Idea Lab:  Staying Safe While Staying on the Story

Before: Safety Planning & Training

Your newsroom should have a safety plan for covering potentially risky or unsafe news events.

• Make time for regular safety planning, no matter how small. Squeeze brief discussions or small improvements into the last few minutes of a weekly meeting, for example.
• Don't Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good. Your plan doesn't need to be formal or exhaustive to be useful. Even day-of plans between reporter and editor are better than no discussions at all.
• Consider All Kinds of "Safety." Physical safety is often top of mind in the heat of the moment, but legal, digital, and psychological safety are just as important.

Steps of Safety Planning

Identify

• • • Who or what could cause harm in this scenario?
    • What are the risks associated with that harm?
    • How does risk vary depending on one's identity?
      • Depending on the political and social context of the scenario, people with different genders, races, ethnicities, religions, and other parts of personal identity may be at higher or lower risk or face different threats.

Analyze

• • • How likely are these risks to happen?
    • If they were to occur, how big would the impact of these risks be?

Prioritize & Mitigate

• • • Prioritize mitigating the risks that are most likely to happen and/or would have the biggest impact if they occurred.
    • What can you do to reduce those risks?

Operationalize

• • • What are the tasks/plans needed to accomplish this?
    • Who is involved and what are their roles?

Crisis Plans

In case you or a journalist in your newsroom is arrested, detained, or seriously injured, establish a crisis plan that includes:

• Whether you do or will retain legal counsel and who to contact in an emergency
• A crisis team, including their roles and when they should be activated
• A way to contact the family of the journalist(s) involved and a plan for informing them
• Both internal and external communications plans

On-the-Ground Communication Plans

• Use the buddy system: never go out into the field alone. If you're the only reporter from your newsroom on the assignment, contact other local newsrooms to find a buddy or partner.
• Determine multiple meeting places ranked by priority, in case your first or second choices become inaccessible.
• Always clearly communicate with your buddy about where you'll be and why.
• Share your location via mobile device with your editor and buddy and/or place a tracking device like an AirTag in a secure location, like inside your shoe.
• Use apps like Signal to encrypt communications.
• Become acquainted with the assignment location. If it's unfamiliar, try using Google Streetview and/or bring along a printed map.

Train All Field Reporters

All of the guidance below is much more useful if reporters are trained how to apply it and given the chance to practice and prepare. Consider the following areas for instruction:

Covering high-conflict operations

Not just protests—including understanding escalation points, hostile environments, and first aid (including applying a tourniquet).

Preparing and wearing protective equipment

Ensure equipment is unpackaged and ready to use, and that reporters are instructed on how to do so. Give reporters the chance to get used to the feel of masks, vests, etc.

Legal rights and support

Reporters should know their federal, state, and local laws pertaining to reporting on protests and observing law enforcement operations. This should include who to contact if they are detained, whether that's a legal representative, staff member, hotline, etc.

Mental health and signs of burnout

If your newsroom offers any mental health resources or support, make sure your staff knows how to take advantage of them before a crisis occurs.

Purchase Protective Equipment

Committee to Protect Journalists PPE Glossary

During: Day-Of Preparation

Pack Your Bag

Basic "go bags" for high-conflict events should include:

• Standard first aid kit
• If you know how to use it, a tourniquet
• Filling snacks like protein/energy bars for long days
• Water for drinking and potentially for washing/rinsing
• Press credentials

In case of pepper spray, tear gas, or other chemical irritants:

• A full-face respirator or gas mask with a shatter-proof visor that provides an air-tight seal is best for prolonged exposure.
• Impact-resistant goggles and an N95 respirator aren't air-tight, but could get you through initial exposure until you can escape.
• Water and/or eyewash kit and/or Sudecon decontamination wipes.
• A change of clothes and trash bags and/or a disposable poncho to protect your clothes from irritants.

In case of flash bangs, fireworks, or other loud noises:

• Ear plugs to protect your hearing.

In case of projectiles and/or physical altercations:

• Helmets made to withstand multiple impacts (like skateboarding or climbing helmets) are better than bike helmets designed for single-impact.
• If wearing a press badge, ensure you use a Velcro or clip-on badge or a break-away lanyard. Wearing a standard lanyard around your neck can cause injury if pulled.

In case of detainment or arrest:

• A predetermined contact if you're allowed a phone call – write that number in permanent marker on your body in a place where it is unlikely to quickly wear off.
• Any daily prescription medications you need.

Mental Preparation

Refresh Your Memory. In order to make smart safety decisions, it's important to have a good plan in place that you can fall back on without having to think twice. Go over any safety plans before you enter the field.

Remember to Breathe. Know that in a crunch you can regulate your nervous system with deep breaths.

During: In the Field

Maintain Situational Awareness

• Scan the area and keep an eye on exits. Consider multiple exit strategies.

Use the Buddy System

• Never go out into the field alone.
• Determine multiple meeting places ranked by priority, in case your first or second choices become inaccessible.
• Always clearly communicate with your buddy about where you'll be and why.

Recover

If you are affected by pepper spray, tear gas, or other chemical irritants while in the field:

• If you intend to continue reporting, ensure your full-face respirator is on correctly.
• If you need to end your reporting or take a break:
  • Leave the area and find a safe space where you can breathe freely
  • Use water, eye drops, or Sudecon wipes to flush irritants from your eyes

After The Assignment

• If needed, enact your legal, crisis, or internal/external communications plans

Clean Your Kit

Give your kit a good wipe down after you've been exposed to any chemical irritants.

If you have to travel by car, bring multiple trash bags and a change of clothes. If you get hit with tear gas or pepper spray, you'll want to get out of your clothes before driving. Then put your dirty clothes into multiple layers of trash bags to avoid any off-gassing. 

Take Care of Yourself

Whether you're returning from a dangerous reporting assignment or a newsroom leader supporting your staff, model the good self-care behavior you want your colleagues to enact. Take breaks, set solid boundaries between your work and home lives, and rest.

Additional Resources

Recent Reporter Experiences