Fire, Crime,

Accident reporting

Preparation
Sometimes you can check your newspaper
library.
At other times, breaking news is occurring
and you must gather information at the
scene.
Sometimes you find out about a crime when
you arrive at a police station on a routine
check of reports.

Crime reporting sources

Police officials and their reports
Victim or victims
Witness or witnesses

Good crime reporting

Do not depend on the police report alone.
You may miss:

Accurate information
Interesting details
Police cover-ups
A multiple-source story

Information from police reports

A description of what happened
Location of the incident
Name, age and address of the victim
Name, age and address of the suspect
Offense police believe suspect may have
committed.
Extent of injuries, if any.
Names, ages and addresses of witnesses.

Information to obtain at scene of

accident, fire
Description of what happened
Location of the incident
Name, age and address of the victim or
victims
Extent of injuries, if any.
Names, ages and addresses of witnesses, if
any.

At the accident scene

Question the person in charge of the
investigation
Try to find and interview witnesses
Try to find friends or relatives of the victims
If possible, interview the victims
Talk with others at the scene
Be sensitive to the victims and their
families. Dont ask, How do you feel?

Source checklist for accidents,

fires, disasters

Civilian witnesses.
Victims of personal injury.
People who were involved but escaped injury.
Victims of property damage
Neighbors and passersby

Relatives and neighbors of victims.

Rescue workers
Government regulatory agencies

Tips for writing the story

Be an active observer many of the facts
and all of the color are gathered at the
scene.
Actively solicit information from those who
are there.
Move as quickly as possible to collect basic
information

More tips

What basic information do you need?

Names, ages, addresses and conditions of the
victims.
Accounts of witnesses or police
reconstructionists of what happened
Why or how it happened or who was at fault, as
determined by officials in charge of the
investigation.

Writing the story

Decide what the most important element is
for your lead.
Death or injury?
Property damage?
Charges filed?
Number of accidents or crimes in area?

More on writing the story

Use color
Use more than one source
Use chronological order (sometimes), but
only after lead.
Use inverted pyramid
Use quotes
Consider sidebars

Matters of taste, ethics

When should the media reveal details of
how a murder or another crime was
committed?
When should the media reveal details about
sex crimes or print the names of sex-crime
victims?
When should the media reveal a suspects
confession or even the fact that the subject
confessed?

Matters of taste, ethics

When should the media reveal a defendants
prior criminal record?
When should the media reveal the names of
juveniles charged with crime?