The response in a newsroom to this kind of report is simple:
* First the police reporter on duty, Michael Westley, hotfoots it over to the scene - not far by car from The Tribune's office in The Gateway shopping center. Then Nate Carlisle, a Justice Desk reporter still in the office finishing another story, heads to Trolley Square, followed by Russ Rizzo, another police reporter.
Justice Desk Editor Brent Israelsen - still in the office editing a story - takes temporary control of the response. Meanwhile Matthew LaPlante, who normally covers military affairs, calls Carlisle on the phone and when Carlisle tells him he is too busy to talk, LaPlante heads over to Trolley Square.
Next, reporters start coming out of the woodwork; some see the mayhem on TV and go to the scene and others are called on the phone and sent to the story. Lisa Rosetta is sent to LDS Hospital, but heads to Trolley Square when security guards toss her out of the emergency room lobby.
While this is going on, photographers are dispatched. First on the scene is Danny La, second is Rick Egan and third is Ryan Galbraith, who has been sent to get a quick photo to post online. La and Egan remain on the scene shooting the various photos that appear in Tuesday morning's edition.
Meanwhile, back at the office, Night Editor Peter Lozancich and Assistant Managing Editor for Features Lisa Carricaburu as well as reporter Jessica Ravitz, who was still in the office, take dictation from reporters on the scene, gather background material on Trolley Square and make phone calls to fill in holes in the story. Heather May, who covers Salt Lake City, reaches Mayor Rocky Anderson, and Steve Gehrke, who normally covers the southern suburbs, goes to University Hospital to check on the victims' conditions. Graphic artist Mike Miller works on a map that also offers details about the shootings.
The first story on the shooting incident goes online at 7:12 p.m., about 30 minutes after the first 911 call; photos are put on the Web site about 8:30 p.m. Staffers who serve www.sltrib.com under the direction of news editors Tony Semerad and Manny Mellor are posting updates to the Web every few minutes.
Assistant Managing Editor for News Peg McEntee is putting together a comprehensive story for the front page, taking the dictations from reporters on the scene and keeping a close eye on the live TV coverage. Assistant Managing Editor Josh Awtry drives in from home to work with News Editor Michael Nakoryakov and the copy desk in designing the front page and inside pages. News Editor Patrick DeLany comes in to the office to edit the Web site coverage and make sure all new developments are posted. Reporter Jason Bergreen comes to work at 3 a.m. Tuesday to pick up the story and provide early morning coverage.
During that night and the next few days, a number of extraordinary meetings convene each day. Editors and reporters gather in various locations across the newsroom to discuss what they are pursuing and what they are getting, so coverage can be shaped, fresh reporters can be brought in to help. Those working in the area of the meeting can hear what's being planned. These meetings create a sense of inclusion in the story - even for reporters and editors who are concentrating on covering other events, such as the sessions of the Legislature.
* On Tuesday, reporters and editors look at their notes and stories and find the threads of follow-up coverage. The list of reporters involved grows as the staff aims at producing an 8-page special section on the tragedy, including stories on the victims; the heroic off-duty Ogden cop who engaged the shooter and, police say, stopped further carnage; the shooter; dealing with trauma; the Trolley Square neighborhood; what causes violence; a warning not to turn against Bosnians; the future of the shopping center; and the gun-rights debate being drawn into the incident. Once again Carlisle, Rizzo, May, Westley, Gehrke, Ravitz and LaPlante are on the story, Joining them are Kristen Moulton, Brooke Adams, Julia Lyon, Sheena McFarland, Jeremiah Stettler, Jennifer Barrett, Stephen Hunt, Greg Lavine, Pam Manson, Lesley Mitchell and Christopher Smart.
Working with Awtry, Design Director Colin Smith creates a section designed to capture the full impact of the shootings. Art Director Todd Adams and his team and Director of Photography Scott Sommerdorf and his staff work with the reporters and their editors to tell these stories visually.
The team checks leads for follow-up stories. Getting information from official sources is still tough, but more witnesses are talking and reporters are able to add rich detail to the early bare-bones reports.
* On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday reporters gather facts on funeral plans, honors for the hero police officers, more detail on the shootings, conditions of survivors, interviews with survivors and comments from family and friends of the 18-year-old shooter.
But there is still more information to gather. Derek Jensen and Christopher Smart work to nail down details of the timeline and witness information from police, firefighters and emergency service personnel who responded to the tragedy. Staffers make plans for graphic representations of the incident and weekend wrap-up stories.
Throughout the five days, other staffers who do not cover the tragedy directly pitch in with ideas and check with their own sources for information.
* Looking back over five days of intense activity in the newsroom, Editor Nancy Conway says, "When covering a story this big, the newsroom most feels the awesome responsibility to provide information."
Conway adds, "This incident affects everyone, including us. We have to explain what happened, how it happened, how well it was handled and what we can learn from it as a community. In a democracy, it is our duty to get information to the people, so they are empowered."
The photograph: Some readers were upset by the black and white photo inside the A section on Tuesday that showed a slain woman lying on the floor and a police officer standing over her. We ran a warning on the front page explaining some inside photos contained graphic images.
We also ran this picture online, with a warning; that presence drew a handful of viewer complaints.
Conway explains the decision to run the photo:
"We ran it because beyond all others it told the truth about the shootings at Trolley Square. We ran it in black and white because we knew it would be difficult to look at. We wanted to be as sensitive as possible to families and friends. The value in telling the story was unsurpassed."
It is a difficult picture to behold, but it strips away all pretense of nicety and provides a snapshot in time of what happened last Monday night in Salt Lake City.
---
* THE READER ADVOCATE'S phone number is 801-257-8782. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. reader.advocate@sltrib.com
