The 5 I’s—

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Interactivity-Involvement-Immediacy-Integration-In depth

How would you make the most of the “Five I’s”

a) If a student from UNT was killed on I-35 and we’re facing a deadline with limited resources, the first thing I would do is break the story on television. If it were 2:30 in the afternoon, I would still break the story with a reader and graphics on television, and show a map to best explain what happened. The anchor would tell the audience that we’d continue updating with new information as it came in. We could also ask students in the area to send in their photos if they see the accident. This way, at least we’ve covered it immediately and the map and photos would be interactive and involving. As for integrating, we could post the story online after it’s been aired, and run a banner across the television occasionally, telling the (new) viewer that there’s been an accident, and to go online for details. The online portion could have a comments section, and people could tell us if they knew the student killed and also if they’ve felt a lot of pressure on I-35 due to the heavy flow of traffic. I think with a tight deadline and limited resources, it would be hard to cover in depth news, but all these elements would be a good start.

b) In a more flexible time frame with an experienced staff, we would do all the things we did for the first newscast, but a couple things would be different. I would try to find the friends and family of the student and interview them. It would also be beneficial to interview a Denton city worker who could provide insight. I would ask them what the city plans to do to prevent this from occurring to other students and drivers. I would put together at least a VOSOT, but a package would be better, and include pictures of the student, the accident, and even put a graphic together showing how the accident happened. I would include a lot of those same elements of the story online and have people comment on the story.