NBC News correspondent Steve Patterson discusses how journalists report on wildfires. He explains how to properly assess the devastation and how to cover people impacted by fires.
First, reporters need to assess the threat and bring proper safety gear. News crews approaching wildfire need to follow safety precautions and not take unnecessary risks.
By reporting on location, journalists provide their audiences with important insights into the immediate impact of wildfires, such as casualties and property damage, and long-term impacts to the local environment and infrastructure. They also let audiences directly see and hear from people who fled their homes and are seeking shelter.
“It’s so important to actually be there,” Patterson said. “Document the struggle for control, the harrowing attempts to escape and the devastation left behind.”
Video journalists need quality footage for their reports, photographs enhance digital writing and audio reports benefit from ambient sound.
“With fire, you have to lead with pictures and natural sound. There is nothing you can do that will be more impactful then showing those towers of flames and smoke,” Patterson said. “The way you craft these stories has to be guided by that fact.”
Patterson recommended reporters’ live shots show what is happening in the moment. For packages, or longer video reports, Patterson said journalists need to “write to the pictures. Let them guide how you frame the story.”
Reporters should not hype up situations that are not threatening, as it could make them seem less credible during real emergencies.
“The information you’re able to relay about the threat the fire has, the homes that are being ordered to evacuate, the shelters available, the roads that are unsafe or closed off could be life and death for people who live in the area,” Patterson said. “It’s so vital that you’re timely and accurate. Every detail and every second counts.”
Climate change has rapidly accelerated the frequency and intensity of fires. Patterson said California once had a fire season, but now wildfires are seen as a year-round threat.
