in Clifton Park, the individual had not been at work since March 9th. In Guilderland, the school district posted an update on their website saying "someone in a household connected to the Farnsworth Middle School in the Guilderland Central School District" has tested positive for COVID-19." However, the school district said the family is under quarantine and that there is no confirmed cases of coronavirus among students and staff.


While we've been working hard to bring people the information they need, it's also a very uncertain time for many. As we all jump in head first to these uncharted waters, It can be very trying for some. As a journalist, we are seeing so much distrust and blame put on our industry. If this news is scaring you, it's because these are very uncertain times. It's okay to distance yourself from news or social media. However, please know your local news industry has journalists who live in the same community as you. We are out in our communities to find real information and ask the important questions. Call, email, tweet us if have questions about what's happening. I work alongside plenty of hard-working journalists who would love to get you the answers and comfort you during these times. To help me find some of the answers you are looking for, please fill out my survey.

Many of the tools you'll find throughout this blog post are new to me. Television is a visual medium. My main form of storytelling is through video and interviews. I let the people tell their story, while adding facts and information between their words. However, I these new tools are extremely useful. The timeline shows concrete information. Especially during this pandemic, the news cycle is ever-changing. By the time I catch up on the latest stats and information, a new development is already breaking. If it's overwhelming for a journalist, I can only imagine how overwhelming it must be for our audience. The timeline tool shows how quickly this pandemic is developing but allows people to break down what's happening moment by moment and day by day. I may actually suggest using a timeline to our digital team to help with the storytelling during this outbreak.


If surveys are conducted in news, it's usually through social media platforms, as that's the easiest way to reach a majority of our audience. However, we would never present that information as factual research. We instead report concrete facts from reliable sources and polling, such as Pew Research Institute. However, surveys could be a good way to see what or how our viewers are feeling.


Lastly, the maps are already a useful and reliable tool for the news industry. They are used in reports often, however, I am not a big fan. I do believe maps are that effective to the viewer. Unless you're using maps for traffic reports, many producers use them as way to supplement lack of video. Personally, I would rather see compelling video than a map. I could not gather the pictures I wanted to use for this map, as my management is trying to limit our exposure outside of work, due to the coronavirus outbreak.


However, overall, I found some new tools to help storytelling in a different way. This is something that will be really important as the way we're telling stories are already shifting drastically in the climate of this pandemic.

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