One week ago yesterday, we were in the midst of writing an article when the breaking news notifications began appearing on our devices here in our office in the Twin Cities. The alerts stopped us cold. An “active shooter” was reported at a school in South Minneapolis.

Instinctively, we went to see if the local television stations were in breaking news coverage. In what may be a true sign of the times we live in, we didn’t go first to our television set, but rather to our mobile device to watch any livestreams that might be up.

Indeed, all four of the market’s major network affiliates were up with live streams of their over-the-air breaking news coverage. It would mark the beginning of a day with non-stop coverage of the tragedy that unfolded at the Annunciation Church and School. That coverage has now continued throughout the week that has gone by. Even one week later, the story still dominated the first block of the evening newscasts of each station.

And it isn’t meant to be any editorializing in saying this, but the reality of America in 2025 is that “a mass casualty situation” can pretty much happen anywhere, at any time.

Our focus here is on the television news coverage we have watched and studied in the past week. From the outset, we want to state that we have seen some outstanding coverage from all of the local stations here in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Clearly, this is the kind of story that had to be covered extensively in real time, even if the nature of the story would test the professionalism of any working journalist. Due to the demands of “wall-to-wall” coverage on that first day, there was the inevitable challenge in verifying facts as they slowly emerged--amid a growing tide of rumors and disinformation.

There will be opportunities for further review, and both compliments and criticism of the coverage provided. But at this mark, we wanted to share some takeaways we have noted in watching the coverage of this story from its first hour. We do so from the perspective of having been in a newsroom or a control room on many previous occasions, and with the hope that there can be lessons for any newsroom that may have to deal with this kind of story in the future.

Have A Clear Call to Action in each Breaking News Alert.

Like most people we know, we get far too many notifications on our mobile devices. Many of these we ignore as not essential to our lives at the moment we receive them. One thing that often gets overlooked in breaking news notifications is a clear call to action for the audience. Pointing directly to live coverage that can be accessed “right now” is essential. Avoid making viewers search for your coverage, especially if your standard procedure is to direct people to your station’s website or mobile app. Many station apps aren’t clear on how to get directly to the live coverage, so make it as simple as possible for people to do so.

Reset the Scene Frequently In The First Hours.

New viewers will join your coverage every minute it's on. Make it standard operating procedure to do “a reset of the scene” at least every 10 to 15 minutes in the first hours of continuing coverage. Space it out more as the coverage continues and as developments slow down. In the first hour or two, this may seem very repetitive, especially if few details are known and no new facts have emerged for some time. Resets also allow stating the time, which helps define the evolving timeline of the story.

Keep the facts known on screen as much as possible.

The minimum requirement is a full-screen graphic with bullet points, such as a title like “What We Know” or “At This Moment.” This gives your anchor(s) something to reference in the resets mentioned above. Some stations have persistent lower-third banners that stay on screen with the headline(s) of what is happening, while others use the old-school news ticker across the bottom of the screen. In any way possible, keep the facts on the screen so that when someone tunes in, they quickly see what is going on. Also, remember that not all screens will have sound turned on; make sure that someone glancing at your coverage can recognize that something is happening that deserves attention. Also, remember that a larger portion of the audience than you may think relies upon closed-captioning in these situations. Make sure real-time captioning is taking place.

Be careful about live video becoming wallpaper.

During the early coverage in Minneapolis, live cameras were constantly being shown, but they were actually some distance from the scene and showed little activity. Mainly, it was the crush of emergency vehicles with flashing lights and crime scene tape, all quite some distance from the front of the church. Although the live pictures were obviously the best available in those early moments, the video could be confusing when nothing was obvious. We’d note that using “double box” effects, which kept anchors on camera, provided a connection for viewers. A disconnected voice under a static scene isn’t as reassuring as seeing people explaining what it is we are seeing.

Aerial views can make a huge difference.

One of the things that has been lost with the arrival of bonded cellular backpacks is the decline of using live trucks. One of the best features of a live truck is its ability to raise a mast-mounted camera to see over a scene. If stations still have a live helicopter, we will assume you will use it, if possible. Otherwise, a drone may be the best option for getting aerials of the scene, again—if you can do so. But don’t pass up the idea of working to get a live camera on a nearby roof, hill, or other vantage point. A camera directly overlooking the scene is crucial in showing the full scope of the situation.

Maps are the next best thing.

Most of us are geographically challenged to some degree. Locating the scene from just an address isn’t easy for most viewers. Having a map that shows the location of breaking news should always be an early priority. We’ve seen stations just put a web browser with a Google Map view on the air when there was no other choice. We’d caution you to understand that such maps (and their 3D satellite view layers) are copyrighted material, so there can be issues if your station does not have a license to use them. Maps work best when there is someone on camera to point out what to focus on, so this is an opportunity to use a touch screen monitor or even an old school green screen—just like the one you likely use daily for the weather segments.

Don’t let being empathetic turn into being emotional.

In covering a story with as much raw emotion as a mass shooting at a school or church, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to keep all personal emotions completely in check. Conversely, this is not when viewers want to hear from robots with no feelings. Every anchor or reporter may have a personal connection to the story, even if just the understanding of a parent desperate to be reunited with their child. The audience understands and will accept moments of being human from those whose job it is to report in these moments. Being empathetic is at the foundation of being relatable. But the job is to deliver a clear account of what is happening—even if it defies understanding while occurring. There is a line between being impartial and losing objectivity, and it is important to respect it.

Remember that staff reinforcements are essential.

During the Minneapolis school shooting coverage, each local TV station here made great use of their investigative reporters and producers to dig into the stories that were developing slowly, such as the identification of the shooting suspect and uncovering information about their background--once a name was confirmed. In continuing coverage, it is easy to develop a “throw everything at the scene” mentality. However, it is vital to reserve some resources for the inevitable stories that will arise from the primary coverage. Everyone wants to jump in right away, and almost always, it is essential to have people ready to deal with the most critical question: “What’s Next?” Also, everyone runs out of adrenaline at some point. They will need to be resupplied and ultimately relieved, as the hours mount up.

Turn off the comments attached to online streaming.

As we mentioned earlier, we initially watched coverage from local TV broadcasters via their livestreams on YouTube. Some stations had selected the option to turn comments off on their livestreams, while others had left them on. We found the comments to be precisely what you would expect on social platforms like X/Twitter these days. In short, a free-for-all of crazy commentary, rumors, and outright disinformation that is mostly distracting from the news story being covered. There are many online platforms available for this discourse, but we’d suggest that it shouldn’t be right next to your breaking news coverage.

Take the time to write a final thought to conclude the coverage.

At some point, as long-form continuing coverage event comes to a close, there is a return to regular programming. Please take a moment to conclude your coverage with a summation of what has been seen, what is known, and what comes next. This is an opportunity to provide so much more than the typical “we return you now to our regularly scheduled program.” Genuinely capturing the moment with a few well-chosen words and promising to stay with the story in the weeks and months ahead is something that can and will resonate with the audience. Do not leave this up to an off-hand adlib. Have someone explain to the audience that your team has experienced what they have and that they will be here to cover what will happen next.

Obviously, this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list of things to take away from the coverage of another deadly tragedy in another American city. Indeed, there is much that can and should be shared from all those who have been covering this story. We wanted to share these notes while they were still in our minds. We hope that they might be helpful when you and your team find yourselves covering such a story that will impact your community for weeks, months, and even years to come.

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