As part of WCPO’s coverage of National News Literacy Week, we’re shedding light on how our journalists deliver accurate information during developing situations.
Last week, a police chase unfolded on the Brent Spence Bridge during rush hour, closing the northbound lanes.
Content planner Anna Becker was among the first to notice something was off. Over the police scanners, which our journalists monitor to keep tabs on events around our region, Becker said she heard mentions of a pursuit.
“They were launching a drone underneath the bridge, and that is something that’s unusual,” Becker said.
While our assignment desk dispatched crews to the scene, the digital team began collecting confirmed information for our online audience.
On the air, WCPO 9 News Anchor Craig McKee only mentioned that the Northbound lanes were closed.
Even though Becker had heard information from internal police communications about a possible pursuit, our newsroom does not consider that information to be confirmed.
“That’s a very fluid situation with first responders trying to figure out the information themselves, so I need to talk to somebody official,” Becker said.
An official can either be a member of law enforcement on the scene or reached by phone.
Watch a behind the scenes look of how the WCPO 9 newsroom handles breaking news:
In the meantime, reporters, producers and anchors report what they see. In last week’s case, Northbound traffic on the Brent Spence Bridge was stopped and there was an extremely large police presence.
Producer Chloe Franklin said when a situation impacts a large number of people (such as an interstate bridge at rush hour), she’ll often let viewers know we’re aware of what they are seeing.
“If you're sitting in that traffic, which we had a lot of people in that situation, I would feel more comforted knowing ‘okay, people are out there trying to figure it out, and they're gonna update me,’” Franklin said.
Reporter Marlena Lang was the first WCPO reporter to arrive at the scene. On her drive, she saw several police officers with guns drawn. She reported that experience on air.
Beyond that, before a 6 p.m. newscast hit, she had limited information.
“The police are doing their job. I can't go up and ask them; they're trying to find a suspect,” Lang said.
As she was arriving on the scene, assignment manager Ramsay Fulbright made contact with a Covington police captain over the phone, who provided preliminary information about the pursuit.
Fulbright relayed the information to Lang, who reported it on air.
“Because he is an official with the department, that's what makes it confirmed information,” Lang said.
During breaking news situations, WCPO 9 always wants to provide you with information as fast as possible. However, making sure the information we are providing is factual and accurate is our primary goal.
Becker at the assignment desk understands the frustration viewers might feel when news isn't instantly comprehensive.
“I know it can be frustrating sometimes when we're not able to give all the information right away,” she said, “but we're doing our best on the back end to make sure that we're giving you the right information.”
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
