Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867

Is your newspaper prepared?

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Newspapers have a unique and important responsibility to the community in times of disaster and need to plan ahead how to operate during times of emergencies, whether natural or man-made, or other times of disruption to their business, the community or both.
Developing a checklist of items for your specific newspaper(s) can help you and your staff continue the newspaper’s mission of keeping the community informed because in times of crisis, a trusted source for information is needed more than ever.
By pre-planning for times of disaster, your staff will know what steps they need to take for their roles.
Set aside time each year on a specified date, i.e. around Jan. 1, to update your plans, review information for industry contacts, talk to and train employees on what to do in the event of a disaster and inventory supplies needed for your newspaper to properly respond.
Digital preparedness
Newspapers rely on electronics more than ever, including networks that allow different sites within a company to collaborate, teams to work remotely and each internet-capable device to connect to the World Wide Web.
While critical to newspaper creation, those electronics also represent a weak link for your newspaper’s production process, so you need to take steps to protect your network, your devices and, most importantly, your data.
For devices and networks, keeping drivers and operating systems updated is important and working with a trusted local IT company will help ensure your network is protected from intrusion.
As for your data, there are lots of options for protecting it, but a solution from a fellow Missouri Press member could prove beneficial to your newspaper.
Over the past year, Warden Publishing in Gasconade County and Vernon Publishing in Miller County have been working together on a data backup solution with several benefits. Each company hosts two networked storage servers, one for itself and one for the other publisher, that store back-ups of their most important data.
The system was set up by Jacob Warden, who explained that the large distance between the publishers means it is unlikely a single natural disaster would take out both sets of servers.
Another benefit is that in the event a search warrant is issued, and a newspaper’s computers are seized in one county, they are unlikely to be taken into custody in the other. Warden explained that the storage servers should make it much easier for a newspaper to get up-and-running in the event a situation like what happened to the Marion County Record in Kansas ever happened here.
The overall cost of the set-up would vary for newspapers, but Warden has said options exist that are very cost effective for any size publisher. He is also offering to help any publisher in Missouri with determining the right storage solution for their newspaper.
If you’re interested in learning more, email Jacob Warden at jwarden@wardpub.com.
Employee preparedness
Reynolds Journalism Institute last month published an article titled, “Creating systems to keep journalists safe,” which outlines steps publishers and editors can take to identify and mitigate risk for their journalists.
Based on The Fundamentals of Safe Commissioning online course from the Editor Safety Hub, authors Michelle Kanaar and Alyssa Schukar discuss the basic steps publications should take to keep journalists safe online and when on assignment.
The article can be found on RJI’s website at rjionline.org or by going here: https://bit.ly/3BpNtSt.
While some of the article focuses on freelance journalism, much of the information is relevant to any journalist going out on assignment and at any experience level, so use it to better prepare your staff for whatever challenges 2025 might bring.